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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” the manager declared, possibly asserting somewhat excessively. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he continued on the morning before Pep Guardiola's side return to the Santiago Bernabéu for another edition of a contemporary rivalry. “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 moment is an obligation, too.

Emergency Discussions After Desperate Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Into the early hours, crisis talks carried on, the club’s leadership forming their own opinions after a mere one victory in five league games. Their analyses were divergent and while severe measures are being postponed, forbearance is running out, the names of possible successors already in the public domain. “You have to face those situations but my head’s only on the game, things I can control,” Alonso stated in the press conference

“Undoubtedly the manager prepared a solid strategy, but ultimately, we the footballers are the ones performing,” the French midfielder stated. “If we lost 2-0 to Celta, there’s a problem that’s on us: it’s not the coach’s fault.”

A Rapid Decline After Initial 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 always just two losses around the corner, where even draws will not do, and there’s perpetually an alternative who can coach. Things have indeed evolved rapidly, even if the seeds of the problem were there from the start. Sold as a tactical disciplinarian, the ideal solution after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was an anomaly 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 secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the defeat was emphatic: 5-2 at Atlético. It also revealed cracks. Replaced in the 72nd minute, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, seemingly ready to quit the club. In a letter a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. Institutionally, rather than backing the coach, there was silence.

Strains Brought to the Surface

Internally, the assessment was evident: Alonso ought not to have substituted Vinícius off. Pressed on the issue if he would do that again, Alonso replied: “The intent behind that question eludes me. When a situation on the pitch demands a choice, I make it.” Frictions had been exposed, a rift 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 slip out about all the orders, the film sessions, the long sessions. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

More than a week after the clásico, Madrid were overcome at Liverpool, initiating a spell of two wins in seven. Capable of a more direct style, they defeated Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those tied with Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to mend divisions or at least cover cracks, to establish peace. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Temporary Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been gathered a day early, it seemed some agreement had been found; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. Rapprochement was displayed when Vinícius greeted the manager as he departed. A couple of days' rest followed. Four days later, though, Celta beat them and so it unravels again.

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 denied, but it is calculated. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about fitness issues and injustice, not even truly believing his own words, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: no identity, a deficient mentality, an absence of tactical shape.

The Gaffer: 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 refocus on the match, which he did with nearly each answer. 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.”

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