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“We are a collective, a single entity, and we are all in this as one,” the Real Madrid coach insisted, possibly affirming a tad forcefully. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he added on the morning before Manchester City step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for a new 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 shift instantly, and definitively: this moment is an duty, too.

Urgent Meetings After Dismal Loss at the Bernabéu

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso said he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was far from the only one. Late into the night, crisis talks carried on, the club’s board forming their own opinions after a solitary triumph in five league games. Their assessments were different and while severe measures remain on hold, tolerance has limits, the names of potential replacements already circulating. “One must confront such circumstances, but my focus is solely on the match, on elements within my power,” Alonso said here

“For sure the coach had a good plan but, in the end we, the players, are the ones on the pitch,” the French midfielder said. “If we lost 2-0 to Celta, there’s a problem that’s on us: it’s not the coach’s fault.”

A Swift Deterioration After Early Promise

City will be his twenty-eighth outing in charge of Madrid and it could be his last at a club where a state of emergency 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 shifted swiftly, even if the origins of the trouble were there from the start. Hailed as a tactical disciplinarian, exactly what they needed after a season of permissiveness and underachievement, Alonso was counter-cultural at a players’ club.

When Madrid secured victory against Barcelona in late October, they opened a five-point gap at the top. They had secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the loss had been heavy: 5-2 at Atlético. It also revealed cracks. Replaced in the 72nd minute, Vinícius Júnior marched straight down the tunnel, reportedly threatening to leave the club. In a statement a few days later he expressed regret to all apart from Alonso. At the executive level, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was radio silence.

Tensions Brought to the Surface

Behind the scenes, the verdict was obvious: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Pressed on the issue if he would make the same call, Alonso responded: “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.” Frictions had been brought to the surface, a separation between manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had expressed his irritation publicly. The components weren't meshing as they should. A typical grievance began to emerge about all the orders, the videos, the lengthy training. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Over a week after the clásico, Madrid were beaten by Liverpool, starting a sequence of two wins in seven. Capable of a more direct style, they overcame Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those drew at Rayo, Elche and Girona. After a delay, talks were held to mend divisions or at least mask the problems, to bring calm. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Temporary Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been assembled a day early, it seemed some compromise had been found; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. Reconciliation was displayed when Vinícius hugged the 44-year-old as he departed. A brief break 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 on the line is as notable as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be denied, but it is intentional. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about player absences and bad luck, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: no identity, no attitude, an absence of tactical shape.

The Manager: The Most Obvious Solution

But the simplest fix, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the sporting matters, dominated the buildup 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 most concise reply he gave might have been the most revealing, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the entire team 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. “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 in unison, and when attention was turned to the question of support or the lack of it from above, he answered: “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.”