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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” Xabi Alonso stated emphatically, maybe protesting somewhat excessively. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” he remarked on the morning before Manchester City step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest 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”. Losing and things could alter for good, and for good: this moment is an duty, too.

Urgent Meetings After Poor Loss at the Bernabéu

Following Madrid’s utterly disappointing 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso said he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was far from the only one. Late into the night, emergency discussions carried on, the club’s board forming their own opinions after a mere one victory in five league games. Their diagnoses were divergent and while severe measures are temporarily shelved, forbearance is running out, the names of candidates already in the public domain. “You have to face those situations but my head’s only on the game, things I can control,” Alonso commented

“For sure the coach had a good plan but, in the end we, the players, are the ones on the pitch,” Aurélien Tchouaméni said. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Quick Deterioration After Initial Promise

City will be his twenty-eighth outing in charge of Madrid and it could be his last at a club where a crisis is always just two losses around the corner, where even ties are unacceptable, and there’s perpetually an alternative who can coach. Things have indeed evolved rapidly, even if the roots of the crisis were there from the start. Presented as a tactical disciplinarian, precisely the required remedy after a season of permissiveness and underachievement, Alonso was a cultural shock at a players’ club.

When Madrid triumphed in El 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. Replaced in the 72nd minute, Vinícius Júnior stormed off down the tunnel, seemingly ready to quit the club. In a statement a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. Institutionally, rather than supporting the trainer, there was radio silence.

Strains Brought to the Surface

Within the dressing room, the assessment was evident: Alonso ought not to have substituted Vinícius off. Questioned on this point if he would repeat that decision, 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 laid bare, a disconnect between coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had expressed his irritation publicly. The components weren't meshing as they should. A common complaint began to emerge about all the orders, the film sessions, the lengthy training. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Nine days after the clásico, Madrid were overcome at Liverpool, starting a sequence of two wins in seven. When adopting a straightforward approach, they defeated Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those were held by Rayo, Elche and Girona. Belatedly, talks were held to mend divisions or at least mask the problems, to bring calm. Focus was directed at the footballers for the first time.

A Temporary Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been brought together a day early, it seemed some middle ground had been established; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. A thawing of relations was displayed when Vinícius greeted the manager as he departed. Two days off followed. Four days later, though, Celta defeated them and so it disintegrates anew.

That it is known 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 injuries and unfairness, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: no identity, a deficient mentality, an absence of tactical shape.

The Manager: The Simplest Fix

But the simplest fix, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the sporting matters, was the central theme 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 almost every response. The briefest response 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. “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 isolated that Alonso talked of a unit, a club, that goes in unison, 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.”