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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” Xabi Alonso stated emphatically, possibly protesting somewhat excessively. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” he remarked on the day before Pep Guardiola's side return to the Santiago Bernabéu for another instalment 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”. Losing and things could shift instantly, and permanently: this chance is an obligation, too.

Crisis Talks After Poor Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso said he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was not alone. Long after the final whistle, crisis talks persisted, the club’s board drawing their own conclusions after a mere one victory in five league games. Their diagnoses were divergent and while radical changes remain on hold, tolerance has limits, 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 commented

“Undoubtedly the manager prepared a solid strategy, but ultimately, we the footballers are the ones performing,” one of the squad's leaders stated. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Swift Descent After Initial Success

City will be his twenty-eighth match in charge of Madrid and it may prove to be his farewell at a club where a crisis is perpetually looming after a few setbacks, where even ties are unacceptable, and there’s invariably another candidate who can coach. Things have indeed changed fast, even if the seeds of the problem were there from the start. Hailed as a systems coach, precisely the required remedy after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was a cultural shock at a players’ club.

When Madrid won the clásico in late October, they moved five points ahead at the top. They had won 12 of 13 competitive games, although the setback was significant: 5-2 at Atlético. It also revealed cracks. Replaced in the 72nd minute, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, 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 backing the coach, there was radio silence.

Tensions Emerging

Behind the scenes, the assessment was evident: Alonso ought not to have substituted Vinícius off. Asked here if he would make the same call, Alonso answered: “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.” Strains had been brought to the surface, a rift between coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The puzzle pieces weren't aligning as they should. A familiar lament began to surface about all the instructions, the video analysis, the extended practices. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

More than a week after the clásico, Madrid were defeated at Anfield, starting a sequence of two wins in seven. Capable of a more direct style, they defeated Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those tied with Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to mend divisions or at least mask the problems, to establish peace. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Temporary Truce

In Bilbao, where they had been assembled a day early, it seemed some agreement had been reached; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. A thawing of relations was orchestrated when Vinícius hugged the 44-year-old as he departed. A couple of days' rest followed. Subsequently, though, Celta beat them and so it disintegrates anew.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is in doubt is as significant as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be denied, but it is intentional. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about injuries and injustice, not even truly convincing himself, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: a lack of style, no attitude, an absence of tactical shape.

The Manager: The Simplest Fix

But the weakest link, 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 virtually all his replies. The most concise reply he gave might have been the most significant, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the whole squad 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 continued. “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 alone 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.”