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“We are a collective, a single entity, and we are all in this as one,” the Real Madrid coach declared, maybe protesting a little too much. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he continued on the day before Pep Guardiola's side step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for another 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 for good: this chance is an duty, too.

Urgent Meetings After Desperate Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was in plentiful company. Into the early hours, emergency discussions carried on, the club’s leadership forming their own opinions after a mere one victory in five league games. Their analyses were different and while radical changes are being postponed, patience is finite, the names of potential replacements already out. “These are scenarios you must deal with, yet my mind is fixed only on the game, on what I can influence,” Alonso said here

“For sure the coach had a good plan but, in the end we, the players, are the ones on the pitch,” Aurélien Tchouaméni stated. “Losing by two goals to Celta points to a deficiency in our performance, not the coach's planning.”

A Rapid Descent After Initial Success

City will be his 28th game in charge of Madrid and it may prove to be his farewell at a club where a turmoil is perpetually looming after a few setbacks, where even ties are unacceptable, and there’s invariably another candidate who can coach. Things have indeed shifted swiftly, even if the seeds of the problem were there from the start. Hailed as a structured planner, exactly what they needed after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was a cultural shock at a players’ club.

When Madrid won the clásico in late October, they opened a five-point gap at the top. They had secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the setback was significant: 5-2 at Atlético. It also exposed fissures. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior marched straight down the tunnel, seemingly ready to quit the club. In a missive a few days later he expressed regret to all apart from Alonso. Institutionally, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was silence.

Frictions Coming to Light

Internally, the verdict was evident: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Pressed on the issue if he would repeat that decision, 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.” Frictions had been brought to the surface, a disconnect between trainer and a portion of the team. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The components weren't meshing as they should. A typical grievance began to slip out about all the directives, the film sessions, the extended practices. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Over 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 drew at Rayo, Elche and Girona. After a delay, talks were held to fix fault lines or at least mask the problems, to restore tranquility. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Short-Lived Truce

In Bilbao, where they had been gathered a day early, it seemed some middle ground had been reached; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. Rapprochement was staged when Vinícius hugged the manager as he departed. A brief break followed. Four days later, though, Celta overcame them and so it unravels again.

That it is public knowledge that Alonso’s future is under scrutiny is as notable as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be rebutted, but it is calculated. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about injuries and injustice, not even truly convincing himself, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: no identity, no attitude, an absence of tactical shape.

The Manager: The Most Obvious Solution

But the most vulnerable point, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the sporting matters, was the central theme to this game. However much the man who is still Madrid’s manager kept trying to redirect attention to the match, which he did with almost every response. The briefest response 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.”

“Managing Real Madrid doesn't involve transforming the culture; it requires fitting in,” 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 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.”