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“We are a collective, a single entity, and we are all in this as one,” the Real Madrid coach stated emphatically, maybe protesting a little too much. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” he added on the day before the English champions step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for a new meeting of a very modern classic. “I am eager for what lies ahead, beginning tomorrow, a chance to transform the frustration. Our sole focus is City. In this sport, whether good or bad, situations evolve rapidly.” Failure and things could shift instantly, and definitively: this chance is an imperative, too.

Emergency Discussions After Dismal Loss at the Bernabéu

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 loss at their own stadium on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was not alone. Into the early hours, emergency discussions persisted, the club’s hierarchy drawing their own conclusions after a single win in five league games. Their assessments were different and while drastic decisions are being postponed, forbearance is running out, the names of possible successors already circulating. “One must confront such circumstances, but my focus is solely on the match, on elements within my power,” Alonso said here

“Certainly the trainer devised an effective approach, but when it comes down to it, the players execute on the field,” one of the squad's leaders said. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Swift Decline After Early Success

City will be his twenty-eighth match in charge of Madrid and it might be his final one 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 always someone else who can coach. Things have indeed shifted swiftly, even if the origins of the trouble were there from the start. Hailed as a systems coach, precisely the required remedy after a season of permissiveness and underachievement, Alonso was a cultural shock at a star-driven institution.

When Madrid triumphed in El Clásico in late October, they opened a five-point gap at the top. They had won 12 of 13 competitive games, although the loss had been heavy: 5-2 at Atlético. It also exposed fissures. Taken off after 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, seemingly ready to quit the club. In a missive a few days later he expressed regret to all apart from Alonso. Institutionally, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was silence.

Frictions Coming to Light

Internally, the assessment was evident: Alonso was wrong to remove Vinícius off. Asked here if he would do that again, Alonso answered: “The intent behind that question eludes me. When a situation on the pitch demands a choice, I make it.” Frictions had been laid bare, a separation between trainer and a portion of the team. Federico Valverde too had expressed his irritation publicly. The pieces weren’t fitting as they should. A typical grievance began to surface about all the orders, the video analysis, the lengthy training. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

More than a week after the clásico, Madrid were overcome at Liverpool, starting a sequence of two wins in seven. Able to play direct, 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 paper over the issues, to restore tranquility. Focus was directed at the footballers for the first time.

A Temporary 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 staged when Vinícius hugged the 44-year-old as he departed. A brief break followed. Subsequently, though, Celta overcame them and so it disintegrates anew.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is under scrutiny 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 fitness issues and bad luck, not even truly believing his own words, Madrid were terrible against Celta: no identity, a deficient mentality, an absence of tactical shape.

The Gaffer: 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 refocus on the match, which he did with almost every response. The briefest response he gave might have been the most significant, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the whole squad was behind him, Alonso replied in a one word: “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 team, 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.”