🔗 Share this article

“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” the Real Madrid coach insisted, maybe affirming a little too much. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he continued on the eve before Pep Guardiola's side return to the Santiago Bernabéu for a new edition 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 permanently: this chance is an obligation, too.

Emergency Discussions After Poor Setback

Following Madrid’s utterly disappointing 2-0 loss at their own stadium on Sunday, Alonso said he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was not alone. Into the early hours, urgent meetings carried on, the club’s board drawing their own conclusions after a solitary triumph in five league games. Their assessments were different and while radical changes remain on hold, 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 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,” Aurélien Tchouaméni remarked. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Quick Decline After Early Success

City will be his 28th game in charge of Madrid and it might be his final one at a club where a crisis 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 roots of the crisis were there from the start. Sold as a tactical disciplinarian, exactly what they needed after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was a cultural shock at a players’ club.

When Madrid won the clásico in late October, they opened a five-point gap at the top. They had triumphed in twelve out of thirteen competitive games, although the setback was significant: 5-2 at Atlético. It also exposed fissures. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, seemingly ready to quit the club. In a letter a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. Institutionally, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was silence.

Strains Emerging

Within the dressing room, the assessment was evident: Alonso was wrong to remove Vinícius off. Questioned on this point 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 separation between manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had expressed his irritation publicly. The puzzle pieces weren't aligning 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?!

Nine days after the clásico, Madrid were defeated at Anfield, starting a sequence of two wins in seven. Able to play direct, they beat Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those were held by Rayo, Elche and Girona. Belatedly, talks were held to mend divisions or at least cover cracks, to bring calm. Focus was directed at the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Truce

In Bilbao, where they had been gathered a day early, it seemed some middle ground had been found; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. Reconciliation was staged when Vinícius greeted the coach as he departed. A brief break followed. A few days after, though, Celta overcame them and so it unravels again.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is under scrutiny is as notable 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 unfairness, not even truly convincing himself, Madrid were awful against Celta: no identity, a deficient mentality, a lack of organization.

The Manager: The Simplest Fix

But the simplest fix, 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 bring it back to the match, which he did with nearly each answer. The most concise reply he gave might have been the most telling, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the entire team 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 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 by himself that Alonso talked of a collective, a club, that goes hand in hand, and when attention was turned to the question of endorsement or the deficit 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.”