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“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” Xabi Alonso declared, maybe affirming a little too much. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he continued on the day before the English champions visit once more the Santiago Bernabéu for another edition of a frequent heavyweight clash. “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.” Losing and things could change immediately, and permanently: this opportunity is an duty, too.

Crisis Talks After Desperate Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s utterly disappointing 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso said he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was in plentiful company. Into the early hours, emergency discussions continued, the club’s board forming their own opinions after a single win in five league games. Their analyses were divergent and while radical changes remain on hold, forbearance is running out, the names of potential replacements 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

“Certainly the trainer devised an effective approach, but when it comes down to it, the players execute on the field,” the French midfielder said. “If we lost 2-0 to Celta, there’s a problem that’s on us: it’s not the coach’s fault.”

A Swift Decline After Early Success

City will be his twenty-eighth match 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 sharing points is insufficient, and there’s perpetually an alternative who can coach. Things have indeed shifted swiftly, even if the seeds of the problem were there from the start. Hailed as a structured planner, exactly what they needed after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was counter-cultural 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 secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the defeat was emphatic: 5-2 at Atlético. It also revealed cracks. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior stormed off down the tunnel, reportedly threatening to leave the club. In a statement a few days later he expressed regret to all apart from Alonso. At the executive level, rather than supporting the trainer, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Frictions Coming to Light

Internally, the verdict was clear: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Questioned on this point if he would make the same call, Alonso replied: “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.” Tensions had been brought to the surface, a separation between manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had expressed his irritation publicly. The puzzle pieces weren't aligning as they should. A typical grievance began to surface about all the instructions, the video analysis, the extended practices. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Nine days after the clásico, Madrid were beaten by Liverpool, starting a sequence of two wins in seven. When adopting a straightforward approach, they beat Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those drew at Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to repair cracks or at least cover cracks, to restore tranquility. Focus turned on the footballers for the first time.

A Temporary Rapprochement

In Bilbao, where they had been assembled a day early, it seemed some agreement had been found; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. Reconciliation was orchestrated when Vinícius greeted the 44-year-old as he departed. A brief break followed. Four days later, though, Celta beat them and so it disintegrates anew.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is on the line is as important as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be rebutted, but it is calculated. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about player absences and unfairness, not even truly convincing himself, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: a lack of style, poor commitment, an absence of tactical shape.

The Manager: The Most Obvious Solution

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 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 complete roster was behind him, Alonso replied in a solitary term: “yes.”

“Managing Real Madrid doesn't involve transforming the culture; it requires fitting in,” 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 support or the lack of it 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.”