🔗 Share this article

“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” the manager insisted, maybe asserting a little too much. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he continued on the morning before Manchester City visit once more the Santiago Bernabéu for a new meeting 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”. A defeat and things could shift instantly, and definitively: this chance is an obligation, too.

Urgent Meetings After Poor Setback

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was in plentiful company. Long after the final whistle, emergency discussions carried on, the club’s hierarchy forming their own opinions after a solitary triumph in five league games. Their diagnoses were divergent and while severe measures remain on hold, forbearance is running out, the names of potential replacements already circulating. “One must confront such circumstances, but my focus is solely on the match, on elements within my power,” Alonso said here

“Undoubtedly the manager prepared a solid strategy, but ultimately, we the footballers are the ones performing,” Aurélien Tchouaméni remarked. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Rapid Descent 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 crisis is never more than a couple of defeats away, where even ties are unacceptable, and there’s perpetually an alternative who can coach. Things have indeed changed fast, even if the seeds of the problem were there from the start. Sold as a tactical disciplinarian, the ideal solution after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was counter-cultural at a players’ club.

When Madrid secured victory against Barcelona in late October, they moved five points ahead at the top. They had secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the setback was significant: 5-2 at Atlético. It also revealed cracks. Replaced in the 72nd minute, Vinícius Júnior stormed off down the tunnel, reportedly threatening to leave the club. In a missive a few days later he expressed regret to all apart from Alonso. From the club's leadership, rather than supporting the trainer, there was radio silence.

Strains Emerging

Behind the scenes, the verdict was obvious: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Pressed on the issue if he would make the same call, Alonso replied: “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 exposed, a disconnect 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 orders, the film sessions, the extended practices. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

More than 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 paper over the issues, to bring calm. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Short-Lived Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been assembled a day early, it seemed some agreement had been found; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. A thawing of relations was displayed when Vinícius greeted the coach as he departed. Two days off followed. A few days after, though, Celta beat them and so it unravels again.

That it is known that Alonso’s future is on the line is as important as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be rebutted, but it is intentional. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about fitness issues and bad luck, not even truly believing his own words, Madrid were awful against Celta: no identity, poor commitment, a lack of organization.

The Coach: The Easiest Target

But the weakest link, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the sporting matters, was the central theme to this game. However much the man who is still Madrid’s manager kept trying to refocus on the match, which he did with almost every response. The shortest answer he gave might have been the most significant, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the complete roster 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 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 alone 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: “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.”