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“We are a collective, a single entity, and we are all in this as one,” the manager insisted, maybe protesting somewhat excessively. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he added 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.” Failure and things could alter for good, and for good: this moment is an imperative, too.

Crisis Talks After Desperate Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was far from the only one. Into the early hours, crisis talks carried on, the club’s hierarchy forming their own opinions after a single win in five league games. Their diagnoses were divergent and while severe measures 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 stated. “Losing by two goals to Celta points to a deficiency in our performance, not the coach's planning.”

A Swift Decline After Initial Success

City will be his twenty-eighth outing 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 ties are unacceptable, and there’s always someone else who can coach. Things have indeed evolved rapidly, even if the seeds of the problem were there from the start. Presented as a systems coach, precisely the required remedy after a season of permissiveness and underachievement, Alonso was counter-cultural at a star-driven institution.

When Madrid triumphed in El Clásico in late October, they opened a five-point gap at the top. They had secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the loss had been heavy: 5-2 at Atlético. It also revealed cracks. Replaced in the 72nd minute, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a statement a few days later he apologised to everyone except Alonso. At the executive level, rather than supporting the trainer, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Tensions Brought to the Surface

Within the dressing room, the assessment was evident: Alonso ought not to have substituted Vinícius off. Asked here if he would make the same call, Alonso answered: “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 brought to the surface, 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 common complaint began to emerge about all the instructions, the film sessions, the extended practices. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

More than a week after the clásico, Madrid were defeated at Anfield, initiating a spell of two wins in seven. Able to play direct, they overcame Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those tied with Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to mend divisions or at least mask the problems, to bring calm. Focus turned on the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Truce

In Bilbao, where they had been brought together a day early, it seemed some agreement had been established; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. Reconciliation was displayed when Vinícius embraced the manager as he departed. Two days off followed. Subsequently, though, Celta overcame them and so it disintegrates anew.

That it is public knowledge 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 bad luck, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: no identity, no attitude, a lack of organization.

The Coach: The Simplest Fix

But the simplest fix, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the sporting matters, 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 most concise reply he gave might have been the most significant, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the complete roster was behind him, Alonso replied in a solitary term: “yes.”

“The role of Real Madrid coach isn't to alter the culture; it is to adjust,” Alonso continued. “The culture of Real Madrid is well-known to us; it's the reason for its status as the world's premier club. Adaptation, continuous learning, and player communication are key. There will be highs and lows. Meeting challenges with drive and a positive mindset is the only route to improvement.”

It was when he was asked if he felt isolated that Alonso talked of a unit, a club, that goes together, and when attention was turned to the question of support or the lack of it 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.”