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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” the manager declared, maybe affirming a tad forcefully. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” he added on the eve before Manchester City return to the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest 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.” A defeat and things could change immediately, and for good: this opportunity is an imperative, too.

Emergency Discussions After Poor Setback

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso said he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Late into the night, crisis talks persisted, the club’s board drawing their own conclusions after a single win in five league games. Their analyses were divergent and while radical changes are temporarily shelved, patience is finite, the names of candidates already in the public domain. “These are scenarios you must deal with, yet my mind is fixed only on the game, on what I can influence,” Alonso stated in the press conference

“Certainly the trainer devised an effective approach, but when it comes down to it, the players execute on the field,” the French midfielder remarked. “Losing by two goals to Celta points to a deficiency in our performance, not the coach's planning.”

A Quick Descent After Early Success

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 invariably another candidate who can coach. Things have indeed changed fast, even if the seeds of the problem were there from the start. Hailed as a tactical disciplinarian, exactly what they needed after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was counter-cultural at a squad-centric organization.

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 revealed cracks. Replaced in the 72nd minute, Vinícius Júnior marched straight down the tunnel, reportedly threatening to leave the club. In a statement a few days later he apologised to everyone except Alonso. Institutionally, rather than supporting the trainer, there was silence.

Tensions Brought to the Surface

Within the dressing room, the assessment was clear: Alonso ought not to have substituted 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.” Tensions had been brought to the surface, a separation between coach and some players. 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 directives, the videos, the extended practices. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Nine days after the clásico, Madrid were beaten by Liverpool, beginning a run of two wins in seven. Able to play direct, they defeated Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those were held by Rayo, Elche and Girona. Belatedly, talks were held to mend divisions or at least mask the problems, to bring calm. Focus turned on the footballers for the first time.

A Short-Lived Rapprochement

In Bilbao, where they had been brought together a day early, it seemed some compromise had been reached; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. Reconciliation was orchestrated when Vinícius embraced the 44-year-old as he departed. Two days off followed. Four days later, though, Celta defeated them and so it disintegrates anew.

That it is known that Alonso’s future is under scrutiny is as significant as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be denied, but it is deliberate. 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 dreadful against Celta: a lack of style, no attitude, no structure.

The Coach: The Most Obvious Solution

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 almost every response. The briefest response 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.”

“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 isolated that Alonso talked of a unit, a club, that goes in unison, 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.”