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“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” Xabi Alonso insisted, maybe protesting somewhat excessively. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” he continued on the morning before Manchester City visit once more the Santiago Bernabéu for another meeting of a very modern classic. “I anticipate the challenge ahead, starting tomorrow—an opening to redirect the disappointment. Our minds are fixed solely on City. Football, for better or worse, is a game of swift changes.” Failure and things could alter for good, and for good: this moment is an duty, too.

Urgent Meetings After Poor Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was not alone. Long after the final whistle, urgent meetings persisted, the club’s board forming their own opinions after a solitary triumph in five league games. Their assessments were different and while severe measures remain on hold, tolerance has limits, the names of possible successors 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,” the French midfielder remarked. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Swift Descent After Early Promise

City will be his twenty-eighth outing in charge of Madrid and it may prove to be his farewell at a club where a crisis is never more than a couple of defeats away, where even ties are unacceptable, and there’s invariably another candidate who can coach. Things have indeed changed fast, 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 squad-centric organization.

When Madrid triumphed in El Clásico in late October, they opened a five-point gap at the top. They had won 12 of 13 competitive games, although the defeat was emphatic: 5-2 at Atlético. It also highlighted flaws. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, threatening to walk straight out 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

Internally, the conclusion was evident: Alonso shouldn’t have taken 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 laid bare, a rift between coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had voiced his discontent openly. The pieces weren’t fitting as they should. A typical grievance began to emerge about all the instructions, the film sessions, the long sessions. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

More than a week after the clásico, Madrid were overcome at Liverpool, beginning a run of two wins in seven. When adopting a straightforward approach, they beat Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those drew at Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to mend divisions or at least mask the problems, to bring calm. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Temporary Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been brought together a day early, it seemed some compromise had been found; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. Rapprochement was displayed when Vinícius embraced the manager as he departed. A brief break followed. Four days later, though, Celta overcame them and so it falls apart once more.

That it is known that Alonso’s future is in doubt 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 fitness issues and unfairness, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were terrible against Celta: an absence of character, a deficient mentality, a lack of organization.

The Manager: The Easiest Target

But the weakest link, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the sporting matters, 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 nearly each answer. 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 solitary term: “yes.”

“The role of Real Madrid coach isn't to alter the culture; it is to adjust,” 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 team, a club, that goes hand in hand, and when attention was turned to the question of endorsement or the deficit 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.”