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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” the Real Madrid coach stated emphatically, possibly affirming somewhat excessively. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he remarked on the morning before the English champions return to the Santiago Bernabéu for a new meeting of a very modern classic. “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.” Losing and things could shift instantly, and permanently: this opportunity is an imperative, too.

Crisis Talks After Poor Setback

Following Madrid’s utterly disappointing 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso said he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was not alone. Late into the night, emergency discussions carried on, the club’s board drawing their own conclusions after a solitary triumph in five league games. Their assessments were not the same and while severe measures are being postponed, 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 stated in the press conference

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

A Quick Deterioration After Early Promise

City will be his twenty-eighth match in charge of Madrid and it might be his final one at a club where a crisis 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 roots of the crisis were there from the start. Sold as a systems coach, precisely the required remedy after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was a cultural shock at a squad-centric organization.

When Madrid secured victory against Barcelona in late October, they established a five-point lead at the top. They had secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the defeat was emphatic: 5-2 at Atlético. It also revealed cracks. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, seemingly ready to quit the club. In a statement a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. Institutionally, rather than backing the coach, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Strains Emerging

Within the dressing room, the conclusion was obvious: Alonso was wrong to remove Vinícius off. Asked here if he would make the same call, Alonso responded: “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.” Frictions had been exposed, a separation between coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had expressed his irritation publicly. The puzzle pieces weren't aligning as they should. A common complaint began to slip out about all the orders, 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, initiating a spell of two wins in seven. When adopting a straightforward approach, they defeated Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those tied with Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to repair cracks or at least cover cracks, to bring calm. 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 compromise had been found; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. A thawing of relations was orchestrated when Vinícius embraced the coach as he departed. Two days off followed. A few days after, though, Celta beat them and so it unravels again.

That it is known that Alonso’s future is under scrutiny is as important 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 injuries and injustice, not even truly believing his own words, Madrid were awful against Celta: an absence of character, a deficient mentality, an absence of tactical shape.

The Coach: The Most Obvious Solution

But the most vulnerable point, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the sporting matters, 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 briefest response 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 single word: “yes.”

“Managing Real Madrid doesn't involve transforming the culture; it requires fitting in,” Alonso added. “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 together, and when attention was turned to the question of backing or its absence from above, he replied: “Our contact with the board is continuous, stemming from belief, solidarity, and care. We stand as one in this situation. Our mindset is geared to confront all obstacles: the team is cohesive, fully believing we can triumph tomorrow, with absolute certainty. It's the Champions League. The Bernabéu is our stage. The ambiance will be unforgettable. That fosters a distinct vitality, particularly within the squad.”