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“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” Xabi Alonso stated emphatically, maybe asserting a tad forcefully. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” he continued on the morning before Pep Guardiola's side return to the Santiago Bernabéu for another meeting 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.” Failure and things could shift instantly, and for good: this moment is an duty, too.

Crisis Talks After Poor Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Into the early hours, crisis talks persisted, the club’s hierarchy drawing their own conclusions after a mere one victory in five league games. Their analyses were not the same and while radical changes are temporarily shelved, forbearance is running out, 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 stated in the press conference

“For sure the coach had a good plan but, in the end we, the players, are the ones on the pitch,” one of the squad's leaders remarked. “Losing by two goals to Celta points to a deficiency in our performance, not the coach's planning.”

A Swift Deterioration After Initial Promise

City will be his twenty-eighth outing in charge of Madrid and it could be his last at a club where a state of emergency is perpetually looming after a few setbacks, where even sharing points is insufficient, and there’s always someone else who can coach. Things have indeed evolved rapidly, even if the seeds of the problem were there from the start. Presented as a tactical disciplinarian, exactly what they needed after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was a cultural shock at a star-driven institution.

When Madrid secured victory against Barcelona in late October, they opened a five-point gap at the top. They had secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the defeat was emphatic: 5-2 at Atlético. It also highlighted flaws. Taken off after 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior stormed off down the tunnel, seemingly ready to quit the club. In a missive a few days later he apologised to everyone except Alonso. At the executive level, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was silence.

Tensions Brought to the Surface

Internally, the assessment was obvious: Alonso was wrong to remove Vinícius off. Asked here 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 exposed, a disconnect between manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had expressed his irritation publicly. The pieces weren’t fitting as they should. A familiar lament began to slip out about all the orders, the videos, the long sessions. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Over a week after the clásico, Madrid were overcome at Liverpool, initiating a spell of two wins in seven. When adopting a straightforward approach, they overcame Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those drew at Rayo, Elche and Girona. After a delay, talks were held to repair cracks or at least paper over the issues, to bring calm. Focus turned on the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Rapprochement

In Bilbao, where they had been brought together a day early, it seemed some compromise had been reached; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. Rapprochement was staged when Vinícius greeted the manager as he departed. A couple of days' rest followed. Four days later, though, Celta beat them and so it unravels again.

That it is public knowledge that Alonso’s future is on the line is as notable as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be rebutted, but it is deliberate. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about player absences and unfairness, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were terrible against Celta: an absence of character, poor commitment, a lack of organization.

The Coach: The Simplest Fix

But the most vulnerable point, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the on-pitch performance, dominated the buildup to this game. However much the man who is still Madrid’s manager kept trying to refocus on the match, which he did with virtually all his replies. The most concise reply 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 stated. “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 alone that Alonso talked of a collective, a club, that goes in unison, and when attention was turned to the question of endorsement or the deficit 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.”