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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” Xabi Alonso insisted, perhaps protesting a tad forcefully. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he remarked on the day before the English champions return to the Santiago Bernabéu for a new meeting of a frequent heavyweight clash. “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 alter for good, and definitively: this chance is an duty, too.

Emergency Discussions After Dismal Setback

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 loss at their own stadium on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was far from the only one. Into the early hours, crisis talks persisted, the club’s hierarchy drawing their own conclusions after a solitary triumph in five league games. Their analyses were divergent and while drastic decisions remain on hold, forbearance is running out, the names of possible successors already circulating. “You have to face those situations but my head’s only on the game, things I can control,” Alonso commented

“Undoubtedly the manager prepared a solid strategy, but ultimately, we the footballers are the ones performing,” the French midfielder 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 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 always just two losses around the corner, 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, the ideal solution after a season of permissiveness and underachievement, Alonso was a cultural shock at a squad-centric organization.

When Madrid won the clásico 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 exposed fissures. Replaced in the 72nd minute, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a letter a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. Institutionally, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was radio silence.

Strains Coming to Light

Behind the scenes, the conclusion was clear: Alonso was wrong to remove Vinícius off. Questioned on this point if he would repeat that decision, Alonso replied: “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 laid bare, 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 slip out about all the orders, the film sessions, the lengthy training. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

More than a week after the clásico, Madrid were beaten by 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. After a delay, talks were held to repair cracks or at least mask the problems, to bring calm. Focus was directed at the footballers for the first time.

A Temporary Truce

In Bilbao, where they had been assembled a day early, it seemed some middle ground had been established; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. Rapprochement was displayed when Vinícius greeted the coach as he departed. A couple of days' rest followed. A few days after, though, Celta defeated them and so it unravels again.

That it is understood 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 fitness issues and bad luck, not even truly believing his own words, Madrid were terrible against Celta: a lack of style, a deficient mentality, no structure.

The Gaffer: The Simplest Fix

But the simplest fix, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the actual football, was the central theme to this game. However much the man who is still Madrid’s manager kept trying to redirect attention to 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 whole squad was behind him, Alonso replied in a single word: “yes.”

“The role of Real Madrid coach isn't to alter the culture; it is to adjust,” 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 collective, a club, that goes together, and when attention was turned to the question of endorsement or the deficit from above, he answered: “Our contact with the board is continuous, stemming from belief, solidarity, and care. We stand as one in this situation. Our mindset is geared to confront all obstacles: the team is cohesive, fully believing we can triumph tomorrow, with absolute certainty. It's the Champions League. The Bernabéu is our stage. The ambiance will be unforgettable. That fosters a distinct vitality, particularly within the squad.”