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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” Xabi Alonso insisted, possibly protesting a tad forcefully. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he remarked on the day before the English champions step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest edition of a frequent heavyweight clash. “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 obligation, too.

Emergency Discussions After Dismal Loss at the Bernabéu

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was far from the only one. Long after the final whistle, crisis talks carried on, the club’s board drawing their own conclusions after a mere one victory in five league games. Their analyses were different and while severe measures are temporarily shelved, patience is finite, the names of potential replacements already out. “You have to face those situations but my head’s only on the game, things I can control,” Alonso commented

“Undoubtedly the manager prepared a solid strategy, but ultimately, we the footballers are the ones performing,” the French midfielder remarked. “If we lost 2-0 to Celta, there’s a problem that’s on us: it’s not the coach’s fault.”

A Swift Descent After Initial Promise

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 draws will not do, and there’s invariably another candidate who can coach. Things have indeed evolved rapidly, even if the origins of the trouble were there from the start. Presented as a systems coach, the ideal solution 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 won 12 of 13 competitive games, although the setback was significant: 5-2 at Atlético. It also highlighted flaws. Replaced in the 72nd minute, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a missive a few days later he expressed regret to all apart from Alonso. From the club's leadership, rather than supporting the trainer, there was silence.

Tensions Coming to Light

Behind the scenes, the verdict was evident: Alonso was wrong to remove Vinícius off. Asked here if he would repeat that decision, Alonso answered: “I am unsure of the purpose of that query. If, in the moment, I believe a decision is required on the field, I will make it.” Strains had been laid bare, a disconnect between coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had voiced his discontent openly. The pieces weren’t fitting as they should. A typical grievance began to slip out about all the directives, the video analysis, the long sessions. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

More than 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 defeated Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those tied with Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to fix fault lines or at least cover cracks, to establish peace. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Short-Lived Truce

In Bilbao, where they had been assembled a day early, it seemed some middle ground had been established; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. Reconciliation was staged when Vinícius greeted the manager as he departed. Two days off followed. Subsequently, though, Celta defeated them and so it falls apart once more.

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 rebutted, but it is intentional. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about fitness issues and injustice, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were terrible against Celta: a lack of style, a deficient mentality, no structure.

The Coach: The Easiest Target

But the simplest fix, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the on-pitch performance, 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 virtually all his replies. The shortest answer he gave might have been the most telling, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the entire team 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 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 team, a club, that goes hand in hand, and when attention was turned to the question of backing or its absence 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.”