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“We are a collective, a single entity, and we are all in this as one,” Xabi Alonso insisted, perhaps asserting a tad forcefully. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he added on the day before Pep Guardiola's side step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest instalment of a contemporary rivalry. “I am eager for what lies ahead, beginning tomorrow, a chance to transform the frustration. Our sole focus is City. In this sport, whether good or bad, situations evolve rapidly.” Failure and things could alter for good, and permanently: this moment is an duty, too.

Emergency Discussions After Desperate Loss at the Bernabéu

Following Madrid’s utterly disappointing 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Late into the night, crisis talks persisted, the club’s leadership reaching their own verdicts after a solitary triumph in five league games. Their analyses were not the same and while radical changes are being postponed, forbearance is running out, the names of candidates already out. “These are scenarios you must deal with, yet my mind is fixed only on the game, on what I can influence,” Alonso stated in the press conference

“Certainly the trainer devised an effective approach, but when it comes down to it, the players execute on the field,” one of the squad's leaders remarked. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Swift Descent After Early Success

City will be his twenty-eighth outing in charge of Madrid and it might be his final one 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 shifted swiftly, even if the roots of the crisis were there from the start. Hailed as a structured planner, exactly what they needed 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 opened a five-point gap at the top. They had won 12 of 13 competitive games, although the setback was significant: 5-2 at Atlético. It also highlighted flaws. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, reportedly threatening to leave the club. In a missive a few days later he apologised to everyone except Alonso. From the club's leadership, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Frictions Coming to Light

Internally, the conclusion was evident: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Questioned on this point if he would do that again, Alonso responded: “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.” Tensions had been brought to the surface, a separation between trainer and a portion of the team. Federico Valverde too had expressed his irritation publicly. The pieces weren’t fitting as they should. A common complaint began to emerge about all the orders, the video analysis, the lengthy training. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Over a week after the clásico, Madrid were defeated at Anfield, beginning a run of two wins in seven. Able to play direct, they overcame Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those were held by Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to fix fault lines or at least paper over the issues, to restore tranquility. Focus was directed at the footballers for the first time.

A Short-Lived Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been gathered a day early, it seemed some compromise had been reached; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. Rapprochement was staged when Vinícius embraced the 44-year-old as he departed. Two days off followed. A few days after, though, Celta beat them and so it unravels again.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is under scrutiny 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 fitness issues and injustice, not even truly believing his own words, Madrid were terrible against Celta: an absence of character, poor commitment, an absence of tactical shape.

The Gaffer: The Simplest Fix

But the weakest link, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the on-pitch performance, overshadowed the preparation to this game. However much the man who is still Madrid’s manager kept trying to refocus on the match, which he did with nearly each answer. The briefest response he gave might have been the most significant, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the entire team was behind him, Alonso replied in a one word: “yes.”

“Managing Real Madrid doesn't involve transforming the culture; it requires fitting in,” 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 isolated 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 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.”