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“We are a collective, a single entity, and we are all in this as one,” the Real Madrid coach insisted, maybe protesting a little too much. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he remarked on the morning before Manchester City visit once more the Santiago Bernabéu for a new instalment 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.” Failure and things could alter for good, and for good: this chance is an obligation, too.

Emergency Discussions After Desperate Loss at the Bernabéu

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Long after the final whistle, crisis talks carried on, the club’s board forming their own opinions after a solitary triumph in five league games. Their diagnoses were divergent and while drastic decisions are temporarily shelved, 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 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,” Aurélien Tchouaméni stated. “Losing by two goals to Celta points to a deficiency in our performance, not the coach's planning.”

A Rapid Decline After Initial Success

City will be his twenty-eighth outing in charge of Madrid and it could be his last at a club where a turmoil is perpetually looming after a few setbacks, where even sharing points is insufficient, and there’s invariably another candidate who can coach. Things have indeed changed fast, even if the seeds of the problem were there from the start. Hailed as a structured planner, the ideal solution after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was a cultural shock at a players’ club.

When Madrid won the clásico in late October, they moved five points ahead at the top. They had triumphed in twelve out of thirteen competitive games, although the setback was significant: 5-2 at Atlético. It also highlighted flaws. 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. From the club's leadership, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was silence.

Tensions Brought to the Surface

Internally, the conclusion was obvious: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Asked here if he would do that again, Alonso answered: “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 disconnect between coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The pieces weren’t fitting as they should. A familiar lament began to slip out about all the directives, the film sessions, the extended practices. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Nine days after the clásico, Madrid were defeated at Anfield, starting a sequence of two wins in seven. Capable of a more direct style, they beat Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those tied with Rayo, Elche and Girona. Belatedly, talks were held to fix fault lines or at least paper over the issues, to bring calm. Focus turned on the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Truce

In Bilbao, where they had been assembled a day early, it seemed some agreement had been established; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. A thawing of relations was staged when Vinícius greeted the coach as he departed. A couple of days' rest followed. A few days after, 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 significant as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be rebutted, but it is intentional. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about injuries and unfairness, not even truly convincing himself, Madrid were awful against Celta: no identity, no attitude, no structure.

The Manager: 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 nearly each answer. The shortest answer 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 solitary term: “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 isolated that Alonso talked of a collective, a club, that goes together, and when attention was turned to the question of endorsement or the deficit from above, he replied: “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.”