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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 a little too much. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” he continued on the morning before Pep Guardiola's side 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.” A defeat and things could change immediately, and definitively: this opportunity is an duty, too.

Emergency Discussions After Desperate Setback

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso said he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was not alone. Late into the night, urgent meetings persisted, the club’s hierarchy drawing their own conclusions after a mere one victory in five league games. Their assessments were divergent and while severe measures remain on hold, patience is finite, the names of candidates already out. “You have to face those situations but my head’s only on the game, things I can control,” Alonso said here

“Undoubtedly the manager prepared a solid strategy, but ultimately, we the footballers are the ones performing,” the French midfielder stated. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Rapid Descent After Initial Promise

City will be his twenty-eighth outing in charge of Madrid and it might be his final one 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 invariably another candidate 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, exactly what they needed after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was counter-cultural at a squad-centric organization.

When Madrid won the clásico in late October, they opened a five-point gap at the top. They had secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the defeat was emphatic: 5-2 at Atlético. It also highlighted flaws. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior stormed off down the tunnel, seemingly ready to quit the club. In a letter a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. At the executive level, rather than supporting the trainer, there was radio silence.

Tensions Coming to Light

Behind the scenes, the verdict was evident: Alonso was wrong to remove Vinícius off. Pressed on the issue if he would make the same call, Alonso answered: “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 brought to the surface, a separation between coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The components weren't meshing as they should. A common complaint began to surface about all the orders, the video analysis, the long sessions. 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 overcame Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those were held by Rayo, Elche and Girona. Belatedly, talks were held to mend divisions or at least paper over the issues, to bring calm. Focus was directed at the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Truce

In Bilbao, where they had been assembled a day early, it seemed some middle ground had been established; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. Reconciliation was orchestrated when Vinícius greeted the 44-year-old as he departed. A couple of days' rest followed. Subsequently, though, Celta overcame them and so it disintegrates anew.

That it is public knowledge that Alonso’s future is in doubt is as important 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 player absences and unfairness, not even truly believing his own words, Madrid were awful against Celta: a lack of style, a deficient mentality, no structure.

The Manager: The Easiest Target

But the weakest link, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the sporting matters, 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 complete roster 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 added. “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 by himself that Alonso talked of a unit, a club, that goes together, and when attention was turned to the question of support or the lack of it 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.”