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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” the Real Madrid coach insisted, possibly asserting somewhat excessively. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he added on the morning before the English champions step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest meeting of a frequent heavyweight clash. “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”. A defeat and things could change immediately, and permanently: this opportunity is an duty, too.

Crisis Talks After Desperate Loss at the Bernabéu

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was far from the only one. Into the early hours, urgent meetings persisted, the club’s leadership forming their own opinions after a single win in five league games. Their assessments were not the same and while drastic decisions remain on hold, tolerance has limits, 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 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,” the French midfielder remarked. “Losing by two goals to Celta points to a deficiency in our performance, not the coach's planning.”

A Quick Descent After Initial Promise

City will be his twenty-eighth match in charge of Madrid and it could be his last 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 seeds of the problem were there from the start. Sold as a tactical disciplinarian, precisely the required remedy after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was an anomaly at a star-driven institution.

When Madrid secured victory against Barcelona in late October, they established a five-point lead at the top. They had triumphed in twelve out of thirteen competitive games, although the defeat was emphatic: 5-2 at Atlético. It also revealed cracks. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior stormed off down the tunnel, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a letter a few days later he apologised to everyone except Alonso. Institutionally, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was radio silence.

Tensions Emerging

Behind the scenes, the assessment was evident: Alonso ought not to have substituted Vinícius off. Asked here if he would do that again, Alonso replied: “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.” Strains had been laid bare, a separation between coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The puzzle pieces weren't aligning as they should. A common complaint began to surface about all the instructions, the film sessions, the extended practices. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

More than a week after the clásico, Madrid were defeated at Anfield, beginning a run of two wins in seven. When adopting a straightforward approach, they overcame Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those were held by Rayo, Elche and Girona. Belatedly, talks were held to repair cracks or at least paper over the issues, to bring calm. Focus was directed at the footballers for the first time.

A Short-Lived Reconciliation

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. A brief break followed. Subsequently, though, Celta overcame them and so it falls apart once more.

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 player absences and injustice, not even truly believing his own words, Madrid were awful against Celta: no identity, no attitude, no structure.

The Coach: The Easiest Target

But the most vulnerable point, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the sporting matters, 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 virtually all his replies. The shortest answer he gave might have been the most revealing, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the complete roster was behind him, Alonso replied in a solitary term: “yes.”

“Being Madrid manager is not about changing [the culture]; it is about adapting,” 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 alone that Alonso talked of a unit, a club, that goes hand in hand, and when attention was turned to the question of support or the lack of it from above, he replied: “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.”