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“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” the Real Madrid coach insisted, perhaps protesting a tad forcefully. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” he added on the morning before Manchester City return to the Santiago Bernabéu for a new 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 alter for good, and definitively: this chance is an duty, too.

Emergency Discussions After Dismal Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 loss at their own stadium on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was in plentiful company. Long after the final whistle, urgent meetings continued, the club’s board drawing their own conclusions after a single win in five league games. Their diagnoses were divergent and while drastic decisions remain on hold, forbearance is running out, the names of possible successors already out. “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,” Aurélien Tchouaméni remarked. “Losing by two goals to Celta points to a deficiency in our performance, not the coach's planning.”

A Quick Deterioration 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 turmoil is always just two losses around the corner, where even sharing points is insufficient, and there’s perpetually an alternative who can coach. Things have indeed shifted swiftly, even if the origins of the trouble were there from the start. Hailed as a structured planner, exactly what they needed after a season of permissiveness and underachievement, Alonso was counter-cultural at a squad-centric organization.

When Madrid triumphed in El Clásico in late October, they moved five points ahead at the top. They had triumphed in twelve out of 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, seemingly ready to quit the club. In a letter a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. At the executive level, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Frictions Emerging

Internally, the conclusion was clear: Alonso ought not to have substituted Vinícius off. Pressed on the issue if he would make the same call, Alonso replied: “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 trainer and a portion of the team. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The components weren't meshing as they should. A typical grievance began to slip out about all the directives, the video analysis, the lengthy training. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Over 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 beat Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those were held by Rayo, Elche and Girona. After a delay, talks were held to fix fault lines or at least paper over the issues, to restore tranquility. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Temporary Rapprochement

In Bilbao, where they had been gathered a day early, it seemed some agreement had been found; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. A thawing of relations was orchestrated when Vinícius hugged the coach as he departed. A couple of days' rest followed. Four days later, though, Celta overcame them and so it unravels again.

That it is known that Alonso’s future is on the line 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 bad luck, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were terrible against Celta: an absence of character, no attitude, an absence of tactical shape.

The Manager: The Easiest Target

But the most vulnerable point, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the sporting matters, 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 entire team was behind him, Alonso replied in a one word: “yes.”

“Managing Real Madrid doesn't involve transforming the culture; it requires fitting in,” 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 in unison, and when attention was turned to the question of endorsement or the deficit 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.”