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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” Xabi Alonso declared, perhaps asserting somewhat excessively. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he remarked on the morning before the English champions step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for another instalment 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 shift instantly, and definitively: this opportunity is an imperative, too.

Urgent Meetings After Poor Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso said he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was far from the only one. Long after the final whistle, crisis talks carried on, the club’s board forming their own opinions after a single win in five league games. Their analyses were different and while severe measures remain on hold, patience is finite, the names of possible successors already out. “One must confront such circumstances, but my focus is solely on the match, on elements within my power,” 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,” Aurélien Tchouaméni stated. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Rapid Deterioration After Initial Success

City will be his twenty-eighth match in charge of Madrid and it might be his final one at a club where a state of emergency is never more than a couple of defeats away, where even ties are unacceptable, and there’s perpetually an alternative 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, the ideal solution after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was counter-cultural at a players’ club.

When Madrid won the clásico in late October, they opened a five-point gap at the top. They had triumphed in twelve out of thirteen competitive games, although the setback was significant: 5-2 at Atlético. It also exposed fissures. Replaced in the 72nd minute, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, reportedly threatening to leave the club. In a letter a few days later he expressed regret to all apart from Alonso. Institutionally, rather than supporting the trainer, there was silence.

Strains Coming to Light

Internally, the assessment was obvious: Alonso was wrong to remove Vinícius off. Pressed on the issue if he would make the same call, 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 exposed, a rift 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 slip out about all the instructions, the film sessions, the lengthy training. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Over a week after the clásico, Madrid were defeated at Anfield, starting a sequence of two wins in seven. When adopting a straightforward approach, they beat Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those drew at Rayo, Elche and Girona. After a delay, talks were held to fix fault lines or at least paper over the issues, to establish peace. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Rapprochement

In Bilbao, where they had been brought together a day early, it seemed some agreement had been found; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. Rapprochement was displayed when Vinícius greeted the manager as he departed. A brief break followed. Subsequently, though, Celta overcame them and so it falls apart once more.

That it is understood 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 calculated. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about injuries and bad luck, not even truly convincing himself, Madrid were terrible against Celta: no identity, a deficient mentality, an absence of tactical shape.

The Gaffer: 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 nearly each answer. The shortest answer 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 single word: “yes.”

“Being Madrid manager is not about changing [the culture]; it is about adapting,” Alonso added. “We know the culture of Real Madrid pretty well; that is why it is the biggest club in the world. You have to adapt, learn a lot, interact with the players. Some days are good, some not so good. We have to face that with energy and positivity, that is the only way to turn things around.”

It was when he was asked if he felt isolated that Alonso talked of a team, a club, that goes hand in hand, and when attention was turned to the question of endorsement or the deficit from above, he answered: “Our contact with the board is continuous, stemming from belief, solidarity, and care. We stand as one in this situation. Our mindset is geared to confront all obstacles: the team is cohesive, fully believing we can triumph tomorrow, with absolute certainty. It's the Champions League. The Bernabéu is our stage. The ambiance will be unforgettable. That fosters a distinct vitality, particularly within the squad.”