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“We are a collective, a single entity, and we are all in this as one,” the manager declared, maybe asserting a little too much. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he added on the day before Pep Guardiola's side step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest edition of a frequent heavyweight clash. “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 change immediately, and permanently: this moment is an imperative, too.

Crisis Talks After Dismal Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was not alone. Long after the final whistle, emergency discussions carried on, the club’s hierarchy forming their own opinions after a single win in five league games. Their diagnoses were divergent and while radical changes are being postponed, tolerance has limits, the names of possible successors already in the public domain. “You have to face those situations but my head’s only on the game, things I can control,” Alonso said here

“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. “Losing by two goals to Celta points to a deficiency in our performance, not the coach's planning.”

A Rapid Deterioration After Initial Success

City will be his twenty-eighth outing in charge of Madrid and it might be his final one at a club where a crisis is perpetually looming after a few setbacks, where even sharing points is insufficient, 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. Hailed as a structured planner, exactly what they needed after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was an anomaly at a star-driven institution.

When Madrid won the clásico in late October, they established a five-point lead at the top. They had secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the setback was significant: 5-2 at Atlético. It also exposed fissures. Taken off after 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a missive a few days later he apologised to everyone except Alonso. From the club's leadership, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Strains Emerging

Internally, the conclusion was obvious: Alonso was wrong to remove Vinícius off. Questioned on this point 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.” Tensions had been exposed, a rift between manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had voiced his discontent openly. The pieces weren’t fitting as they should. A typical grievance began to surface about all the orders, the film sessions, 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. When adopting a straightforward approach, they defeated Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those tied with Rayo, Elche and Girona. Belatedly, talks were held to repair cracks or at least cover cracks, to bring calm. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Temporary Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been assembled a day early, it seemed some agreement had been reached; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. Rapprochement was staged when Vinícius greeted the coach as he departed. Two days off followed. Subsequently, though, Celta beat them and so it disintegrates anew.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is on the line is as significant 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 fitness issues and bad luck, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: an absence of character, poor commitment, no structure.

The Coach: The Easiest Target

But the most vulnerable point, 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 refocus on the match, which he did with nearly each answer. The briefest response he gave might have been the most telling, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the whole squad 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. “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 by himself that Alonso talked of a team, a club, that goes together, and when attention was turned to the question of backing or its absence from above, he replied: “Dialogue with the leadership is ongoing, founded on trust, togetherness, and mutual respect. We are all united in this endeavor. We are psychologically prepared for any challenge: the squad is unified, certain of victory tomorrow, without a shadow of doubt. This is the Champions League. We are playing at the Bernabéu. The environment will be electric. That generates a unique dynamism, even among the players.”