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“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” the manager insisted, maybe protesting a little too much. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” he remarked on the day before Manchester City return to the Santiago Bernabéu for a new instalment 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.” Losing and things could change immediately, and definitively: this opportunity is an duty, too.

Urgent Meetings After Desperate Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 loss at their own stadium on Sunday, Alonso said he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Long after the final whistle, emergency discussions continued, the club’s hierarchy forming their own opinions after a single win in five league games. Their analyses were different and while drastic decisions remain on hold, forbearance is running out, the names of potential replacements already circulating. “One must confront such circumstances, but my focus is solely on the match, on elements within my power,” Alonso stated in the press conference

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

A Rapid Decline After Early Success

City will be his twenty-eighth outing in charge of Madrid and it could be his last at a club where a turmoil is always just two losses around the corner, where even draws will not do, and there’s invariably another candidate who can coach. Things have indeed shifted swiftly, even if the seeds of the problem were there from the start. Presented as a structured planner, exactly what they needed after a season of permissiveness and underachievement, Alonso was counter-cultural at a squad-centric organization.

When Madrid won the clásico in late October, they moved five points ahead 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. Replaced in the 72nd minute, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, reportedly threatening to leave the club. In a statement a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. At the executive level, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Strains Brought to the Surface

Internally, the assessment was evident: Alonso was wrong to remove Vinícius off. Asked here 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 brought to the surface, a disconnect between trainer and a portion of the team. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The pieces weren’t fitting as they should. A common complaint began to emerge about all the orders, the video analysis, the lengthy training. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

More than a week after the clásico, Madrid were overcome at Liverpool, beginning a run of two wins in seven. Able to play direct, they overcame Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those were held by Rayo, Elche and Girona. Belatedly, talks were held to fix fault lines or at least mask the problems, to restore tranquility. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Truce

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

That it is known that Alonso’s future is in doubt is as notable as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be disputed, 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 terrible against Celta: an absence of character, no attitude, an absence of tactical shape.

The Manager: The Most Obvious Solution

But the simplest fix, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the actual football, was the central theme 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 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.”

“Being Madrid manager is not about changing [the culture]; it is about adapting,” 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 in unison, 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.”