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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” Xabi Alonso declared, perhaps affirming a tad forcefully. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” he added on the eve before Pep Guardiola's side visit once more the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest instalment of a very modern classic. “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.” Failure and things could alter for good, and permanently: this opportunity is an obligation, too.

Crisis Talks After Dismal Loss at the Bernabéu

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 loss at their own stadium on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was not alone. Into the early hours, crisis talks continued, the club’s leadership reaching their own verdicts after a mere one victory in five league games. Their assessments were not the same and while severe measures remain on hold, patience is finite, the names of candidates already circulating. “These are scenarios you must deal with, yet my mind is fixed only on the game, on what I can influence,” Alonso commented

“For sure the coach had a good plan but, in the end we, the players, are the ones on the pitch,” the French midfielder 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 twenty-eighth match 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 ties are unacceptable, and there’s perpetually an alternative who can coach. Things have indeed shifted swiftly, even if the seeds of the problem were there from the start. Hailed as a systems coach, precisely the required remedy after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was an anomaly at a squad-centric organization.

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 revealed cracks. Replaced in the 72nd minute, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a statement a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. Institutionally, rather than supporting the trainer, there was radio silence.

Frictions Brought to the Surface

Within the dressing room, the verdict was obvious: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Asked here if he would do that again, 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.” Tensions had been brought to the surface, a rift between trainer and a portion of the team. Federico Valverde too had expressed his irritation publicly. The puzzle pieces weren't aligning as they should. A familiar lament began to emerge about all the directives, the videos, the extended practices. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Nine days after the clásico, Madrid were beaten by Liverpool, initiating a spell of two wins in seven. Able to play direct, 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 mask the problems, to establish peace. Focus was directed at 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 found; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. Reconciliation was orchestrated when Vinícius hugged the coach as he departed. Two days off followed. A few days after, though, Celta defeated them and so it unravels again.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is in doubt is as significant as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be denied, but it is deliberate. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about fitness issues and unfairness, not even truly believing his own words, Madrid were awful against Celta: no identity, poor commitment, no structure.

The Manager: The Easiest Target

But the simplest fix, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the sporting matters, dominated the buildup to this game. However much the man who is still Madrid’s manager kept trying to redirect attention to the match, which he did with virtually all his replies. The most concise reply he gave might have been the most telling, 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 collective, a club, that goes in unison, and when attention was turned to the question of backing or its absence from above, he commented: “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.”