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“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” Xabi Alonso declared, maybe affirming somewhat excessively. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he added on the day before Manchester City return to the Santiago Bernabéu for another 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.” Losing and things could change immediately, and definitively: this chance is an imperative, too.

Urgent Meetings After Dismal Loss at the Bernabéu

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. Long after the final whistle, urgent meetings persisted, the club’s board forming their own opinions after a mere one victory in five league games. Their assessments were divergent and while severe measures are being postponed, patience is finite, the names of potential replacements already out. “One must confront such circumstances, but my focus is solely on the match, on elements within my power,” Alonso said here

“Certainly the trainer devised an effective approach, but when it comes down to it, the players execute on the field,” the French midfielder remarked. “Losing by two goals to Celta points to a deficiency in our performance, not the coach's planning.”

A Swift Descent After Initial Success

City will be his twenty-eighth outing in charge of Madrid and it may prove to be his farewell at a club where a state of emergency is perpetually looming after a few setbacks, where even sharing points is insufficient, and there’s always someone else who can coach. Things have indeed evolved rapidly, even if the roots of the crisis were there from the start. Sold as a structured planner, the ideal solution after a season of permissiveness and underachievement, Alonso was an anomaly at a players’ club.

When Madrid triumphed in El Clásico in late October, they moved five points ahead 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. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior marched straight down the tunnel, seemingly ready to quit 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 radio silence.

Frictions Brought to the Surface

Internally, the conclusion was obvious: Alonso ought not to have substituted Vinícius off. Questioned on this point if he would make the same call, Alonso answered: “The intent behind that question eludes me. When a situation on the pitch demands a choice, I make it.” Frictions had been laid bare, a rift between coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had voiced his discontent openly. The pieces weren’t fitting as they should. A typical grievance began to emerge about all the orders, the videos, the lengthy training. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Over a week after the clásico, Madrid were beaten by Liverpool, beginning a run of two wins in seven. Capable of a more direct style, they beat Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those were held by Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to fix fault lines or at least cover cracks, to establish peace. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Short-Lived Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been assembled a day early, it seemed some agreement had been found; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. Reconciliation was orchestrated when Vinícius embraced the 44-year-old as he departed. Two days off followed. A few days after, though, Celta defeated them and so it disintegrates anew.

That it is known 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 calculated. 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 awful against Celta: no identity, poor commitment, an absence of tactical shape.

The Coach: The Most Obvious Solution

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 bring it back to the match, which he did with virtually all his replies. 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.”

“Managing Real Madrid doesn't involve transforming the culture; it requires fitting in,” Alonso added. “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 alone that Alonso talked of a collective, a club, that goes together, and when attention was turned to the question of backing or its absence from above, he commented: “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.”