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“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” Xabi Alonso insisted, perhaps asserting a little too much. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” he added on the eve before Pep Guardiola's side visit once more the Santiago Bernabéu for a new instalment of a contemporary rivalry. “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 change immediately, and permanently: this opportunity is an duty, too.

Urgent Meetings After Desperate Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso said he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Long after the final whistle, urgent meetings continued, the club’s leadership drawing their own conclusions after a mere one victory in five league games. Their assessments were divergent and while radical changes are temporarily shelved, patience is finite, the names of potential replacements already in the public domain. “You have to face those situations but my head’s only on the game, things I can control,” Alonso stated in the press conference

“For sure the coach had a good plan but, in the end we, the players, are the ones on the pitch,” Aurélien Tchouaméni said. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Swift Decline After Early Success

City will be his twenty-eighth match in charge of Madrid and it could be his last at a club where a turmoil is perpetually looming after a few setbacks, where even sharing points is insufficient, and there’s perpetually an alternative who can coach. Things have indeed evolved rapidly, even if the roots of the crisis were there from the start. Sold as a structured planner, exactly what they needed after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was an anomaly at a players’ club.

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. Taken off after 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, seemingly ready to quit the club. In a statement a few days later he expressed regret to all apart from Alonso. At the executive level, rather than backing the coach, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Frictions Brought to the Surface

Within the dressing room, the assessment was clear: Alonso ought not to have substituted Vinícius off. Pressed on the issue if he would do that again, Alonso replied: “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.” Strains had been exposed, a disconnect between coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had expressed his irritation publicly. The components weren't meshing as they should. A familiar lament began to surface about all the instructions, the film sessions, the extended practices. 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. Able to play direct, they overcame Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those were held by Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to mend divisions or at least mask the problems, to establish peace. Focus turned on the footballers for the first time.

A Temporary Truce

In Bilbao, where they had been brought together a day early, it seemed some agreement had been found; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. Rapprochement was staged when Vinícius hugged the coach as he departed. A brief break followed. Four days later, though, Celta beat them and so it unravels again.

That it is known that Alonso’s future is on the line is as significant as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be disputed, but it is deliberate. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about player absences and bad luck, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were awful against Celta: a lack of style, a deficient mentality, a lack of organization.

The Manager: The Simplest Fix

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 almost every response. 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 single word: “yes.”

“Being Madrid manager is not about changing [the culture]; it is about adapting,” Alonso added. “We understand the ethos of Real Madrid thoroughly; it's what makes it the globe's greatest club. One must adjust, absorb knowledge, engage with the squad. Certain days bring success, others less so. We must confront this with vigor and optimism; it's the sole path to reversal.”

It was when he was asked if he felt alone that Alonso talked of a collective, a club, that goes in unison, and when attention was turned to the question of backing or its absence from above, he commented: “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.”