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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” the manager declared, possibly protesting a little too much. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he remarked on the day before the English champions step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for a new meeting of a contemporary rivalry. “I anticipate the challenge ahead, starting tomorrow—an opening to redirect the disappointment. Our minds are fixed solely on City. Football, for better or worse, is a game of swift changes.” A defeat and things could change immediately, and definitively: this moment is an imperative, too.

Emergency Discussions After Dismal Loss at the Bernabéu

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso said he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was far from the only one. Long after the final whistle, crisis talks continued, the club’s leadership reaching their own verdicts after a mere one victory in five league games. Their analyses were divergent and while radical changes remain on hold, forbearance is running out, the names of possible successors already in the public domain. “These are scenarios you must deal with, yet my mind is fixed only on the game, on what I can influence,” Alonso said here

“Certainly the trainer devised an effective approach, but when it comes down to it, the players execute on the field,” Aurélien Tchouaméni remarked. “Losing by two goals to Celta points to a deficiency in our performance, not the coach's planning.”

A Swift Descent After Initial Success

City will be his twenty-eighth outing in charge of Madrid and it could be his last at a club where a crisis is perpetually looming after a few setbacks, where even ties are unacceptable, and there’s invariably another candidate who can coach. Things have indeed changed fast, even if the roots of the crisis were there from the start. Sold as a systems coach, exactly what they needed after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was an anomaly at a squad-centric organization.

When Madrid secured victory against Barcelona in late October, they established a five-point lead at the top. They had triumphed in twelve out of thirteen competitive games, although the loss had been heavy: 5-2 at Atlético. It also revealed cracks. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior marched straight down the tunnel, reportedly threatening to leave the club. In a letter a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. Institutionally, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Tensions Brought to the Surface

Internally, the assessment was clear: Alonso ought not to have substituted Vinícius off. Questioned on this point if he would make the same call, Alonso responded: “I am unsure of the purpose of that query. If, in the moment, I believe a decision is required on the field, I will make it.” Frictions had been brought to the surface, a separation between manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had expressed his irritation publicly. The pieces weren’t fitting as they should. A common complaint began to slip out about all the directives, the video analysis, the extended practices. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

More than a week after the clásico, Madrid were overcome at Liverpool, initiating a spell of two wins in seven. Able to play direct, they overcame Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those drew at Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to repair cracks or at least mask the problems, to bring calm. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Temporary Truce

In Bilbao, where they had been gathered a day early, it seemed some middle ground had been found; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. Reconciliation was staged when Vinícius greeted the coach as he departed. A couple of days' rest followed. Four days later, though, Celta overcame them and so it disintegrates anew.

That it is public knowledge that Alonso’s future is on the line is as significant as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be disputed, but it is intentional. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about player absences and injustice, not even truly convincing himself, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: no identity, a deficient mentality, a lack of organization.

The Coach: The Most Obvious Solution

But the weakest link, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the actual football, overshadowed the preparation to this game. However much the man who is still Madrid’s manager kept trying to bring it back to the match, which he did with nearly each answer. The shortest answer he gave might have been the most revealing, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the entire team was behind him, Alonso replied in a one word: “yes.”

“The role of Real Madrid coach isn't to alter the culture; it is to adjust,” Alonso stated. “We know the culture of Real Madrid pretty well; that is why it is the biggest club in the world. You have to adapt, learn a lot, interact with the players. Some days are good, some not so good. We have to face that with energy and positivity, that is the only way to turn things around.”

It was when he was asked if he felt by himself that Alonso talked of a team, a club, that goes hand in hand, and when attention was turned to the question of support or the lack of it from above, he replied: “Dialogue with the leadership is ongoing, founded on trust, togetherness, and mutual respect. We are all united in this endeavor. We are psychologically prepared for any challenge: the squad is unified, certain of victory tomorrow, without a shadow of doubt. This is the Champions League. We are playing at the Bernabéu. The environment will be electric. That generates a unique dynamism, even among the players.”