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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” the Real Madrid coach stated emphatically, perhaps protesting a tad forcefully. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he added on the eve before Manchester City visit once more the Santiago Bernabéu for a new edition of a very modern classic. “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 alter for good, and definitively: this opportunity is an imperative, too.

Crisis Talks After Dismal Loss at the Bernabéu

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 loss at their own stadium on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was not alone. Long after the final whistle, urgent meetings continued, the club’s hierarchy reaching their own verdicts after a mere one victory in five league games. Their assessments were divergent and while radical changes are temporarily shelved, tolerance has limits, the names of possible successors already out. “These are scenarios you must deal with, yet my mind is fixed only on the game, on what I can influence,” Alonso stated in the press conference

“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. “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 twenty-eighth outing 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 invariably another candidate who can coach. Things have indeed evolved rapidly, even if the roots of the crisis 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 won 12 of 13 competitive games, although the loss had been heavy: 5-2 at Atlético. It also exposed fissures. Taken off after 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior marched straight down the tunnel, seemingly ready to quit the club. In a statement a few days later he apologised to everyone except Alonso. From the club's leadership, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was radio silence.

Frictions Brought to the Surface

Within the dressing room, the conclusion was obvious: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Pressed on the issue if he would do that again, 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.” Frictions had been brought to the surface, a separation between manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had voiced his discontent openly. The puzzle pieces weren't aligning as they should. A common complaint began to surface about all the orders, the videos, the long sessions. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Over a week after the clásico, Madrid were overcome at Liverpool, starting a sequence of two wins in seven. Able to play direct, they overcame Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those drew at Rayo, Elche and Girona. Belatedly, talks were held to fix fault lines or at least cover cracks, to restore tranquility. Focus turned on the footballers for the first time.

A Short-Lived Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been brought together a day early, it seemed some middle ground had been established; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. A thawing of relations was orchestrated when Vinícius hugged the coach as he departed. Two days off followed. Four days later, though, Celta overcame them and so it unravels again.

That it is known that Alonso’s future is under scrutiny is as important 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 player absences and unfairness, not even truly believing his own words, Madrid were awful against Celta: an absence of character, no attitude, no structure.

The Gaffer: The Easiest Target

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 bring it back to the match, which he did with nearly each answer. The most concise reply he gave might have been the most significant, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the complete roster 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 isolated that Alonso talked of a team, a club, that goes together, 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.”