🔗 Share this article

“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” the Real Madrid coach insisted, maybe asserting a tad forcefully. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” he remarked on the day before Manchester City return to the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest edition of a frequent heavyweight clash. “I am eager for what lies ahead, beginning tomorrow, a chance to transform the frustration. Our sole focus is City. In this sport, whether good or bad, situations evolve rapidly.” Losing and things could alter for good, and permanently: this moment is an duty, too.

Crisis Talks 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 not alone. Into the early hours, emergency discussions persisted, the club’s leadership forming their own opinions after a single win in five league games. Their assessments were not the same and while drastic decisions are temporarily shelved, tolerance has limits, the names of candidates already circulating. “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,” one of the squad's leaders said. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Rapid Deterioration After Initial Promise

City will be his 28th game in charge of Madrid and it could be his last at a club where a crisis is never more than a couple of defeats away, where even sharing points is insufficient, and there’s always someone else who can coach. Things have indeed changed fast, even if the origins of the trouble were there from the start. Hailed as a tactical disciplinarian, exactly what they needed after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was an anomaly at a squad-centric organization.

When Madrid triumphed in El Clásico in late October, they moved five points ahead at the top. They had secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the setback was significant: 5-2 at Atlético. It also revealed cracks. Taken off after 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior marched straight down the tunnel, seemingly ready to quit the club. In a letter a few days later he apologised to everyone except Alonso. At the executive level, rather than backing the coach, there was radio silence.

Tensions Emerging

Behind the scenes, the conclusion was clear: Alonso ought not to have substituted Vinícius off. Asked here if he would do that again, 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 voiced his discontent openly. The components weren't meshing as they should. A typical grievance began to emerge about all the orders, the videos, the extended practices. 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. When adopting a straightforward approach, they defeated Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those tied with Rayo, Elche and Girona. After a delay, talks were held to fix fault lines or at least mask the problems, to bring calm. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Temporary Reconciliation

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 orchestrated when Vinícius embraced the 44-year-old as he departed. A brief break followed. Four days later, though, Celta defeated them and so it unravels again.

That it is public knowledge that Alonso’s future is in doubt is as notable 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 player absences and injustice, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were terrible against Celta: an absence of character, poor commitment, a lack of organization.

The Gaffer: The Simplest Fix

But the weakest link, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the sporting matters, 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 nearly each answer. The shortest answer 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.”

“Being Madrid manager is not about changing [the culture]; it is about adapting,” Alonso stated. “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 support or the lack of it from above, he answered: “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.”