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“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” the manager declared, perhaps asserting a little too much. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he remarked on the morning before Pep Guardiola's side return to the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest edition of a frequent heavyweight clash. “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.” A defeat and things could change immediately, and permanently: this chance is an imperative, too.

Emergency Discussions After Dismal Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s utterly disappointing 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was far from the only one. Long after the final whistle, emergency discussions carried on, the club’s hierarchy reaching their own verdicts after a single win in five league games. Their assessments were different and while severe measures remain on hold, forbearance is running out, the names of candidates already in the public domain. “These are scenarios you must deal with, yet my mind is fixed only on the game, on what I can influence,” Alonso commented

“Undoubtedly the manager prepared a solid strategy, but ultimately, we the footballers are the ones performing,” Aurélien Tchouaméni remarked. “If we lost 2-0 to Celta, there’s a problem that’s on us: it’s not the coach’s fault.”

A Rapid Decline After Initial Success

City will be his twenty-eighth match in charge of Madrid and it could be his last at a club where a state of emergency is never more than a couple of defeats away, where even draws will not do, and there’s always someone else who can coach. Things have indeed changed fast, even if the origins of the trouble were there from the start. Hailed as a structured planner, precisely the required remedy 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 opened a five-point gap at the top. They had secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the defeat was emphatic: 5-2 at Atlético. It also highlighted flaws. Replaced in the 72nd minute, Vinícius Júnior marched straight down the tunnel, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a letter a few days later he expressed regret to all apart from Alonso. Institutionally, rather than backing the coach, there was radio silence.

Tensions Coming to Light

Within the dressing room, the assessment was clear: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Asked here if he would make the same call, Alonso responded: “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 exposed, a disconnect between trainer and a portion of the team. Federico Valverde too had voiced his discontent openly. The puzzle pieces weren't aligning as they should. A typical grievance began to slip out about all the instructions, the video analysis, the extended practices. 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. Capable of a more direct style, they overcame Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those drew at Rayo, Elche and Girona. After a delay, talks were held to repair cracks or at least paper over the issues, to establish peace. Focus turned on the footballers for the first time.

A Temporary Rapprochement

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. Reconciliation was orchestrated when Vinícius hugged the manager as he departed. A couple of days' rest followed. A few days after, though, Celta defeated them and so it falls apart once more.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is in doubt 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 injuries and injustice, not even truly convincing himself, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: a lack of style, poor commitment, no structure.

The Gaffer: The Simplest Fix

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 refocus on the match, which he did with virtually all his replies. The shortest answer 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 single word: “yes.”

“Being Madrid manager is not about changing [the culture]; it is about adapting,” 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 isolated 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.”