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“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” the manager declared, perhaps affirming a tad forcefully. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he remarked on the day before the English champions return to the Santiago Bernabéu for a new 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 chance is an obligation, too.

Urgent Meetings After Desperate Setback

Following Madrid’s utterly disappointing 2-0 loss at their own stadium on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was far from the only one. Long after the final whistle, urgent meetings persisted, the club’s leadership reaching their own verdicts after a mere one victory in five league games. Their assessments were divergent and while severe measures are temporarily shelved, tolerance has limits, the names of potential replacements already circulating. “One must confront such circumstances, but my focus is solely on the match, on elements within my power,” Alonso said here

“Certainly the trainer devised an effective approach, but when it comes down to it, the players execute on the field,” one of the squad's leaders remarked. “Losing by two goals to Celta points to a deficiency in our performance, not the coach's planning.”

A Swift Decline After Initial Success

City will be his twenty-eighth match in charge of Madrid and it might be his final one at a club where a turmoil is never more than a couple of defeats away, where even sharing points is insufficient, 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, the ideal solution after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was a cultural shock at a star-driven institution.

When Madrid won the clásico in late October, they moved five points ahead 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. Replaced in the 72nd minute, Vinícius Júnior marched straight down the tunnel, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a statement a few days later he expressed regret to all apart from Alonso. At the executive level, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was silence.

Tensions Coming to Light

Behind the scenes, the assessment was obvious: Alonso was wrong to remove Vinícius off. Asked here if he would do that again, Alonso answered: “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.” Tensions had been laid bare, a rift between manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had voiced his discontent openly. The components weren't meshing as they should. A typical grievance began to slip out about all the orders, the film sessions, the extended practices. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Nine days after the clásico, Madrid were overcome at Liverpool, initiating a spell of two wins in seven. Able to play direct, they beat Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those were held by 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 Truce

In Bilbao, where they had been gathered a day early, it seemed some agreement had been established; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. Reconciliation was displayed when Vinícius embraced the 44-year-old as he departed. Two days off followed. A few days after, though, Celta overcame them and so it falls apart once more.

That it is public knowledge that Alonso’s future is under scrutiny is as important as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be disputed, but it is intentional. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about fitness issues and injustice, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were awful against Celta: an absence of character, poor commitment, no structure.

The Manager: The Most Obvious Solution

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

“Managing Real Madrid doesn't involve transforming the culture; it requires fitting in,” Alonso continued. “The culture of Real Madrid is well-known to us; it's the reason for its status as the world's premier club. Adaptation, continuous learning, and player communication are key. There will be highs and lows. Meeting challenges with drive and a positive mindset is the only route to improvement.”

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 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.”