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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” the Real Madrid coach declared, possibly affirming somewhat excessively. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he remarked on the day before the English champions step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for a new meeting of a frequent heavyweight clash. “I anticipate the challenge ahead, starting tomorrow—an opening to redirect the disappointment. Our minds are fixed solely on City. Football, for better or worse, is a game of swift changes.” Failure and things could alter for good, and for good: this moment is an duty, too.

Emergency Discussions After Desperate Setback

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was far from the only one. Into the early hours, crisis talks carried on, the club’s hierarchy drawing their own conclusions after a single win in five league games. Their analyses were divergent and while severe measures remain on hold, 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 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. “If we lost 2-0 to Celta, there’s a problem that’s on us: it’s not the coach’s fault.”

A Quick Deterioration After Initial Promise

City will be his 28th game in charge of Madrid and it may prove to be his farewell 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 perpetually an alternative who can coach. Things have indeed changed fast, even if the seeds of the problem were there from the start. Sold as a tactical disciplinarian, exactly what they needed after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was a cultural shock at a star-driven institution.

When Madrid secured victory against Barcelona in late October, they established a five-point lead at the top. They had won 12 of 13 competitive games, although the loss had been heavy: 5-2 at Atlético. It also highlighted flaws. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, seemingly ready to quit the club. In a letter a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. At the executive level, rather than supporting the trainer, there was silence.

Tensions Emerging

Within the dressing room, the assessment was clear: Alonso was wrong to remove Vinícius off. Asked here if he would make the same call, Alonso replied: “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.” Frictions had been brought to the surface, a rift between manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had expressed his irritation publicly. The pieces weren’t fitting as they should. A typical grievance began to slip out 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, initiating a spell of two wins in seven. When adopting a straightforward approach, they beat Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those were held by Rayo, Elche and Girona. After a delay, talks were held to mend divisions or at least cover cracks, to restore tranquility. 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 compromise had been found; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. Rapprochement was displayed when Vinícius hugged the manager as he departed. A brief break followed. A few days after, though, Celta defeated them and so it falls apart once more.

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 injuries and unfairness, not even truly believing his own words, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: an absence of character, poor commitment, an absence of tactical shape.

The Manager: The Easiest Target

But the weakest link, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the sporting matters, 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 most concise reply he gave might have been the most telling, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the entire team was behind him, Alonso replied in a one word: “yes.”

“Managing Real Madrid doesn't involve transforming the culture; it requires fitting in,” Alonso added. “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 by himself that Alonso talked of a collective, a club, that goes in unison, and when attention was turned to the question of endorsement or the deficit 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.”