🔗 Share this article

“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” Xabi Alonso declared, maybe asserting a tad forcefully. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he continued on the morning before Pep Guardiola's side step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for another instalment 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.” A defeat and things could change immediately, and definitively: this chance is an duty, too.

Crisis Talks After Desperate Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 loss at their own stadium on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was not alone. Late into the night, urgent meetings carried on, the club’s leadership drawing their own conclusions after a mere one victory in five league games. Their assessments were divergent and while drastic decisions are temporarily shelved, forbearance is running out, the names of potential replacements already out. “You have to face those situations but my head’s only on the game, things I can control,” Alonso said here

“Undoubtedly the manager prepared a solid strategy, but ultimately, we the footballers are the ones performing,” one of the squad's leaders stated. “Losing by two goals to Celta points to a deficiency in our performance, not the coach's planning.”

A Quick Deterioration After Initial Success

City will be his twenty-eighth outing 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 invariably another candidate who can coach. Things have indeed evolved rapidly, even if the roots of the crisis were there from the start. Sold as a structured planner, precisely the required remedy after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was counter-cultural at a squad-centric organization.

When Madrid triumphed in El Clásico in late October, they opened a five-point gap at the top. They had secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the setback was significant: 5-2 at Atlético. It also exposed fissures. Replaced in the 72nd minute, Vinícius Júnior stormed off down the tunnel, seemingly ready to quit the club. In a letter a few days later he expressed regret to all apart from Alonso. From the club's leadership, rather than supporting the trainer, there was silence.

Strains Coming to Light

Internally, the verdict was obvious: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Asked here 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.” Strains had been brought to the surface, a disconnect between trainer and a portion of the team. Federico Valverde too had voiced his discontent openly. The pieces weren’t fitting 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?!

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 defeated Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those drew at Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to repair cracks or at least mask the problems, to restore tranquility. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been gathered a day early, it seemed some middle ground had been reached; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. A thawing of relations was staged when Vinícius embraced the 44-year-old as he departed. A couple of days' rest followed. Subsequently, though, Celta defeated them and so it unravels again.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is in doubt is as notable 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 unfairness, not even truly convincing himself, Madrid were awful against Celta: an absence of character, a deficient mentality, no structure.

The Coach: The Most Obvious Solution

But the weakest link, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the sporting matters, overshadowed the preparation to this game. However much the man who is still Madrid’s manager kept trying to refocus on the match, which he did with virtually all his replies. The briefest response he gave might have been the most telling, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the complete roster was behind him, Alonso replied in a single word: “yes.”

“Managing Real Madrid doesn't involve transforming the culture; it requires fitting in,” Alonso stated. “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 isolated that Alonso talked of a unit, a club, that goes together, and when attention was turned to the question of backing or its absence 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.”