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“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” Xabi Alonso declared, possibly affirming a tad forcefully. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he continued on the eve before the English champions return to the Santiago Bernabéu for a new edition of a very modern classic. “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 for good: this chance is an obligation, too.

Urgent Meetings After Desperate Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Late into the night, urgent meetings continued, the club’s board reaching their own verdicts after a mere one victory in five league games. Their analyses were divergent and while radical changes are temporarily shelved, forbearance is running out, the names of potential replacements already circulating. “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,” one of the squad's leaders said. “If we lost 2-0 to Celta, there’s a problem that’s on us: it’s not the coach’s fault.”

A Quick Deterioration After Early Promise

City will be his 28th game in charge of Madrid and it may prove to be his farewell at a club where a crisis is perpetually looming after a few setbacks, where even sharing points is insufficient, 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. Presented as a tactical disciplinarian, precisely the required remedy after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was an anomaly at a players’ club.

When Madrid triumphed in El Clásico in late October, they opened a five-point gap at the top. They had won 12 of 13 competitive games, although the defeat was emphatic: 5-2 at Atlético. It also revealed cracks. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior stormed off down the tunnel, reportedly threatening to leave the club. In a missive a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. At the executive level, rather than supporting the trainer, there was radio silence.

Frictions Coming to Light

Within the dressing room, the assessment was evident: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Questioned on this point if he would make the same call, Alonso responded: “I don’t know what that question is for. If I see in the moment that I have to take a decision on the pitch, I do.” Frictions had been laid bare, a rift between coach and some players. 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 directives, the videos, the lengthy training. 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 defeated Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those were held by Rayo, Elche and Girona. After a delay, talks were held to repair cracks or at least cover cracks, to bring calm. Focus turned on the footballers for the first time.

A Short-Lived Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been assembled a day early, it seemed some agreement had been found; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. A thawing of relations was staged when Vinícius hugged the manager as he departed. Two days off followed. A few days after, though, Celta beat them and so it unravels again.

That it is public knowledge that Alonso’s future is in doubt is as important 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 player absences and bad luck, not even truly believing his own words, Madrid were awful against Celta: an absence of character, poor commitment, no structure.

The Coach: The Easiest Target

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 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 whole squad was behind him, Alonso replied in a one word: “yes.”

“Being Madrid manager is not about changing [the culture]; it is about adapting,” Alonso continued. “We understand the ethos of Real Madrid thoroughly; it's what makes it the globe's greatest club. One must adjust, absorb knowledge, engage with the squad. Certain days bring success, others less so. We must confront this with vigor and optimism; it's the sole path to reversal.”

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.”