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“We are a collective, a single entity, and we are all in this as one,” Xabi Alonso stated emphatically, perhaps asserting somewhat excessively. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he continued on the morning before Manchester City return to the Santiago Bernabéu for another instalment of a contemporary rivalry. “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”. Failure and things could change immediately, and for good: this opportunity is an imperative, too.

Crisis Talks After Poor Loss at the Bernabéu

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was not alone. Long after the final whistle, crisis talks persisted, the club’s hierarchy forming their own opinions after a solitary triumph in five league games. Their diagnoses were not the same and while severe measures are temporarily shelved, forbearance is running out, the names of candidates already out. “You have to face those situations but my head’s only on the game, things I can control,” Alonso said here

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

A Quick Descent After Initial Success

City will be his twenty-eighth outing 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 draws will not do, and there’s always someone else who can coach. Things have indeed evolved rapidly, even if the seeds of the problem were there from the start. Presented as a systems coach, exactly what they needed after a season of permissiveness and underachievement, Alonso was an anomaly at a star-driven institution.

When Madrid secured victory against Barcelona in late October, they opened a five-point gap 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 revealed cracks. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior stormed off down the tunnel, reportedly threatening to leave the club. In a statement a few days later he expressed regret to all apart from Alonso. From the club's leadership, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was radio silence.

Strains Emerging

Within the dressing room, the verdict was evident: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Asked here if he would do that again, Alonso answered: “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.” Frictions had been laid bare, a separation between trainer and a portion of the team. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The puzzle pieces weren't aligning as they should. A typical grievance 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 beaten by Liverpool, beginning a run 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. Belatedly, talks were held to repair cracks or at least mask the problems, to restore tranquility. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been gathered a day early, it seemed some middle ground had been established; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. Reconciliation was displayed when Vinícius hugged the coach as he departed. A couple of days' rest followed. Four days later, though, Celta overcame them and so it unravels again.

That it is public knowledge that Alonso’s future is under scrutiny 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 player absences and unfairness, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were terrible against Celta: a lack of style, a deficient mentality, an absence of tactical shape.

The Coach: The Simplest Fix

But the weakest link, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the actual football, dominated the buildup to this game. However much the man who is still Madrid’s manager kept trying to redirect attention to the match, which he did with virtually all his replies. 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.”

“Managing Real Madrid doesn't involve transforming the culture; it requires fitting in,” Alonso continued. “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 isolated that Alonso talked of a unit, a club, that goes in unison, and when attention was turned to the question of support or the lack of it 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.”