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“We are a collective, a single entity, and we are all in this as one,” the Real Madrid coach insisted, maybe protesting somewhat excessively. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he remarked on the eve before the English champions return to the Santiago Bernabéu for another edition of a contemporary rivalry. “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.” Failure and things could shift instantly, and permanently: this opportunity is an imperative, too.

Emergency Discussions After Poor Setback

Following Madrid’s utterly disappointing 2-0 loss at their own stadium on Sunday, Alonso said he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was not alone. Into the early hours, crisis talks continued, the club’s leadership drawing their own conclusions after a solitary triumph in five league games. Their diagnoses were divergent and while drastic decisions are being postponed, tolerance has limits, the names of possible successors already in the public domain. “One must confront such circumstances, but my focus is solely on the match, on elements within my power,” Alonso said here

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

A Quick Deterioration After Early Success

City will be his 28th game in charge of Madrid and it could be his last at a club where a turmoil is always just two losses around the corner, where even sharing points is insufficient, and there’s perpetually an alternative who can coach. Things have indeed changed fast, even if the roots of the crisis were there from the start. Sold as a systems coach, exactly what they needed after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was a cultural shock at a star-driven institution.

When Madrid secured victory against Barcelona in late October, they moved five points ahead at the top. They had won 12 of 13 competitive games, although the setback was significant: 5-2 at Atlético. It also highlighted flaws. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior stormed off down the tunnel, seemingly ready to quit the club. In a missive a few days later he expressed regret to all apart from Alonso. At the executive level, rather than backing the coach, there was silence.

Tensions Emerging

Behind the scenes, the assessment was evident: Alonso was wrong to remove Vinícius off. Asked here 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.” Strains had been exposed, a separation between coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had voiced his discontent openly. The puzzle pieces weren't aligning as they should. A familiar lament began to surface about all the instructions, the video analysis, the long sessions. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

More than a week after the clásico, Madrid were overcome at Liverpool, beginning a run of two wins in seven. Able to play direct, they defeated Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those drew at Rayo, Elche and Girona. After a delay, talks were held to mend divisions or at least mask the problems, to restore tranquility. Focus turned on the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Rapprochement

In Bilbao, where they had been gathered a day early, it seemed some compromise had been found; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. Reconciliation was orchestrated when Vinícius hugged the manager as he departed. Two days off 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 important as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be disputed, but it is calculated. 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 awful against Celta: an absence of character, no attitude, no structure.

The Coach: The Most Obvious Solution

But the most vulnerable point, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the on-pitch performance, 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 almost every response. The most concise reply he gave might have been the most significant, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the whole squad was behind him, Alonso replied in a solitary term: “yes.”

“Managing Real Madrid doesn't involve transforming the culture; it requires fitting in,” Alonso added. “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 team, a club, that goes in unison, and when attention was turned to the question of support or the lack of it 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.”