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“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” the Real Madrid coach insisted, perhaps affirming a little too much. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” he remarked on the day before the English champions visit once more the Santiago Bernabéu for another edition 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.” A defeat and things could change immediately, and definitively: this opportunity is an obligation, too.

Crisis Talks After Desperate Setback

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Into the early hours, crisis talks continued, the club’s leadership forming their own opinions after a solitary triumph in five league games. Their assessments were not the same and while radical changes remain on hold, tolerance has limits, the names of possible successors already out. “One must confront such circumstances, but my focus is solely on the match, on elements within my power,” Alonso stated in the press conference

“For sure the coach had a good plan but, in the end we, the players, are the ones on the pitch,” one of the squad's leaders remarked. “Losing by two goals to Celta points to a deficiency in our performance, not the coach's planning.”

A Swift Descent 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 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 shifted swiftly, even if the seeds of the problem were there from the start. Hailed as a structured planner, the ideal solution after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was an anomaly at a star-driven institution.

When Madrid triumphed in El Clásico in late October, they established a five-point lead 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. Replaced in the 72nd minute, Vinícius Júnior stormed off down the tunnel, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a missive a few days later he apologised to everyone except Alonso. From the club's leadership, rather than backing the coach, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Frictions Brought to the Surface

Behind the scenes, the conclusion was evident: Alonso was wrong to remove Vinícius off. Questioned on this point if he would make the same call, Alonso answered: “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 rift between trainer and a portion of the team. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The components weren't meshing as they should. A common complaint began to emerge about all the orders, the videos, the extended practices. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Nine days after the clásico, Madrid were defeated at Anfield, beginning a run 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. Eventually, talks were held to mend divisions or at least paper over the issues, to bring calm. Focus was directed at the footballers for the first time.

A Short-Lived 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 hugged the 44-year-old as he departed. A brief break followed. Subsequently, though, Celta beat 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 denied, but it is deliberate. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about fitness issues and injustice, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: a lack of style, a deficient mentality, no structure.

The Coach: The Simplest Fix

But the simplest fix, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the actual football, 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 briefest response he gave might have been the most significant, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the entire team was behind him, Alonso replied in a single word: “yes.”

“Managing Real Madrid doesn't involve transforming the culture; it requires fitting in,” 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 team, a club, that goes hand in hand, and when attention was turned to the question of support or the lack of it from above, he commented: “Our contact with the board is continuous, stemming from belief, solidarity, and care. We stand as one in this situation. Our mindset is geared to confront all obstacles: the team is cohesive, fully believing we can triumph tomorrow, with absolute certainty. It's the Champions League. The Bernabéu is our stage. The ambiance will be unforgettable. That fosters a distinct vitality, particularly within the squad.”