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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” the Real Madrid coach insisted, possibly affirming a tad forcefully. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he added on the eve before Manchester City return to the Santiago Bernabéu for a new edition of a very modern classic. “I am eager for what lies ahead, beginning tomorrow, a chance to transform the frustration. Our sole focus is City. In this sport, whether good or bad, situations evolve rapidly.” Losing and things could change immediately, and definitively: this moment is an imperative, too.

Crisis Talks After Poor Loss at the Bernabéu

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso said he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Long after the final whistle, emergency discussions continued, the club’s leadership drawing their own conclusions after a single win in five league games. Their analyses were divergent and while radical changes are being postponed, tolerance has limits, the names of possible successors already circulating. “One must confront such circumstances, but my focus is solely on the match, on elements within my power,” 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 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 Initial Success

City will be his twenty-eighth outing in charge of Madrid and it may prove to be his farewell at a club where a crisis is always just two losses around the corner, where even ties are unacceptable, and there’s invariably another candidate who can coach. Things have indeed shifted swiftly, even if the origins of the trouble were there from the start. Presented as a tactical disciplinarian, exactly what they needed after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was counter-cultural 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 triumphed in twelve out of thirteen competitive games, although the defeat was emphatic: 5-2 at Atlético. It also highlighted flaws. Taken off after 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, reportedly threatening to leave the club. In a letter a few days later he apologised to everyone except Alonso. Institutionally, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Tensions Emerging

Behind the scenes, the assessment was evident: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Asked here if he would do that again, Alonso responded: “The intent behind that question eludes me. When a situation on the pitch demands a choice, I make it.” Frictions had been laid bare, a separation between manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had expressed his irritation publicly. The puzzle pieces weren't aligning as they should. A familiar lament 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, starting a sequence of two wins in seven. Able to play direct, they defeated Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those tied with Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to fix fault lines or at least mask the problems, to bring calm. Focus turned on the footballers for the first time.

A Temporary Truce

In Bilbao, where they had been assembled a day early, it seemed some compromise had been found; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. A thawing of relations was staged when Vinícius embraced the 44-year-old as he departed. Two days off followed. Subsequently, though, Celta defeated them and so it unravels again.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is under scrutiny is as notable as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be denied, but it is intentional. 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 dreadful against Celta: a lack of style, no attitude, an absence of tactical shape.

The Gaffer: The Most Obvious Solution

But the simplest fix, 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 virtually all his replies. The briefest response he gave might have been the most telling, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the entire team 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 alone that Alonso talked of a collective, 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 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.”