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“We are a collective, a single entity, and we are all in this as one,” the Real Madrid coach insisted, perhaps protesting a tad forcefully. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” he remarked on the day before Manchester City visit once more the Santiago Bernabéu for a new 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 change immediately, and permanently: this opportunity is an duty, too.

Urgent Meetings After Desperate Setback

Following Madrid’s utterly disappointing 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was far from the only one. Late into the night, emergency discussions carried on, the club’s leadership reaching their own verdicts after a single win in five league games. Their diagnoses were not the same and while radical changes remain on hold, patience is finite, 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

“Undoubtedly the manager prepared a solid strategy, but ultimately, we the footballers are the ones performing,” one of the squad's leaders stated. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Rapid Deterioration After Early Success

City will be his twenty-eighth outing in charge of Madrid and it could be his last at a club where a crisis is always just two losses around the corner, where even draws will not do, and there’s invariably another candidate who can coach. Things have indeed shifted swiftly, even if the roots of the crisis were there from the start. Sold as a systems coach, the ideal solution after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was an anomaly at a players’ club.

When Madrid secured victory against Barcelona in late October, they opened a five-point gap at the top. They had secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the loss had been heavy: 5-2 at Atlético. It also revealed cracks. Taken off after 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior stormed off down the tunnel, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a letter a few days later he apologised to everyone except Alonso. From the club's leadership, rather than supporting the trainer, there was silence.

Strains Brought to the Surface

Behind the scenes, the assessment was clear: 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.” Strains had been laid bare, a separation between coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had expressed his irritation publicly. The puzzle pieces weren't aligning as they should. A typical grievance began to emerge about all the directives, the videos, the lengthy training. 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. When adopting a straightforward approach, they overcame Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those tied with Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to repair cracks or at least mask the problems, to bring calm. Focus was directed at the footballers for the first time.

A Short-Lived Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been gathered a day early, it seemed some compromise had been reached; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. A thawing of relations was orchestrated when Vinícius hugged the 44-year-old as he departed. Two days off followed. Four days later, though, Celta defeated them and so it falls apart once more.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is under scrutiny is as significant as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be rebutted, but it is deliberate. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about player absences and unfairness, not even truly convincing himself, Madrid were terrible against Celta: an absence of character, poor commitment, no structure.

The Gaffer: The Simplest Fix

But the simplest fix, 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 bring it back to 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.”

“The role of Real Madrid coach isn't to alter the culture; it is to adjust,” Alonso stated. “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 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 commented: “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.”