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“We are a collective, a single entity, and we are all in this as one,” Xabi Alonso insisted, perhaps affirming a tad forcefully. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he added on the eve before the English champions step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest meeting of a contemporary rivalry. “I am eager for what lies ahead, beginning tomorrow, a chance to transform the frustration. Our sole focus is City. In this sport, whether good or bad, situations evolve rapidly.” A defeat and things could change immediately, and definitively: this opportunity is an obligation, too.

Emergency Discussions After Desperate Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s utterly disappointing 2-0 loss at their own stadium on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Long after the final whistle, emergency discussions persisted, the club’s hierarchy reaching their own verdicts after a mere one victory in five league games. Their diagnoses were not the same and while radical changes are temporarily shelved, tolerance has limits, the names of candidates already circulating. “You have to face those situations but my head’s only on the game, things I can control,” Alonso commented

“For sure the coach had a good plan but, in the end we, the players, are the ones on the pitch,” the French midfielder remarked. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Rapid Deterioration After Initial Promise

City will be his twenty-eighth outing in charge of Madrid and it might be his final one at a club where a state of emergency is perpetually looming after a few setbacks, where even ties are unacceptable, and there’s always someone else 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 permissiveness and underachievement, Alonso was a cultural shock at a star-driven institution.

When Madrid triumphed in El Clásico in late October, they opened a five-point gap at the top. They had secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the setback was significant: 5-2 at Atlético. It also revealed cracks. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior stormed off down the tunnel, reportedly threatening to leave the club. In a letter a few days later he expressed regret to all apart from Alonso. At the executive level, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was radio silence.

Tensions Emerging

Within the dressing room, the assessment was evident: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Pressed on the issue if he would make the same call, Alonso responded: “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 laid bare, a separation between manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had voiced his discontent openly. The components weren't meshing as they should. A common complaint began to emerge about all the directives, the film sessions, the lengthy training. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Nine days after the clásico, Madrid were beaten by Liverpool, beginning a run of two wins in seven. Able to play direct, 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 Fragile Truce

In Bilbao, where they had been brought together a day early, it seemed some compromise had been found; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. Rapprochement was orchestrated when Vinícius greeted the manager as he departed. A couple of days' rest followed. A few days after, though, Celta beat 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 disputed, but it is deliberate. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about player absences and bad luck, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: an absence of character, poor commitment, an absence of tactical shape.

The Manager: 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 bring it back to the match, which he did with virtually all his replies. The shortest answer 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 solitary term: “yes.”

“The role of Real Madrid coach isn't to alter the culture; it is to adjust,” 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 isolated that Alonso talked of a collective, 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 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.”