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“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” Xabi Alonso declared, possibly asserting a tad forcefully. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he added on the day before Pep Guardiola's side step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for another edition of a frequent heavyweight clash. “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 change immediately, and definitively: this opportunity is an duty, too.

Emergency Discussions After Dismal Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso said he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was in plentiful company. Into the early hours, crisis talks carried on, the club’s leadership forming their own opinions after a solitary triumph in five league games. Their diagnoses were not the same and while severe measures are temporarily shelved, tolerance has limits, the names of potential replacements already out. “These are scenarios you must deal with, yet my mind is fixed only on the game, on what I can influence,” Alonso said here

“Undoubtedly the manager prepared a solid strategy, but ultimately, we the footballers are the ones performing,” the French midfielder remarked. “Losing by two goals to Celta points to a deficiency in our performance, not the coach's planning.”

A Swift Descent 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 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. Sold as a structured planner, exactly what they needed after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was counter-cultural at a players’ club.

When Madrid triumphed in El Clásico in late October, they opened a five-point gap at the top. They had won 12 of 13 competitive games, although the defeat was emphatic: 5-2 at Atlético. It also highlighted flaws. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a statement a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. Institutionally, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was radio silence.

Strains Brought to the Surface

Internally, the conclusion was evident: Alonso was wrong to remove Vinícius off. Asked here if he would repeat that decision, 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 brought to the surface, a separation between trainer and a portion of the team. Federico Valverde too had expressed his irritation publicly. The puzzle pieces weren't aligning as they should. A common complaint began to emerge about all the directives, the film sessions, the extended practices. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Over a week after the clásico, Madrid were defeated at Anfield, initiating a spell of two wins in seven. Capable of a more direct style, they overcame Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those drew at 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 was directed at the footballers for the first time.

A Temporary Rapprochement

In Bilbao, where they had been brought together a day early, it seemed some compromise had been found; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. Rapprochement was staged when Vinícius embraced the 44-year-old as he departed. A couple of days' rest followed. Subsequently, though, Celta beat them and so it disintegrates anew.

That it is known that Alonso’s future is in doubt 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 player absences and unfairness, not even truly believing his own words, Madrid were awful against Celta: no identity, poor commitment, an absence of tactical shape.

The Manager: The Most Obvious Solution

But the weakest link, 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 redirect attention 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 whole squad was behind him, Alonso replied in a one word: “yes.”

“Being Madrid manager is not about changing [the culture]; it is about adapting,” Alonso continued. “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 by himself that Alonso talked of a collective, a club, that goes together, and when attention was turned to the question of support or the lack of it 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.”