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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” the manager stated emphatically, possibly affirming a little too much. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he remarked on the day before Pep Guardiola's side visit once more the Santiago Bernabéu for another edition 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 alter for good, and definitively: this moment is an duty, too.

Crisis Talks After Desperate Setback

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 loss at their own stadium on Sunday, Alonso said he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Long after the final whistle, crisis talks persisted, the club’s leadership forming their own opinions after a mere one victory in five league games. Their diagnoses were not the same and while radical changes are being postponed, 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 stated in the press conference

“Undoubtedly the manager prepared a solid strategy, but ultimately, we the footballers are the ones performing,” the French midfielder remarked. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Rapid Decline After Early Promise

City will be his twenty-eighth match in charge of Madrid and it might be his final one at a club where a turmoil is never more than a couple of defeats away, where even draws will not do, and there’s invariably another candidate who can coach. Things have indeed evolved rapidly, even if the origins of the trouble were there from the start. Sold as a systems coach, the ideal solution after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was a cultural shock at a squad-centric organization.

When Madrid secured victory against Barcelona in late October, they moved five points ahead at the top. They had secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the loss had been heavy: 5-2 at Atlético. It also highlighted flaws. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior stormed off down the tunnel, seemingly ready to quit the club. In a missive a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. At the executive level, rather than supporting the trainer, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Frictions Brought to the Surface

Behind the scenes, the verdict was clear: Alonso ought not to have substituted Vinícius off. Asked here if he would do that again, Alonso replied: “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.” Tensions had been laid bare, a disconnect between coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had voiced his discontent openly. The components weren't meshing as they should. A familiar lament began to surface 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 overcome at Liverpool, beginning a run of two wins in seven. Capable of a more direct style, they beat Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those tied with Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to fix fault lines or at least cover cracks, to bring calm. Focus was directed at the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Rapprochement

In Bilbao, where they had been assembled a day early, it seemed some agreement had been found; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. Reconciliation was displayed when Vinícius hugged the manager as he departed. A couple of days' rest followed. A few days after, though, Celta beat them and so it falls apart once more.

That it is public knowledge that Alonso’s future is on the line 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 fitness issues and unfairness, not even truly believing his own words, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: a lack of style, no attitude, an absence of tactical shape.

The Gaffer: The Most Obvious Solution

But the most vulnerable point, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the on-pitch performance, overshadowed the preparation 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 virtually all his replies. The shortest answer 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 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 collective, a club, that goes hand in hand, and when attention was turned to the question of endorsement or the deficit from above, he answered: “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.”