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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” Xabi Alonso stated emphatically, perhaps asserting a tad forcefully. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he continued on the eve before the English champions return to the Santiago Bernabéu for a new instalment of a very modern classic. “I’m looking forward to what’s coming and that starts tomorrow, [an opportunity] to turn round the anger. In our heads, there’s only City. In football, for better or worse, things change quickly”. Losing and things could shift instantly, and definitively: this opportunity is an imperative, too.

Urgent Meetings After Dismal Loss at the Bernabéu

Following Madrid’s utterly disappointing 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was far from the only one. Into the early hours, urgent meetings carried on, the club’s board drawing their own conclusions after a mere one victory in five league games. Their assessments were different and while severe measures are being postponed, forbearance is running out, the names of potential replacements already out. “One must confront such circumstances, but my focus is solely on the match, on elements within my power,” Alonso said here

“Certainly the trainer devised an effective approach, but when it comes down to it, the players execute on the field,” one of the squad's leaders remarked. “If we lost 2-0 to Celta, there’s a problem that’s on us: it’s not the coach’s fault.”

A Rapid Decline After Early Promise

City will be his 28th game in charge of Madrid and it might be his final one at a club where a state of emergency is never more than a couple of defeats away, where even draws will not do, and there’s perpetually an alternative who can coach. Things have indeed shifted swiftly, even if the roots of the crisis were there from the start. Presented as a tactical disciplinarian, exactly what they needed after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was counter-cultural at a star-driven institution.

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 setback was significant: 5-2 at Atlético. It also exposed fissures. Replaced in the 72nd minute, Vinícius Júnior stormed off down the tunnel, seemingly ready to quit the club. In a statement 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.

Tensions Brought to the Surface

Within the dressing room, the verdict was obvious: Alonso was wrong to remove Vinícius off. Pressed on the issue if he would do that again, Alonso answered: “The intent behind that question eludes me. When a situation on the pitch demands a choice, I make it.” Frictions had been laid bare, a rift between trainer and a portion of the team. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The pieces weren’t fitting as they should. A typical grievance 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 overcome at Liverpool, beginning a run of two wins in seven. Capable of a more direct style, they beat Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those drew at Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to fix fault lines or at least paper over the issues, to bring calm. Focus was directed at the footballers for the first time.

A Short-Lived Rapprochement

In Bilbao, where they had been gathered a day early, it seemed some agreement had been established; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. Rapprochement was displayed when Vinícius greeted the coach as he departed. Two days off followed. Subsequently, though, Celta overcame them and so it unravels again.

That it is known 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 fitness issues and bad luck, not even truly convincing himself, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: an absence of character, poor commitment, 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 actual football, 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 briefest response he gave might have been the most telling, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the whole squad was behind him, Alonso replied in a one word: “yes.”

“The role of Real Madrid coach isn't to alter the culture; it is to adjust,” Alonso continued. “The culture of Real Madrid is well-known to us; it's the reason for its status as the world's premier club. Adaptation, continuous learning, and player communication are key. There will be highs and lows. Meeting challenges with drive and a positive mindset is the only route to improvement.”

It was when he was asked if he felt by himself that Alonso talked of a team, 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 commented: “Communication [with the hierarchy] is constant, and it comes from confidence, unity and affection. We’re all together in this. We’re mentally ready to face everything that comes: the team is united, convinced that we can win tomorrow, no one has any doubts about that. It is the Champions League. We are at the Bernabéu. The atmosphere will be special. That creates a different energy, including in the players.”