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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” the manager stated emphatically, possibly affirming a little too much. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” 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.” Failure and things could shift instantly, and permanently: this chance is an imperative, too.

Crisis Talks After Poor Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 loss at their own stadium on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was not alone. Into the early hours, urgent meetings carried on, the club’s board reaching their own verdicts after a single win in five league games. Their analyses were different and while drastic decisions remain on hold, patience is finite, the names of possible successors already out. “These are scenarios you must deal with, yet my mind is fixed only on the game, on what I can influence,” Alonso said here

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

A Rapid Deterioration After Initial Success

City will be his 28th game in charge of Madrid and it could be his last at a club where a crisis is always just two losses around the corner, where even ties are unacceptable, and there’s always someone else 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 laissez-faire and failure, 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 won 12 of 13 competitive games, although the loss had been heavy: 5-2 at Atlético. It also revealed cracks. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a statement a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. From the club's leadership, rather than supporting the trainer, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Frictions Coming to Light

Within the dressing room, the verdict was evident: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Asked here 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.” Frictions had been exposed, a separation between coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The pieces weren’t fitting as they should. A common complaint began to slip out about all the directives, the videos, the extended practices. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

More than a week after the clásico, Madrid were defeated at Anfield, starting a sequence 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 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 reached; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. Rapprochement was displayed when Vinícius hugged the coach as he departed. A brief break followed. A few days after, though, Celta defeated them and so it falls apart once more.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is under scrutiny is as important as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be rebutted, but it is deliberate. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about player absences and unfairness, not even truly believing his own words, Madrid were awful against Celta: a lack of style, no attitude, no structure.

The Coach: The Simplest Fix

But the weakest link, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the sporting matters, dominated the buildup 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 most concise reply he gave might have been the most telling, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the entire team was behind him, Alonso replied in a solitary term: “yes.”

“Being Madrid manager is not about changing [the culture]; it is about adapting,” 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 team, a club, that goes in unison, 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.”