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“We are a collective, a single entity, and we are all in this as one,” Xabi Alonso insisted, possibly affirming somewhat excessively. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” he remarked on the morning before Manchester City return to the Santiago Bernabéu for a new meeting 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 change immediately, and definitively: this chance is an duty, too.

Urgent Meetings After Poor Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso said he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was in plentiful company. Late into the night, urgent meetings carried on, the club’s board drawing their own conclusions after a mere one victory in five league games. Their analyses were not the same and while drastic decisions are temporarily shelved, patience is finite, the names of possible successors already circulating. “You have to face those situations but my head’s only on the game, things I can control,” Alonso commented

“Certainly the trainer devised an effective approach, but when it comes down to it, the players execute on the field,” Aurélien Tchouaméni said. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Rapid Deterioration After Early Promise

City will be his 28th game 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 draws will not do, and there’s perpetually an alternative who can coach. Things have indeed shifted swiftly, even if the seeds of the problem were there from the start. Hailed as a systems coach, precisely the required remedy after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was a cultural shock at a squad-centric organization.

When Madrid won the clásico in late October, they opened a five-point gap at the top. They had triumphed in twelve out of thirteen competitive games, although the loss had been heavy: 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 missive a few days later he expressed regret to all apart from Alonso. At the executive level, rather than backing the coach, there was silence.

Strains Emerging

Internally, the verdict was obvious: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Questioned on this point if he would make the same call, Alonso replied: “The intent behind that question eludes me. When a situation on the pitch demands a choice, I make it.” Tensions had been exposed, a disconnect between trainer and a portion of the team. Federico Valverde too had voiced his discontent openly. The pieces weren’t fitting as they should. A familiar lament began to emerge about all the instructions, the video analysis, the lengthy training. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Over a week after the clásico, Madrid were overcome at Liverpool, beginning a run of two wins in seven. When adopting a straightforward approach, they beat Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those tied with Rayo, Elche and Girona. After a delay, talks were held to mend divisions or at least paper over the issues, to bring calm. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Temporary Truce

In Bilbao, where they had been gathered a day early, it seemed some agreement had been found; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. Rapprochement was displayed when Vinícius hugged the coach as he departed. A brief break followed. Subsequently, though, Celta beat them and so it disintegrates anew.

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 denied, but it is intentional. 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: a lack of style, a deficient mentality, an absence of tactical shape.

The Manager: The Easiest Target

But the simplest fix, 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 nearly each answer. The shortest answer he gave might have been the most significant, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the whole squad was behind him, Alonso replied in a solitary term: “yes.”

“Being Madrid manager is not about changing [the culture]; it is about adapting,” 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 isolated that Alonso talked of a team, a club, that goes hand in hand, and when attention was turned to the question of endorsement or the deficit from above, he answered: “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.”