🔗 Share this article

“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” the manager declared, perhaps protesting a tad forcefully. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” he continued on the eve before Manchester City step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest edition 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.” Failure and things could change immediately, and definitively: this chance is an duty, too.

Crisis Talks After Poor Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was in plentiful company. Into the early hours, emergency discussions continued, the club’s board reaching their own verdicts after a single win in five league games. Their assessments were divergent and while severe measures are temporarily shelved, forbearance is running out, the names of potential replacements already in the public domain. “One must confront such circumstances, but my focus is solely on the match, on elements within my power,” Alonso stated in the press conference

“Certainly the trainer devised an effective approach, but when it comes down to it, the players execute on the field,” the French midfielder stated. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Quick Decline After Early Promise

City will be his twenty-eighth outing in charge of Madrid and it could be his last at a club where a turmoil is always just two losses around the corner, where even draws will not do, and there’s always someone else who can coach. Things have indeed shifted swiftly, 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 laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was counter-cultural at a players’ club.

When Madrid secured victory against Barcelona in late October, they established a five-point lead at the top. They had triumphed in twelve out of thirteen competitive games, although the loss had been heavy: 5-2 at Atlético. It also exposed fissures. Taken off after 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior stormed off 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 silence.

Frictions Emerging

Behind the scenes, the assessment was obvious: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Pressed on the issue if he would repeat that decision, Alonso responded: “The intent behind that question eludes me. When a situation on the pitch demands a choice, I make it.” Tensions had been exposed, a rift between coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had expressed his irritation publicly. The puzzle pieces weren't aligning as they should. A common complaint began to emerge about all the instructions, the videos, the extended practices. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Over a week after the clásico, Madrid were defeated at Anfield, beginning a run of two wins in seven. Able to play direct, they beat Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those tied with Rayo, Elche and Girona. After a delay, talks were held to repair cracks or at least cover cracks, to establish peace. Focus was directed at the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been brought together a day early, it seemed some middle ground had been found; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. A thawing of relations was staged when Vinícius greeted the 44-year-old as he departed. Two days off followed. Subsequently, though, Celta beat 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 disputed, but it is intentional. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about injuries and injustice, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: a lack of style, no attitude, no structure.

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, 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 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 one word: “yes.”

“The role of Real Madrid coach isn't to alter the culture; it is to adjust,” 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 isolated that Alonso talked of a unit, a club, that goes hand in hand, and when attention was turned to the question of support or the lack of it 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.”