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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” Xabi Alonso insisted, perhaps protesting somewhat excessively. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he added on the eve before Manchester City visit once more the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest instalment of a frequent heavyweight clash. “I’m looking forward to what’s coming and that starts tomorrow, [an opportunity] to turn round the anger. In our heads, there’s only City. In football, for better or worse, things change quickly”. Failure and things could shift instantly, and definitively: this opportunity is an imperative, too.

Emergency Discussions After Desperate Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was far from the only one. Into the early hours, urgent meetings continued, the club’s leadership reaching their own verdicts after a single win in five league games. Their assessments were not the same and while radical changes remain on hold, tolerance has limits, the names of candidates already in the public domain. “You have to face those situations but my head’s only on the game, things I can control,” Alonso commented

“For sure the coach had a good plan but, in the end we, the players, are the ones on the pitch,” the French midfielder remarked. “If we lost 2-0 to Celta, there’s a problem that’s on us: it’s not the coach’s fault.”

A Rapid Deterioration After Initial Success

City will be his twenty-eighth outing in charge of Madrid and it might be his final one at a club where a crisis is never more than a couple of defeats away, where even sharing points is insufficient, and there’s invariably another candidate who can coach. Things have indeed changed fast, 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 lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was counter-cultural at a players’ club.

When Madrid triumphed in El Clásico in late October, they moved five points ahead at the top. They had won 12 of 13 competitive games, although the setback was significant: 5-2 at Atlético. It also highlighted flaws. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior stormed off down the tunnel, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a letter a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. From the club's leadership, rather than supporting the trainer, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Tensions Brought to the Surface

Internally, the conclusion was evident: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Asked here if he would make the same call, Alonso replied: “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.” Strains had been laid bare, a disconnect 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 slip out about all the directives, the film sessions, the lengthy training. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Nine days after the clásico, Madrid were beaten by Liverpool, beginning a run 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 fix fault lines or at least cover cracks, to restore tranquility. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Temporary Rapprochement

In Bilbao, where they had been assembled a day early, it seemed some middle ground had been found; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. A thawing of relations was orchestrated when Vinícius embraced the coach as he departed. A couple of days' rest followed. Subsequently, though, Celta beat them and so it falls apart once more.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is in doubt 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 player absences and unfairness, not even truly convincing himself, Madrid were awful against Celta: no identity, poor commitment, no structure.

The Gaffer: The Simplest Fix

But the weakest link, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the actual football, dominated the buildup to this game. However much the man who is still Madrid’s manager kept trying to refocus on the match, which he did with almost every response. The briefest response 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 one word: “yes.”

“Managing Real Madrid doesn't involve transforming the culture; it requires fitting in,” Alonso added. “We understand the ethos of Real Madrid thoroughly; it's what makes it the globe's greatest club. One must adjust, absorb knowledge, engage with the squad. Certain days bring success, others less so. We must confront this with vigor and optimism; it's the sole path to reversal.”

It was when he was asked if he felt isolated that Alonso talked of a collective, a club, that goes hand in hand, 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.”