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“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” the manager declared, possibly affirming a tad forcefully. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he remarked on the morning before Manchester City step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest edition of a contemporary rivalry. “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 change immediately, and for good: this chance is an obligation, too.

Urgent Meetings After Poor Setback

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was in plentiful company. Into the early hours, crisis talks continued, the club’s hierarchy forming their own opinions after a single win in five league games. Their assessments were different and while severe measures are being postponed, patience is finite, the names of candidates already out. “One must confront such circumstances, but my focus is solely on the match, on elements within my power,” Alonso commented

“For sure the coach had a good plan but, in the end we, the players, are the ones on the pitch,” one of the squad's leaders stated. “If we lost 2-0 to Celta, there’s a problem that’s on us: it’s not the coach’s fault.”

A Swift Decline After Initial Promise

City will be his twenty-eighth outing in charge of Madrid and it may prove to be his farewell at a club where a state of emergency is always just two losses around the corner, where even sharing points is insufficient, and there’s invariably another candidate who can coach. Things have indeed evolved rapidly, even if the origins of the trouble were there from the start. Hailed as a structured planner, exactly what they needed after a season of permissiveness and underachievement, Alonso was a cultural shock at a star-driven institution.

When Madrid secured victory against Barcelona in late October, they opened a five-point gap at the top. They had triumphed in twelve out of thirteen competitive games, although the loss had been heavy: 5-2 at Atlético. It also exposed fissures. Replaced in the 72nd minute, Vinícius Júnior marched straight down the tunnel, reportedly threatening to leave the club. In a missive a few days later he apologised to everyone except Alonso. From the club's leadership, rather than backing the coach, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Tensions Coming to Light

Within the dressing room, the verdict was evident: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Questioned on this point if he would make the same call, Alonso responded: “The intent behind that question eludes me. When a situation on the pitch demands a choice, I make it.” Tensions had been laid bare, a rift between coach and some players. 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?!

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. Belatedly, talks were held to repair cracks or at least paper over the issues, to restore tranquility. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Truce

In Bilbao, where they had been brought together a day early, it seemed some agreement had been reached; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. A thawing of relations was displayed when Vinícius greeted the manager as he departed. A brief break 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 in doubt is as notable as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be rebutted, but it is calculated. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about injuries and unfairness, not even truly convincing himself, Madrid were awful against Celta: an absence of character, no attitude, no structure.

The Coach: The Easiest Target

But the most vulnerable point, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the on-pitch performance, dominated the buildup 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 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 entire team was behind him, Alonso replied in a one word: “yes.”

“Managing Real Madrid doesn't involve transforming the culture; it requires fitting in,” 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 by himself that Alonso talked of a unit, a club, that goes hand in hand, 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.”