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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” Xabi Alonso stated emphatically, possibly protesting a little too much. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he remarked on the day before the English champions return to the Santiago Bernabéu for a new instalment of a very modern classic. “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.” Failure and things could change immediately, and definitively: this chance is an obligation, too.

Emergency Discussions After Poor Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was not alone. Late into the night, crisis talks continued, the club’s hierarchy reaching their own verdicts after a solitary triumph in five league games. Their assessments were divergent and while radical changes remain on hold, tolerance has limits, the names of candidates already in the public domain. “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,” Aurélien Tchouaméni stated. “If we lost 2-0 to Celta, there’s a problem that’s on us: it’s not the coach’s fault.”

A Quick 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 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 evolved rapidly, even if the roots of the crisis were there from the start. Presented as a systems coach, precisely the required remedy after a season of permissiveness and underachievement, Alonso was a cultural shock at a players’ club.

When Madrid triumphed in El Clásico in late October, they moved five points ahead at the top. They had won 12 of 13 competitive games, although the defeat was emphatic: 5-2 at Atlético. It also revealed cracks. Substituted on 72 minutes, 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. At the executive level, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was silence.

Frictions Emerging

Within the dressing room, the verdict was clear: Alonso was wrong to remove Vinícius off. Pressed on the issue if he would do that again, 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 disconnect between trainer and a portion of the team. Federico Valverde too had voiced his discontent openly. The puzzle pieces weren't aligning as they should. A common complaint began to emerge about all the directives, the videos, the extended practices. 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. Able to play direct, they beat Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those drew at Rayo, Elche and Girona. After a delay, talks were held to repair cracks 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 reached; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. A thawing of relations was staged when Vinícius greeted the 44-year-old as he departed. A brief break followed. Four days later, though, Celta overcame them and so it disintegrates anew.

That it is known that Alonso’s future is in doubt is as notable as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be rebutted, 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: no identity, no attitude, a lack of organization.

The Coach: The Easiest Target

But the weakest link, 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 redirect attention to the match, which he did with virtually all his replies. The shortest answer he gave might have been the most telling, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the entire team was behind him, Alonso replied in a one word: “yes.”

“Being Madrid manager is not about changing [the culture]; it is about adapting,” Alonso added. “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 in unison, and when attention was turned to the question of endorsement or the deficit from above, he commented: “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.”