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“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” Xabi Alonso stated emphatically, perhaps protesting a tad forcefully. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” he added on the morning before Manchester City visit once more the Santiago Bernabéu for a new meeting of a very modern classic. “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 chance is an obligation, too.

Emergency Discussions After Desperate Loss at the Bernabéu

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was in plentiful company. Into the early hours, crisis talks persisted, the club’s hierarchy drawing their own conclusions after a mere one victory in five league games. Their analyses were not the same and while drastic decisions are being postponed, tolerance has limits, the names of candidates already circulating. “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,” the French midfielder remarked. “Losing by two goals to Celta points to a deficiency in our performance, not the coach's planning.”

A Rapid Descent After Initial Promise

City will be his twenty-eighth match in charge of Madrid and it could be his last at a club where a crisis is never more than a couple of defeats away, where even ties are unacceptable, and there’s invariably another candidate who can coach. Things have indeed evolved rapidly, even if the seeds of the problem were there from the start. Hailed as a structured planner, precisely the required remedy after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was counter-cultural at a squad-centric organization.

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 stormed off down the tunnel, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a statement a few days later he apologised to everyone except Alonso. Institutionally, rather than supporting the trainer, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Tensions Brought to the Surface

Internally, the conclusion was evident: Alonso ought not to have substituted Vinícius off. Pressed on the issue if he would do that again, Alonso responded: “I am unsure of the purpose of that query. If, in the moment, I believe a decision is required on the field, I will make it.” Tensions had been laid bare, a separation between manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The pieces weren’t fitting as they should. A familiar lament began to surface about all the directives, the video analysis, the long sessions. 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 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 shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been assembled a day early, it seemed some middle ground had been reached; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. Rapprochement was displayed when Vinícius greeted the manager as he departed. A brief break followed. A few days after, though, Celta beat them and so it falls apart once more.

That it is public knowledge that Alonso’s future is in doubt is as important 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 player absences and unfairness, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: no identity, a deficient mentality, a lack of organization.

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 virtually all his replies. The shortest answer he gave might have been the most telling, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the whole squad was behind him, Alonso replied in a solitary term: “yes.”

“Being Madrid manager is not about changing [the culture]; it is about adapting,” Alonso continued. “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 unit, a club, that goes hand in hand, and when attention was turned to the question of endorsement or the deficit from above, he commented: “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.”