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“We are a collective, a single entity, and we are all in this as one,” Xabi Alonso stated emphatically, possibly affirming a tad forcefully. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he remarked on the morning before Manchester City visit once more the Santiago Bernabéu for a new instalment of a contemporary rivalry. “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.” Losing and things could change immediately, and definitively: this chance is an duty, too.

Emergency Discussions After Poor Setback

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 loss at their own stadium on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Into the early hours, urgent meetings persisted, the club’s hierarchy drawing their own conclusions after a single win in five league games. Their diagnoses were divergent and while drastic decisions remain on hold, patience is finite, the names of potential replacements already in the public domain. “You have to face those situations but my head’s only on the game, things I can control,” Alonso said here

“Undoubtedly the manager prepared a solid strategy, but ultimately, we the footballers are the ones performing,” one of the squad's leaders remarked. “If we lost 2-0 to Celta, there’s a problem that’s on us: it’s not the coach’s fault.”

A Swift Deterioration After Initial Promise

City will be his 28th game in charge of Madrid and it may prove to be his farewell at a club where a state of emergency is never more than a couple of defeats away, where even draws will not do, and there’s perpetually an alternative who can coach. Things have indeed changed fast, even if the origins of the trouble were there from the start. Presented as a structured planner, the ideal solution after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was counter-cultural at a squad-centric organization.

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 revealed cracks. Replaced in the 72nd minute, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, 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 a conspicuous quiet.

Tensions Coming to Light

Within the dressing room, the assessment was clear: Alonso was wrong to remove Vinícius off. Pressed on the issue if he would do that again, 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.” Frictions had been exposed, a rift between trainer and a portion of the team. Federico Valverde too had expressed his irritation publicly. The components weren't meshing as they should. A familiar lament began to surface about all the instructions, the video analysis, the lengthy training. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Nine days after the clásico, Madrid were beaten by Liverpool, initiating a spell of two wins in seven. When adopting a straightforward approach, they defeated Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those drew at Rayo, Elche and Girona. Belatedly, talks were held to repair cracks or at least paper over the issues, to restore tranquility. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Short-Lived Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been gathered a day early, it seemed some middle ground had been established; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. Rapprochement was staged when Vinícius embraced the manager as he departed. A couple of days' rest followed. Subsequently, though, Celta defeated them and so it disintegrates anew.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is in doubt is as notable 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 convincing himself, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: no identity, poor commitment, an absence of tactical shape.

The Manager: The Simplest Fix

But the most vulnerable point, 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 virtually all his replies. The most concise reply he gave might have been the most telling, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the whole squad was behind him, Alonso replied in a solitary term: “yes.”

“Being Madrid manager is not about changing [the culture]; it is about adapting,” Alonso stated. “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 team, a club, that goes in unison, and when attention was turned to the question of endorsement or the deficit from above, he answered: “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.”