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“We are a collective, a single entity, and we are all in this as one,” the Real Madrid coach stated emphatically, perhaps asserting a little too much. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he added on the eve before the English champions return to the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest 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.” Losing and things could shift instantly, and for good: this opportunity is an obligation, too.

Urgent Meetings After Desperate Setback

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 loss at their own stadium on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was not alone. Into the early hours, urgent meetings carried on, the club’s leadership drawing their own conclusions after a single win in five league games. Their assessments were different and while severe measures remain on hold, forbearance is running out, the names of candidates already out. “These are scenarios you must deal with, yet my mind is fixed only on the game, on what I can influence,” Alonso said here

“Certainly the trainer devised an effective approach, but when it comes down to it, the players execute on the field,” the French midfielder remarked. “If we lost 2-0 to Celta, there’s a problem that’s on us: it’s not the coach’s fault.”

A Rapid Decline After Initial Promise

City will be his 28th game in charge of Madrid and it could be his last at a club where a turmoil 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. Presented as a tactical disciplinarian, the ideal solution after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was counter-cultural at a players’ club.

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 loss had been heavy: 5-2 at Atlético. It also highlighted flaws. Taken off after 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a letter a few days later he apologised to everyone except Alonso. From the club's leadership, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was radio silence.

Strains Coming to Light

Internally, the conclusion was evident: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Pressed on the issue if he would make the same call, Alonso answered: “The intent behind that question eludes me. When a situation on the pitch demands a choice, I make it.” Frictions had been laid bare, a disconnect between trainer and a portion of the team. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The puzzle pieces weren't aligning as they should. A typical grievance began to slip out about all the instructions, the videos, the long sessions. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

More than a week after the clásico, Madrid were defeated at Anfield, starting a sequence of two wins in seven. Capable of a more direct style, they beat 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 paper over the issues, to restore tranquility. Focus turned on the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been assembled a day early, it seemed some agreement had been established; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. Reconciliation was displayed when Vinícius hugged the manager as he departed. A couple of days' rest followed. A few days after, though, Celta overcame them and so it unravels again.

That it is public knowledge that Alonso’s future is under scrutiny 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 injuries and bad luck, not even truly convincing himself, Madrid were awful against Celta: an absence of character, a deficient mentality, no structure.

The Manager: The Most Obvious Solution

But the weakest link, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the actual football, overshadowed the preparation to this game. However much the man who is still Madrid’s manager kept trying to refocus on the match, which he did with virtually all his replies. The shortest answer 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.”

“The role of Real Madrid coach isn't to alter the culture; it is to adjust,” Alonso continued. “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 alone that Alonso talked of a collective, a club, that goes together, 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.”