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“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” the manager insisted, maybe affirming a little too much. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” he remarked on the day before the English champions step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for a new meeting 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.” Failure and things could shift instantly, and for good: this moment is an imperative, too.

Emergency Discussions After Dismal Loss at the Bernabéu

Following Madrid’s utterly disappointing 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was far from the only one. Late into the night, urgent meetings persisted, the club’s leadership reaching their own verdicts after a solitary triumph in five league games. Their diagnoses were different and while severe measures are being postponed, forbearance is running out, the names of candidates already circulating. “One must confront such circumstances, but my focus is solely on the match, on elements within my power,” Alonso said here

“For sure the coach had a good plan but, in the end we, the players, are the ones on the pitch,” one of the squad's leaders remarked. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Swift Descent After Early Promise

City will be his 28th game in charge of Madrid and it could be his last at a club where a turmoil 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 seeds of the problem were there from the start. Presented as a systems coach, the ideal solution after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was a cultural shock at a squad-centric organization.

When Madrid secured victory against Barcelona in late October, they opened a five-point gap at the top. They had secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the defeat was emphatic: 5-2 at Atlético. It also highlighted flaws. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior stormed off down the tunnel, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a statement a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. Institutionally, rather than backing the coach, there was radio silence.

Tensions Emerging

Within the dressing room, the assessment was obvious: Alonso was wrong to remove Vinícius off. Pressed on the issue if he would make the same call, Alonso answered: “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 manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had voiced his discontent openly. The components weren't meshing as they should. A common complaint began to surface about all the directives, the video analysis, the long sessions. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Nine days after the clásico, Madrid were beaten by Liverpool, starting a sequence of two wins in seven. When adopting a straightforward approach, they beat Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those tied with Rayo, Elche and Girona. Belatedly, talks were held to mend divisions or at least paper over the issues, to bring calm. Focus was directed at the footballers for the first time.

A Temporary Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been gathered a day early, it seemed some compromise had been reached; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. A thawing of relations was staged when Vinícius embraced the coach as he departed. A brief break followed. Four days later, though, Celta beat them and so it disintegrates anew.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is in doubt is as significant as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be denied, but it is intentional. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about injuries and bad luck, not even truly convincing himself, Madrid were awful against Celta: no identity, poor commitment, no structure.

The Coach: The Most Obvious Solution

But the simplest fix, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the on-pitch performance, was the central theme 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 almost every response. The most concise reply he gave might have been the most revealing, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the entire team was behind him, Alonso replied in a one word: “yes.”

“Managing Real Madrid doesn't involve transforming the culture; it requires fitting in,” 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 alone that Alonso talked of a team, a club, that goes together, and when attention was turned to the question of support or the lack of it from above, he replied: “Dialogue with the leadership is ongoing, founded on trust, togetherness, and mutual respect. We are all united in this endeavor. We are psychologically prepared for any challenge: the squad is unified, certain of victory tomorrow, without a shadow of doubt. This is the Champions League. We are playing at the Bernabéu. The environment will be electric. That generates a unique dynamism, even among the players.”