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“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” Xabi Alonso insisted, perhaps affirming a little too much. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he remarked on the day before Manchester City return to the Santiago Bernabéu for another 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.” Failure and things could alter for good, and for good: this moment is an imperative, too.

Urgent Meetings After Dismal Setback

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 loss at their own stadium on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was far from the only one. Into the early hours, urgent meetings carried on, the club’s hierarchy reaching their own verdicts after a mere one victory in five league games. Their assessments were different and while radical changes are temporarily shelved, tolerance has limits, the names of candidates already out. “One must confront such circumstances, but my focus is solely on the match, on elements within my power,” Alonso commented

“Undoubtedly the manager prepared a solid strategy, but ultimately, we the footballers are the ones performing,” the French midfielder stated. “Losing by two goals to Celta points to a deficiency in our performance, not the coach's planning.”

A Swift Decline After Early Success

City will be his 28th game in charge of Madrid and it may prove to be his farewell at a club where a turmoil 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 shifted swiftly, even if the seeds of the problem were there from the start. Sold as a tactical disciplinarian, the ideal solution after a season of permissiveness and underachievement, Alonso was counter-cultural at a players’ club.

When Madrid secured victory against Barcelona in late October, they established a five-point lead at the top. They had triumphed in twelve out of thirteen competitive games, although the defeat was emphatic: 5-2 at Atlético. It also revealed cracks. 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. At the executive level, rather than backing the coach, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Tensions Brought to the Surface

Internally, the conclusion was obvious: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Questioned on this point 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 laid bare, a rift between trainer and a portion of the team. Federico Valverde too had voiced his discontent openly. The puzzle pieces weren't aligning as they should. A common complaint began to surface about all the orders, the videos, the lengthy training. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

More than a week after the clásico, Madrid were overcome at Liverpool, starting a sequence of two wins in seven. Able to play direct, they beat Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those drew at Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to repair cracks or at least mask the problems, to restore tranquility. Focus turned on the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Rapprochement

In Bilbao, where they had been assembled a day early, it seemed some middle ground had been found; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. A thawing of relations was orchestrated when Vinícius embraced the coach as he departed. A couple of days' rest 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 intentional. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about fitness issues and injustice, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were terrible against Celta: an absence of character, poor commitment, a lack of organization.

The Coach: 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 bring it back to the match, which he did with virtually all his replies. The shortest answer 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 single word: “yes.”

“Being Madrid manager is not about changing [the culture]; it is about adapting,” 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 by himself that Alonso talked of a collective, a club, that goes hand in hand, and when attention was turned to the question of support or the lack of it 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.”