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“We are a collective, a single entity, and we are all in this as one,” the manager declared, perhaps protesting somewhat excessively. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he continued on the day before Pep Guardiola's side visit once more the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest meeting of a frequent heavyweight clash. “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”. A defeat and things could shift instantly, and for good: this opportunity is an obligation, too.

Urgent Meetings After Poor Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 loss at their own stadium on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was far from the only one. Long after the final whistle, crisis talks continued, the club’s board reaching their own verdicts after a solitary triumph in five league games. Their assessments were different and while radical changes are being postponed, tolerance has limits, 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 commented

“Certainly the trainer devised an effective approach, but when it comes down to it, the players execute on the field,” Aurélien Tchouaméni 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 Initial 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 state of emergency is always just two losses around the corner, where even draws will not do, and there’s always someone else who can coach. Things have indeed changed fast, even if the roots of the crisis were there from the start. Sold as a structured planner, the ideal solution after a season of permissiveness and underachievement, Alonso was counter-cultural at a star-driven institution.

When Madrid won the clásico in late October, they established a five-point lead at the top. They had triumphed in twelve out of thirteen competitive games, although the loss had been heavy: 5-2 at Atlético. It also highlighted flaws. Replaced in the 72nd minute, 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. Institutionally, rather than backing the coach, there was radio silence.

Frictions Emerging

Internally, the verdict was obvious: Alonso was wrong to remove Vinícius off. Questioned on this point if he would make the same call, Alonso responded: “I don’t know what that question is for. If I see in the moment that I have to take a decision on the pitch, I do.” Strains had been laid bare, a disconnect between trainer and a portion of the team. Federico Valverde too had expressed his irritation publicly. The puzzle pieces weren't aligning as they should. A common complaint began to emerge about all the instructions, the film sessions, the long sessions. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

More than a week after the clásico, Madrid were beaten by Liverpool, beginning a run of two wins in seven. Able to play direct, they beat Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those drew at Rayo, Elche and Girona. Belatedly, talks were held to repair cracks or at least mask the problems, to restore tranquility. Focus turned on the footballers for the first time.

A Temporary Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been gathered a day early, it seemed some middle ground had been established; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. Reconciliation was staged when Vinícius greeted the 44-year-old as he departed. A brief break followed. Subsequently, though, Celta overcame them and so it falls apart once more.

That it is known that Alonso’s future is under scrutiny is as significant as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be disputed, but it is calculated. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about fitness issues and unfairness, not even truly believing his own words, Madrid were terrible against Celta: an absence of character, poor commitment, an absence of tactical shape.

The Coach: The Simplest Fix

But the most vulnerable point, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the on-pitch performance, 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 virtually all his replies. The briefest response he gave might have been the most revealing, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the entire team was behind him, Alonso replied in a one word: “yes.”

“Managing Real Madrid doesn't involve transforming the culture; it requires fitting in,” Alonso added. “We know the culture of Real Madrid pretty well; that is why it is the biggest club in the world. You have to adapt, learn a lot, interact with the players. Some days are good, some not so good. We have to face that with energy and positivity, that is the only way to turn things around.”

It was when he was asked if he felt alone that Alonso talked of a collective, 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.”