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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” the Real Madrid coach stated emphatically, maybe protesting somewhat excessively. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he continued on the eve before Manchester City visit once more the Santiago Bernabéu for a new edition of a contemporary rivalry. “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 shift instantly, and definitively: this chance is an obligation, too.

Urgent Meetings After Dismal Setback

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 loss at their own stadium on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was not alone. Long after the final whistle, urgent meetings persisted, the club’s leadership drawing their own conclusions after a solitary triumph in five league games. Their diagnoses were divergent and while severe measures remain on hold, forbearance is running out, the names of candidates already circulating. “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,” one of the squad's leaders stated. “Losing by two goals to Celta points to a deficiency in our performance, not the coach's planning.”

A Swift Deterioration After Early Success

City will be his twenty-eighth match in charge of Madrid and it may prove to be his farewell at a club where a crisis is never more than a couple of defeats away, where even ties are unacceptable, and there’s always someone else who can coach. Things have indeed shifted swiftly, even if the roots of the crisis were there from the start. Presented as a systems coach, exactly what they needed after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was an anomaly at a players’ club.

When Madrid won the clásico in late October, they moved five points ahead at the top. They had secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the setback was significant: 5-2 at Atlético. It also revealed cracks. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior stormed off down the tunnel, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a statement a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. At the executive level, rather than supporting the trainer, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Strains Brought to the Surface

Internally, the conclusion was obvious: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Pressed on the issue if he would make the same call, Alonso replied: “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.” Tensions had been brought to the surface, a disconnect between coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The components weren't meshing as they should. A familiar lament began to emerge about all the directives, the video analysis, the long sessions. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Over a week 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 were held by Rayo, Elche and Girona. After a delay, talks were held to mend divisions or at least paper over the issues, to bring calm. 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 middle ground had been established; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. Reconciliation was orchestrated when Vinícius hugged the manager as he departed. Two days off followed. Subsequently, though, Celta defeated them and so it disintegrates anew.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is on the line is as significant as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be rebutted, but it is intentional. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about player absences and injustice, not even truly believing his own words, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: no identity, a deficient mentality, a lack of organization.

The Manager: The Easiest Target

But the weakest link, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the actual football, overshadowed the preparation 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 most concise reply 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 one word: “yes.”

“Being Madrid manager is not about changing [the culture]; it is about adapting,” 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 team, a club, that goes hand in hand, and when attention was turned to the question of support or the lack of it from above, he replied: “Dialogue with the leadership is ongoing, founded on trust, togetherness, and mutual respect. We are all united in this endeavor. We are psychologically prepared for any challenge: the squad is unified, certain of victory tomorrow, without a shadow of doubt. This is the Champions League. We are playing at the Bernabéu. The environment will be electric. That generates a unique dynamism, even among the players.”