🔗 Share this article

“We are a collective, a single entity, and we are all in this as one,” the Real Madrid coach declared, possibly asserting somewhat excessively. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he added on the eve before Pep Guardiola's side visit once more the Santiago Bernabéu for another instalment of a contemporary rivalry. “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 shift instantly, and permanently: this opportunity is an duty, too.

Emergency Discussions After Desperate Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Late into the night, emergency discussions carried on, the club’s leadership drawing their own conclusions after a solitary triumph in five league games. Their analyses were not the same and while radical changes are temporarily shelved, patience is finite, the names of candidates 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

“Undoubtedly the manager prepared a solid strategy, but ultimately, we the footballers are the ones performing,” the French midfielder remarked. “Losing by two goals to Celta points to a deficiency in our performance, not the coach's planning.”

A Quick Decline After Initial Success

City will be his twenty-eighth outing in charge of Madrid and it could be his last at a club where a state of emergency 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 changed fast, even if the roots of the crisis were there from the start. Hailed as a tactical disciplinarian, the ideal solution after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was an anomaly at a squad-centric organization.

When Madrid won the 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 exposed fissures. 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 apologised to everyone except Alonso. Institutionally, rather than backing the coach, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Frictions Emerging

Internally, the conclusion was evident: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Pressed on the issue if he would repeat that decision, Alonso responded: “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.” Tensions had been laid bare, a separation between coach and some players. 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 instructions, the video analysis, 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. Capable of a more direct style, they overcame Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those were held by Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to repair cracks or at least paper over the issues, to restore tranquility. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Short-Lived Truce

In Bilbao, where they had been brought together a day early, it seemed some agreement had been found; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. Rapprochement was orchestrated when Vinícius greeted the manager as he departed. A brief break followed. Four days later, though, Celta defeated them and so it falls apart once more.

That it is public knowledge that Alonso’s future is on the line is as notable as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be disputed, 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 convincing himself, Madrid were awful against Celta: a lack of style, no attitude, a lack of organization.

The Gaffer: The Easiest Target

But the most vulnerable point, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the sporting matters, was the central theme to this game. However much the man who is still Madrid’s manager kept trying to redirect attention 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 whole squad was behind him, Alonso replied in a single word: “yes.”

“The role of Real Madrid coach isn't to alter the culture; it is to adjust,” Alonso continued. “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 collective, a club, that goes together, and when attention was turned to the question of endorsement or the deficit from above, he replied: “Dialogue with the leadership is ongoing, founded on trust, togetherness, and mutual respect. We are all united in this endeavor. We are psychologically prepared for any challenge: the squad is unified, certain of victory tomorrow, without a shadow of doubt. This is the Champions League. We are playing at the Bernabéu. The environment will be electric. That generates a unique dynamism, even among the players.”