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“We are a collective, a single entity, and we are all in this as one,” Xabi Alonso stated emphatically, perhaps affirming somewhat excessively. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he continued on the eve before Manchester City step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest meeting of a contemporary rivalry. “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 change immediately, and permanently: this chance is an duty, too.

Crisis Talks After Poor Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s utterly disappointing 2-0 loss at their own stadium on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was not alone. Late into the night, emergency discussions continued, the club’s leadership forming their own opinions after a single win in five league games. Their diagnoses were divergent and while severe measures remain on hold, 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

“Undoubtedly the manager prepared a solid strategy, but ultimately, we the footballers are the ones performing,” the French midfielder stated. “Losing by two goals to Celta points to a deficiency in our performance, not the coach's planning.”

A Swift Deterioration After Early Promise

City will be his 28th game in charge of Madrid and it could be his last at a club where a state of emergency 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 seeds of the problem were there from the start. Sold as a systems coach, exactly what they needed after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was a cultural shock at a squad-centric organization.

When Madrid triumphed in El Clásico in late October, they opened a five-point gap at the top. They had secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the setback was significant: 5-2 at Atlético. It also exposed fissures. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior marched straight down the tunnel, reportedly threatening to leave the club. In a missive a few days later he apologised to everyone except Alonso. At the executive level, rather than supporting the trainer, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Strains Brought to the Surface

Behind the scenes, the assessment was obvious: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Questioned on this point if he would make the same call, 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 separation between manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The components weren't meshing as they should. A typical grievance began to emerge about all the instructions, the videos, the long sessions. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Over a week after the clásico, Madrid were beaten by Liverpool, starting a sequence of two wins in seven. When adopting a straightforward approach, they overcame 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 restore tranquility. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Truce

In Bilbao, where they had been brought together a day early, it seemed some agreement had been reached; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. Rapprochement was displayed when Vinícius embraced the manager as he departed. A couple of days' rest followed. A few days after, though, Celta overcame them and so it disintegrates anew.

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 denied, but it is deliberate. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about fitness issues and injustice, not even truly convincing himself, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: a lack of style, poor commitment, no structure.

The Coach: The Simplest Fix

But the simplest fix, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the sporting matters, 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 nearly each answer. The shortest answer he gave might have been the most revealing, 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. “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 isolated that Alonso talked of a team, a club, that goes hand in hand, and when attention was turned to the question of endorsement or the deficit from above, he answered: “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.”