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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” Xabi Alonso declared, possibly asserting a tad forcefully. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he added on the day before Manchester City return to the Santiago Bernabéu for another edition 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 alter for good, and for good: this moment is an obligation, too.

Urgent Meetings After Desperate Setback

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso said he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was far from the only one. Into the early hours, urgent meetings continued, the club’s leadership reaching their own verdicts after a mere one victory in five league games. Their analyses were divergent and while drastic decisions remain on hold, patience is finite, 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 commented

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

A Swift Deterioration After Initial Success

City will be his twenty-eighth match in charge of Madrid and it might be his final one at a club where a turmoil is never more than a couple of defeats away, where even ties are unacceptable, and there’s perpetually an alternative who can coach. Things have indeed shifted swiftly, even if the roots of the crisis were there from the start. Sold as a structured planner, precisely the required remedy after a season of permissiveness and underachievement, Alonso was a cultural shock at a star-driven institution.

When Madrid won the clásico in late October, they moved five points ahead at the top. They had secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the setback was significant: 5-2 at Atlético. It also revealed cracks. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior marched straight down the tunnel, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a letter a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. Institutionally, rather than supporting the trainer, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Tensions Emerging

Internally, the conclusion was clear: Alonso ought not to have substituted 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.” Strains had been exposed, a disconnect between coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had expressed his irritation publicly. The puzzle pieces weren't aligning as they should. A typical grievance began to slip out about all the instructions, the film sessions, the long sessions. 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. When adopting a straightforward approach, they overcame Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those were held by Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to repair cracks or at least cover cracks, to establish peace. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Rapprochement

In Bilbao, where they had been assembled a day early, it seemed some compromise had been reached; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. Reconciliation was displayed when Vinícius hugged the 44-year-old as he departed. A couple of days' rest followed. Four days later, though, Celta defeated them and so it unravels again.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is in doubt is as notable as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be disputed, but it is deliberate. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about injuries and bad luck, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were terrible against Celta: a lack of style, a deficient mentality, an absence of tactical shape.

The Gaffer: The Easiest Target

But the simplest fix, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the on-pitch performance, 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 nearly each answer. The briefest response 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 single word: “yes.”

“Being Madrid manager is not about changing [the culture]; it is about adapting,” Alonso stated. “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 alone 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: “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.”