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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” Xabi Alonso declared, possibly protesting somewhat excessively. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he added on the day before Pep Guardiola's side step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for a new instalment of a contemporary rivalry. “I’m looking forward to what’s coming and that starts tomorrow, [an opportunity] to turn round the anger. In our heads, there’s only City. In football, for better or worse, things change quickly”. Failure and things could change immediately, and for good: this opportunity is an obligation, too.

Emergency Discussions After Poor Setback

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Into the early hours, crisis talks carried on, the club’s board reaching their own verdicts after a mere one victory in five league games. Their diagnoses were not the same and while drastic decisions remain on hold, patience is finite, the names of possible successors already out. “You have to face those situations but my head’s only on the game, things I can control,” Alonso commented

“Certainly the trainer devised an effective approach, but when it comes down to it, the players execute on the field,” 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 Rapid Descent After Early Success

City will be his twenty-eighth match in charge of Madrid and it may prove to be his farewell at a club where a turmoil is always just two losses around the corner, where even sharing points is insufficient, and there’s invariably another candidate who can coach. Things have indeed evolved rapidly, even if the origins of the trouble were there from the start. Hailed as a systems coach, exactly what they needed after a season of permissiveness and underachievement, Alonso was an anomaly at a players’ club.

When Madrid won the clásico in late October, they established a five-point lead at the top. They had won 12 of 13 competitive games, although the setback was significant: 5-2 at Atlético. It also revealed cracks. Taken off after 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior marched straight down the tunnel, seemingly ready to quit the club. In a missive a few days later he expressed regret to all apart from Alonso. Institutionally, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Tensions Emerging

Within the dressing room, the conclusion was obvious: Alonso ought not to have substituted Vinícius off. Pressed on the issue if he would repeat that decision, Alonso answered: “The intent behind that question eludes me. When a situation on the pitch demands a choice, I make it.” Tensions had been laid bare, a rift between coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had voiced his discontent openly. The components weren't meshing as they should. A typical grievance began to emerge about all the orders, the film sessions, the long sessions. 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 overcame Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those tied with Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to mend divisions or at least mask the problems, to restore tranquility. Focus was directed at the footballers for the first time.

A Short-Lived Rapprochement

In Bilbao, where they had been gathered a day early, it seemed some compromise had been found; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. A thawing of relations was orchestrated when Vinícius embraced the coach as he departed. A brief break followed. Subsequently, though, Celta beat them and so it falls apart once more.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is under scrutiny 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 fitness issues and bad luck, not even truly believing his own words, Madrid were terrible against Celta: a lack of style, a deficient mentality, an absence of tactical shape.

The Coach: The Easiest Target

But the simplest fix, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the sporting matters, was the central theme to this game. However much the man who is still Madrid’s manager kept trying to refocus on the match, which he did with almost every response. The briefest response he gave might have been the most significant, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the entire team was behind him, Alonso replied in a single word: “yes.”

“Being Madrid manager is not about changing [the culture]; it is about adapting,” Alonso continued. “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 alone that Alonso talked of a team, a club, that goes in unison, and when attention was turned to the question of backing or its absence 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.”