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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” the Real Madrid coach declared, maybe affirming a little too much. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” he remarked on the eve before Pep Guardiola's side step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for another edition of a very modern classic. “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”. Losing and things could alter for good, and permanently: this chance is an duty, too.

Emergency Discussions After Dismal Setback

Following Madrid’s utterly disappointing 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso said he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was not alone. Long after the final whistle, urgent meetings continued, the club’s board drawing their own conclusions after a solitary triumph in five league games. Their diagnoses were divergent and while radical changes remain on hold, tolerance has limits, the names of candidates already in the public domain. “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 remarked. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Rapid Deterioration After Early Promise

City will be his 28th game 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 draws will not do, and there’s always someone else who can coach. Things have indeed changed fast, even if the origins of the trouble were there from the start. Presented as a structured planner, exactly what they needed after a season of permissiveness and underachievement, Alonso was a cultural shock at a players’ club.

When Madrid secured victory against Barcelona in late October, they moved five points ahead at the top. They had secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the setback was significant: 5-2 at Atlético. It also revealed cracks. Replaced in the 72nd minute, Vinícius Júnior marched straight down the tunnel, seemingly ready to quit the club. In a letter a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. Institutionally, rather than supporting the trainer, there was silence.

Strains Emerging

Internally, the assessment was evident: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Asked here if he would repeat that decision, Alonso responded: “I don’t know what that question is for. If I see in the moment that I have to take a decision on the pitch, I do.” Frictions had been brought to the surface, a rift between coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had expressed his irritation publicly. The components weren't meshing as they should. A typical grievance began to emerge about all the instructions, the video analysis, the lengthy training. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Nine days after the clásico, Madrid were overcome at Liverpool, starting a sequence of two wins in seven. Capable of a more direct style, they defeated Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those were held by Rayo, Elche and Girona. After a delay, talks were held to fix fault lines or at least paper over the issues, to restore tranquility. Focus was directed at the footballers for the first time.

A Temporary Rapprochement

In Bilbao, where they had been assembled a day early, it seemed some compromise had been established; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. Reconciliation was displayed when Vinícius embraced the manager as he departed. Two days off followed. Four days later, though, Celta overcame 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 calculated. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about injuries and injustice, not even truly convincing himself, Madrid were awful against Celta: an absence of character, poor commitment, no structure.

The Manager: The Simplest Fix

But the weakest link, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the on-pitch performance, overshadowed the preparation 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 virtually all his replies. The most concise reply he gave might have been the most revealing, 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 collective, a club, that goes hand in hand, and when attention was turned to the question of endorsement or the deficit from above, he answered: “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.”