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“We are a collective, a single entity, and we are all in this as one,” the Real Madrid coach insisted, maybe protesting a tad forcefully. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he continued on the eve before Pep Guardiola's side return to the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest meeting of a very modern classic. “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 shift instantly, and permanently: this chance is an duty, too.

Urgent Meetings After Poor Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was far from the only one. Late into the night, crisis talks continued, the club’s board drawing their own conclusions after a mere one victory in five league games. Their diagnoses were not the same and while severe measures remain on hold, tolerance has limits, the names of candidates already circulating. “One must confront such circumstances, but my focus is solely on the match, on elements within my power,” Alonso commented

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

A Rapid Descent After Early 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 never more than a couple of defeats away, where even ties are unacceptable, and there’s always someone else who can coach. Things have indeed changed fast, even if the seeds of the problem were there from the start. Presented as a tactical disciplinarian, the ideal solution after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was counter-cultural at a players’ club.

When Madrid won the clásico 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 exposed fissures. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior marched straight down the tunnel, reportedly threatening to leave the club. In a missive a few days later he apologised to everyone except Alonso. Institutionally, rather than backing the coach, there was radio silence.

Frictions Coming to Light

Within the dressing room, the conclusion was evident: Alonso was wrong to remove Vinícius off. Asked here if he would repeat that decision, 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.” Strains had been exposed, a separation between coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had voiced his discontent openly. The pieces weren’t fitting as they should. A familiar lament began to surface about all the directives, the videos, the lengthy training. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

More than a week after the clásico, Madrid were beaten by Liverpool, initiating a spell of two wins in seven. When adopting a straightforward approach, they overcame Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those tied with Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to mend divisions or at least cover cracks, to restore tranquility. Focus turned on the footballers for the first time.

A Temporary Truce

In Bilbao, where they had been gathered a day early, it seemed some middle ground had been found; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. Reconciliation was displayed when Vinícius greeted the 44-year-old as he departed. A brief break followed. A few days after, though, Celta overcame them and so it unravels again.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is in doubt is as important as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be disputed, but it is calculated. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about injuries and unfairness, not even truly convincing himself, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: no identity, no attitude, an absence of tactical shape.

The Coach: The Simplest Fix

But the weakest link, 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 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 one word: “yes.”

“The role of Real Madrid coach isn't to alter the culture; it is to adjust,” 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 by himself that Alonso talked of a unit, a club, that goes together, and when attention was turned to the question of support or the lack of it 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.”