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“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” the Real Madrid coach declared, perhaps asserting somewhat excessively. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he continued on the morning before Manchester City visit once more the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest meeting of a frequent heavyweight clash. “I am eager for what lies ahead, beginning tomorrow, a chance to transform the frustration. Our sole focus is City. In this sport, whether good or bad, situations evolve rapidly.” Failure and things could change immediately, and definitively: this chance is an obligation, too.

Crisis Talks After Poor Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s utterly disappointing 2-0 loss at their own stadium on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Late into the night, urgent meetings carried on, the club’s hierarchy forming their own opinions after a mere one victory in five league games. Their diagnoses were not the same and while severe measures are temporarily shelved, tolerance has limits, the names of candidates already out. “You have to face those situations but my head’s only on the game, things I can control,” Alonso said here

“For sure the coach had a good plan but, in the end we, the players, are the ones on the pitch,” the French midfielder stated. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Swift Decline After Early Promise

City will be his 28th game in charge of Madrid and it may prove to be his farewell at a club where a state of emergency is always just two losses around the corner, where even sharing points is insufficient, and there’s always someone else who can coach. Things have indeed evolved rapidly, even if the roots of the crisis were there from the start. Hailed as a structured planner, the ideal solution after a season of permissiveness and underachievement, Alonso was a cultural shock at a players’ club.

When Madrid triumphed in El Clásico in late October, they moved five points ahead at the top. They had triumphed in twelve out of thirteen competitive games, although the defeat was emphatic: 5-2 at Atlético. It also exposed fissures. Replaced in the 72nd minute, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, reportedly threatening to leave the club. In a letter a few days later he expressed regret to all apart from Alonso. From the club's leadership, rather than backing the coach, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Strains Coming to Light

Behind the scenes, the conclusion was clear: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Asked here if he would repeat that decision, Alonso answered: “I don’t know what that question is for. If I see in the moment that I have to take a decision on the pitch, I do.” Tensions had been brought to the surface, a separation between manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The components weren't meshing as they should. A familiar lament began to surface about all the instructions, the film sessions, the extended practices. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Over a week after the clásico, Madrid were beaten by Liverpool, starting a sequence of two wins in seven. When adopting a straightforward approach, they overcame Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those drew at Rayo, Elche and Girona. Belatedly, talks were held to mend divisions or at least paper over the issues, to bring calm. Focus was directed at the footballers for the first time.

A Short-Lived Rapprochement

In Bilbao, where they had been assembled a day early, it seemed some compromise had been reached; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. Rapprochement was displayed when Vinícius greeted the manager as he departed. A couple of days' rest followed. Subsequently, though, Celta defeated them and so it falls apart once more.

That it is public knowledge that Alonso’s future is on the line is as important as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be denied, but it is deliberate. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about injuries and unfairness, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: an absence of character, poor commitment, a lack of organization.

The Coach: The Most Obvious Solution

But the most vulnerable point, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the on-pitch performance, overshadowed the preparation to this game. However much the man who is still Madrid’s manager kept trying to refocus on the match, which he did with virtually all his replies. The most concise reply he gave might have been the most telling, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the entire team was behind him, Alonso replied in a single word: “yes.”

“Managing Real Madrid doesn't involve transforming the culture; it requires fitting in,” Alonso added. “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 collective, a club, that goes hand in hand, and when attention was turned to the question of endorsement or the deficit from above, he commented: “Communication [with the hierarchy] is constant, and it comes from confidence, unity and affection. We’re all together in this. We’re mentally ready to face everything that comes: the team is united, convinced that we can win tomorrow, no one has any doubts about that. It is the Champions League. We are at the Bernabéu. The atmosphere will be special. That creates a different energy, including in the players.”