🔗 Share this article

“We are a collective, a single entity, and we are all in this as one,” the Real Madrid coach declared, maybe protesting a tad forcefully. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” he added on the morning before Pep Guardiola's side return to the Santiago Bernabéu for another 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”. Losing and things could alter for good, and for good: this moment is an obligation, too.

Emergency Discussions After Dismal Setback

Following Madrid’s utterly disappointing 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso said he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was far from the only one. Long after the final whistle, crisis talks continued, the club’s hierarchy reaching their own verdicts after a single win in five league games. Their assessments were not the same and while drastic decisions remain on hold, forbearance is running out, the names of potential replacements already in the public domain. “One must confront such circumstances, but my focus is solely on the match, on elements within my power,” Alonso commented

“Certainly the trainer devised an effective approach, but when it comes down to it, the players execute on the field,” Aurélien Tchouaméni remarked. “If we lost 2-0 to Celta, there’s a problem that’s on us: it’s not the coach’s fault.”

A Rapid Deterioration After Initial Promise

City will be his twenty-eighth outing in charge of Madrid and it could be his last at a club where a state of emergency is perpetually looming after a few setbacks, where even sharing points is insufficient, and there’s invariably another candidate who can coach. Things have indeed changed fast, even if the origins of the trouble were there from the start. Sold as a systems coach, precisely the required remedy after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was an anomaly at a squad-centric organization.

When Madrid won the clásico in late October, they moved five points ahead 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. Replaced in the 72nd minute, Vinícius Júnior stormed off down the tunnel, reportedly threatening to leave the club. In a statement a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. From the club's leadership, rather than backing the coach, there was silence.

Tensions Emerging

Behind the scenes, the verdict was obvious: Alonso ought not to have substituted Vinícius off. Asked here if he would make the same call, Alonso responded: “The intent behind that question eludes me. When a situation on the pitch demands a choice, I make it.” Strains had been brought to the surface, a disconnect between coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The puzzle pieces weren't aligning as they should. A typical grievance began to surface about all the instructions, the film sessions, the long sessions. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Over a week after the clásico, Madrid were beaten by Liverpool, starting a sequence of two wins in seven. Capable of a more direct style, they beat Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those tied with Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to mend divisions or at least cover cracks, to restore tranquility. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Short-Lived Truce

In Bilbao, where they had been brought together a day early, it seemed some agreement had been found; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. A thawing of relations was orchestrated when Vinícius embraced the 44-year-old as he departed. A brief break followed. Subsequently, though, Celta beat them and so it disintegrates anew.

That it is public knowledge 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 calculated. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about fitness issues and bad luck, not even truly convincing himself, Madrid were terrible against Celta: an absence of character, a deficient mentality, no structure.

The Coach: The Most Obvious Solution

But the most vulnerable point, 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 virtually all his replies. The briefest response 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 solitary term: “yes.”

“Being Madrid manager is not about changing [the culture]; it is about adapting,” Alonso continued. “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 unit, a club, that goes hand in hand, and when attention was turned to the question of backing or its absence from above, he replied: “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.”