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“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” Xabi Alonso declared, perhaps asserting a tad forcefully. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he remarked on the day before the English champions visit once more the Santiago Bernabéu for a new instalment 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”. Losing and things could shift instantly, and permanently: this chance is an obligation, too.

Urgent Meetings After Desperate Loss at the Bernabéu

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 loss at their own stadium on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Into the early hours, urgent meetings persisted, the club’s board reaching their own verdicts after a single win in five league games. Their diagnoses were different and while drastic decisions are temporarily shelved, tolerance has limits, the names of potential replacements 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,” the French midfielder stated. “If we lost 2-0 to Celta, there’s a problem that’s on us: it’s not the coach’s fault.”

A Rapid Descent After Initial Success

City will be his 28th game in charge of Madrid and it may prove to be his farewell at a club where a turmoil is never more than a couple of defeats away, where even sharing points is insufficient, and there’s always someone else who can coach. Things have indeed changed fast, even if the origins of the trouble were there from the start. Presented as a systems coach, 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 opened a five-point gap at the top. They had triumphed in twelve out of thirteen competitive games, although the setback was significant: 5-2 at Atlético. It also exposed fissures. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior stormed off down the tunnel, seemingly ready to quit the club. In a missive a few days later he apologised to everyone except Alonso. From the club's leadership, rather than supporting the trainer, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Tensions Brought to the Surface

Behind the scenes, the conclusion was obvious: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Pressed on the issue if he would repeat that decision, Alonso responded: “The intent behind that question eludes me. When a situation on the pitch demands a choice, I make it.” Strains had been laid bare, a separation between manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had expressed his irritation publicly. The pieces weren’t fitting as they should. A common complaint began to slip out about all the instructions, the videos, the extended practices. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Nine days after the clásico, Madrid were overcome at Liverpool, beginning a run of two wins in seven. Able to play direct, they beat Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those tied with Rayo, Elche and Girona. Belatedly, talks were held to repair cracks or at least paper over the issues, to establish peace. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Truce

In Bilbao, where they had been brought together a day early, it seemed some agreement had been reached; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. A thawing of relations was displayed when Vinícius hugged the manager as he departed. A brief break followed. Four days later, though, Celta beat them and so it disintegrates anew.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is on the line is as notable 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 injustice, not even truly convincing himself, Madrid were awful against Celta: an absence of character, poor commitment, no structure.

The Gaffer: The Simplest Fix

But the weakest link, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the actual football, dominated the buildup to this game. However much the man who is still Madrid’s manager kept trying to bring it back to the match, which he did with nearly each answer. The briefest response he gave might have been the most revealing, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the whole squad was behind him, Alonso replied in a solitary term: “yes.”

“Managing Real Madrid doesn't involve transforming the culture; it requires fitting in,” Alonso stated. “We understand the ethos of Real Madrid thoroughly; it's what makes it the globe's greatest club. One must adjust, absorb knowledge, engage with the squad. Certain days bring success, others less so. We must confront this with vigor and optimism; it's the sole path to reversal.”

It was when he was asked if he felt by himself that Alonso talked of a team, 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.”