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“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” the Real Madrid coach declared, possibly asserting a tad forcefully. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” he continued on the eve before Pep Guardiola's side return to the Santiago Bernabéu for another edition 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.” Losing and things could shift instantly, and definitively: this chance is an obligation, too.

Crisis Talks After Dismal Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s utterly disappointing 2-0 loss at their own stadium on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Into the early hours, crisis talks continued, the club’s board forming their own opinions after a mere one victory in five league games. Their assessments were divergent and while severe measures are temporarily shelved, tolerance has limits, the names of possible successors 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

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

A Quick Deterioration 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 crisis is perpetually looming after a few setbacks, where even sharing points is insufficient, and there’s perpetually an alternative who can coach. Things have indeed shifted swiftly, even if the roots of the crisis were there from the start. Presented as a structured planner, the ideal solution after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was an anomaly at a squad-centric organization.

When Madrid won the clásico in late October, they opened a five-point gap at the top. They had won 12 of 13 competitive games, although the defeat was emphatic: 5-2 at Atlético. It also highlighted flaws. Replaced in the 72nd minute, Vinícius Júnior marched straight down the tunnel, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a missive a few days later he apologised to everyone except Alonso. At the executive level, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was silence.

Tensions Emerging

Within the dressing room, the conclusion was clear: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Questioned on this point if he would do that again, Alonso responded: “The intent behind that question eludes me. When a situation on the pitch demands a choice, I make it.” Tensions had been exposed, a separation between manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had voiced his discontent openly. The components weren't meshing as they should. A common complaint began to emerge about all the instructions, the video analysis, the lengthy training. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Nine days 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 drew at Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to repair cracks or at least cover cracks, to establish peace. Focus turned on the footballers for the first time.

A Short-Lived Truce

In Bilbao, where they had been brought together a day early, it seemed some agreement had been reached; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. Rapprochement was displayed when Vinícius hugged the 44-year-old as he departed. A brief break followed. Subsequently, though, Celta beat them and so it disintegrates anew.

That it is known that Alonso’s future is under scrutiny is as important as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be rebutted, but it is calculated. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about player absences and unfairness, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: a lack of style, a deficient mentality, an absence of tactical shape.

The Coach: The Most Obvious Solution

But the most vulnerable point, 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 bring it back to the match, which he did with almost every response. The shortest answer 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.”

“The role of Real Madrid coach isn't to alter the culture; it is to adjust,” Alonso continued. “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 by himself that Alonso talked of a collective, a club, that goes in unison, and when attention was turned to the question of backing or its absence from above, he answered: “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.”