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“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” Xabi Alonso insisted, perhaps asserting somewhat excessively. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he remarked on the day before Manchester City 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 for good: this moment is an obligation, too.

Crisis Talks After Dismal Setback

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Long after the final whistle, emergency discussions carried on, the club’s hierarchy forming their own opinions after a single win in five league games. Their assessments were divergent and while radical changes remain on hold, tolerance has limits, the names of potential replacements already out. “These are scenarios you must deal with, yet my mind is fixed only on the game, on what I can influence,” Alonso commented

“Undoubtedly the manager prepared a solid strategy, but ultimately, we the footballers are the ones performing,” Aurélien Tchouaméni stated. “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 twenty-eighth outing in charge of Madrid and it may prove to be his farewell at a club where a crisis is perpetually looming after a few setbacks, where even sharing points is insufficient, and there’s perpetually an alternative who can coach. Things have indeed evolved rapidly, even if the origins of the trouble were there from the start. Presented as a tactical disciplinarian, the ideal solution after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was a cultural shock at a players’ club.

When Madrid triumphed in El Clásico in late October, they moved five points ahead at the top. They had secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the loss had been heavy: 5-2 at Atlético. It also highlighted flaws. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior stormed off down the tunnel, seemingly ready to quit the club. In a missive a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. At the executive level, rather than supporting the trainer, there was radio silence.

Frictions Emerging

Behind the scenes, the assessment was clear: Alonso ought not to have substituted Vinícius off. Asked here if he would repeat that decision, Alonso responded: “The intent behind that question eludes me. When a situation on the pitch demands a choice, I make it.” Tensions had been exposed, a rift between trainer and a portion of the team. Federico Valverde too had expressed his irritation publicly. The puzzle pieces weren't aligning as they should. A typical grievance began to emerge about all the orders, the film sessions, the lengthy training. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Over a week after the clásico, Madrid were defeated at Anfield, beginning a run of two wins in seven. When adopting a straightforward approach, they overcame Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those drew at Rayo, Elche and Girona. Belatedly, talks were held to repair cracks or at least mask the problems, to establish peace. Focus turned on the footballers for the first time.

A Temporary Truce

In Bilbao, where they had been brought together a day early, it seemed some compromise had been reached; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. Rapprochement was displayed when Vinícius embraced the coach as he departed. A brief break followed. Four days later, though, Celta beat them and so it unravels again.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is in doubt is as significant 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 injuries and injustice, not even truly convincing himself, Madrid were awful against Celta: a lack of style, 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 sporting matters, was the central theme 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 nearly each answer. The shortest answer he gave might have been the most telling, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the complete roster 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 added. “We understand the ethos of Real Madrid thoroughly; it's what makes it the globe's greatest club. One must adjust, absorb knowledge, engage with the squad. Certain days bring success, others less so. We must confront this with vigor and optimism; it's the sole path to reversal.”

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 support or the lack of it from above, he commented: “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.”