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“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” the Real Madrid coach stated emphatically, maybe protesting somewhat excessively. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” he added on the morning before Pep Guardiola's side visit once more the Santiago Bernabéu for a new instalment of a frequent heavyweight clash. “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.” Failure and things could change immediately, and for good: this chance is an obligation, too.

Crisis Talks After Poor Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso said he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Into the early hours, crisis talks continued, the club’s hierarchy reaching their own verdicts after a solitary triumph in five league games. Their diagnoses were not the same and while radical changes are being postponed, patience is finite, the names of potential replacements 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 commented

“Certainly the trainer devised an effective approach, but when it comes down to it, the players execute on the field,” the French midfielder said. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Rapid Decline After Initial Success

City will be his twenty-eighth match 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 perpetually an alternative who can coach. Things have indeed shifted swiftly, even if the seeds of the problem were there from the start. Sold as a tactical disciplinarian, precisely the required remedy after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was counter-cultural at a squad-centric organization.

When Madrid triumphed in El Clásico in late October, they established a five-point lead at the top. They had triumphed in twelve out of thirteen competitive games, although the setback was significant: 5-2 at Atlético. It also exposed fissures. Taken off after 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior marched straight down the tunnel, seemingly ready to quit the club. In a letter a few days later he expressed regret to all apart from Alonso. From the club's leadership, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was radio silence.

Strains Coming to Light

Within the dressing room, the verdict was evident: Alonso was wrong to remove Vinícius off. Questioned on this point if he would make the same call, Alonso answered: “The intent behind that question eludes me. When a situation on the pitch demands a choice, I make it.” Frictions had been exposed, a disconnect between manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had voiced his discontent openly. The pieces weren’t fitting as they should. A familiar lament began to slip out about all the orders, the videos, the lengthy training. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Nine days after the clásico, Madrid were beaten by Liverpool, starting a sequence of two wins in seven. When adopting a straightforward approach, they beat Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those tied with Rayo, Elche and Girona. Belatedly, talks were held to mend divisions or at least mask the problems, to establish peace. Focus turned on the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Rapprochement

In Bilbao, where they had been gathered a day early, it seemed some agreement had been reached; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. Reconciliation was staged when Vinícius embraced the 44-year-old as he departed. A brief break followed. A few days after, though, Celta beat them and so it disintegrates anew.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is under scrutiny is as significant as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be rebutted, but it is deliberate. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about fitness issues and bad luck, not even truly convincing himself, Madrid were awful against Celta: a lack of style, poor commitment, no structure.

The Gaffer: The Simplest Fix

But the most vulnerable point, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the sporting matters, overshadowed the preparation to this game. However much the man who is still Madrid’s manager kept trying to redirect attention to the match, which he did with virtually all his replies. The briefest response he gave might have been the most significant, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the entire team was behind him, Alonso replied in a one word: “yes.”

“Being Madrid manager is not about changing [the culture]; it is about adapting,” Alonso continued. “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 unit, a club, that goes together, and when attention was turned to the question of backing or its absence from above, he answered: “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.”