🔗 Share this article

“We are a collective, a single entity, and we are all in this as one,” Xabi Alonso insisted, possibly asserting somewhat excessively. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he remarked on the morning before the English champions visit once more the Santiago Bernabéu for a new instalment of a contemporary rivalry. “I am eager for what lies ahead, beginning tomorrow, a chance to transform the frustration. Our sole focus is City. In this sport, whether good or bad, situations evolve rapidly.” Losing and things could shift instantly, and permanently: this moment is an duty, too.

Urgent Meetings After Dismal Loss at the Bernabéu

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 loss at their own stadium on Sunday, Alonso said he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was far from the only one. Late into the night, emergency discussions continued, the club’s leadership reaching their own verdicts after a single win in five league games. Their diagnoses were different and while drastic decisions remain on hold, patience is finite, the names of possible successors already in the public domain. “These are scenarios you must deal with, yet my mind is fixed only on the game, on what I can influence,” Alonso stated in the press conference

“Undoubtedly the manager prepared a solid strategy, but ultimately, we the footballers are the ones performing,” the French midfielder remarked. “If we lost 2-0 to Celta, there’s a problem that’s on us: it’s not the coach’s fault.”

A Quick Descent After Early Promise

City will be his twenty-eighth outing in charge of Madrid and it might be his final one at a club where a crisis is perpetually looming after a few setbacks, where even sharing points is insufficient, and there’s perpetually an alternative who can coach. Things have indeed shifted swiftly, even if the origins of the trouble were there from the start. Hailed as a structured planner, precisely the required remedy after a season of permissiveness and underachievement, Alonso was an anomaly at a squad-centric organization.

When Madrid triumphed in El Clásico in late October, they established a five-point lead at the top. They had won 12 of 13 competitive games, although the defeat was emphatic: 5-2 at Atlético. It also exposed fissures. Taken off after 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior stormed off down the tunnel, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a missive a few days later he expressed regret to all apart from Alonso. From the club's leadership, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was radio silence.

Tensions Emerging

Internally, the verdict was clear: Alonso was wrong to remove Vinícius off. Asked here if he would make the same call, 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.” Frictions had been exposed, a rift between trainer and a portion of the team. Federico Valverde too had voiced his discontent openly. The components weren't meshing as they should. A typical grievance began to surface about all the instructions, the video analysis, the long sessions. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Over a week after the clásico, Madrid were defeated at Anfield, initiating a spell 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 mend divisions or at least cover cracks, to establish peace. Focus turned on the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been assembled a day early, it seemed some agreement had been established; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. Reconciliation was displayed when Vinícius embraced the 44-year-old as he departed. A brief break followed. A few days after, though, Celta overcame them and so it disintegrates anew.

That it is public knowledge 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 calculated. 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 dreadful against Celta: an absence of character, poor commitment, a lack of organization.

The Manager: The Most Obvious Solution

But the weakest link, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the sporting matters, dominated the buildup 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 shortest answer 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 single word: “yes.”

“Being Madrid manager is not about changing [the culture]; it is about adapting,” 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 hand in hand, and when attention was turned to the question of support or the lack of it from above, he commented: “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.”