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“We are a collective, a single entity, and we are all in this as one,” the manager insisted, possibly protesting somewhat excessively. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” he continued on the morning before Manchester City visit once more the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest edition of a very modern classic. “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.” A defeat and things could alter for good, and definitively: this moment is an obligation, too.

Crisis Talks After Dismal Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was far from the only one. Long after the final whistle, urgent meetings persisted, the club’s leadership drawing their own conclusions after a single win in five league games. Their analyses were not the same and while drastic decisions are temporarily shelved, patience is finite, the names of candidates already out. “These are scenarios you must deal with, yet my mind is fixed only on the game, on what I can influence,” 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,” the French midfielder said. “If we lost 2-0 to Celta, there’s a problem that’s on us: it’s not the coach’s fault.”

A Swift Descent After Early Success

City will be his 28th game in charge of Madrid and it might be his final one at a club where a turmoil 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 origins of the trouble were there from the start. Sold as a structured planner, precisely the required remedy after a season of permissiveness and underachievement, Alonso was counter-cultural at a players’ club.

When Madrid secured victory against Barcelona in late October, they established a five-point lead 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. Taken off after 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior stormed off down the tunnel, reportedly threatening to leave the club. In a letter a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. At the executive level, rather than supporting the trainer, there was radio silence.

Strains Coming to Light

Internally, the conclusion was obvious: Alonso ought not to have substituted Vinícius off. Pressed on the issue if he would make the same call, Alonso responded: “The intent behind that question eludes me. When a situation on the pitch demands a choice, I make it.” Strains had been exposed, a rift between manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had voiced his discontent openly. The puzzle pieces weren't aligning as they should. A typical grievance began to emerge about all the directives, the video analysis, the extended practices. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Nine days after the clásico, Madrid were overcome at Liverpool, starting a sequence of two wins in seven. Capable of a more direct style, they defeated Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those drew at Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to repair cracks or at least mask the problems, to restore tranquility. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Short-Lived Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been brought together a day early, it seemed some compromise had been reached; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. Reconciliation was displayed when Vinícius greeted the 44-year-old as he departed. A couple of days' rest followed. A few days after, though, Celta beat them and so it disintegrates anew.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is on the line is as important as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be denied, 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 believing his own words, Madrid were terrible against Celta: a lack of style, a deficient mentality, an absence of tactical shape.

The Gaffer: The Most Obvious Solution

But the most vulnerable point, 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 almost every response. The briefest response he gave might have been the most revealing, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the whole squad was behind him, Alonso replied in a single word: “yes.”

“The role of Real Madrid coach isn't to alter the culture; it is to adjust,” Alonso stated. “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 alone that Alonso talked of a unit, a club, that goes together, and when attention was turned to the question of endorsement or the deficit from above, he replied: “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.”