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“We are a collective, a single entity, and we are all in this as one,” the manager stated emphatically, possibly asserting a little too much. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he continued on the day before Pep Guardiola's side step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for another meeting 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”. A defeat and things could alter for good, and permanently: this opportunity is an imperative, too.

Emergency Discussions After Dismal Setback

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was far from the only one. Late into the night, emergency discussions carried on, 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 severe measures are temporarily shelved, tolerance has limits, the names of potential replacements 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 said here

“Certainly the trainer devised an effective approach, but when it comes down to it, the players execute on the field,” Aurélien Tchouaméni 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 match in charge of Madrid and it may prove to be his farewell at a club where a turmoil is perpetually looming after a few setbacks, where even draws will not do, and there’s always someone else who can coach. Things have indeed evolved rapidly, even if the origins of the trouble were there from the start. Presented as a tactical disciplinarian, precisely the required remedy after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, 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 won 12 of 13 competitive games, although the defeat was emphatic: 5-2 at Atlético. It also revealed cracks. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior marched straight down the tunnel, reportedly threatening to leave the club. In a statement a few days later he expressed regret to all apart from Alonso. At the executive level, rather than supporting the trainer, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Strains Coming to Light

Internally, the conclusion was obvious: Alonso was wrong to remove Vinícius off. Asked here if he would do that again, Alonso responded: “I don’t know what that question is for. If I see in the moment that I have to take a decision on the pitch, I do.” Tensions had been laid bare, 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 familiar lament began to emerge about all the instructions, the film sessions, the lengthy training. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Nine days 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 drew at Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to fix fault lines or at least mask the problems, to restore tranquility. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Short-Lived Truce

In Bilbao, where they had been gathered 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 hugged the coach as he departed. A brief break followed. Subsequently, though, Celta defeated them and so it unravels again.

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 disputed, but it is intentional. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about fitness issues and injustice, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: an absence of character, a deficient mentality, 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 actual football, 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 shortest answer he gave might have been the most revealing, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the complete roster was behind him, Alonso replied in a solitary term: “yes.”

“The role of Real Madrid coach isn't to alter the culture; it is to adjust,” 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 endorsement or the deficit 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.”