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“We are a collective, a single entity, and we are all in this as one,” Xabi Alonso declared, maybe protesting a tad forcefully. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he remarked on the morning before Pep Guardiola's side return to the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest instalment of a very modern classic. “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.” Failure and things could shift instantly, and definitively: this opportunity is an obligation, too.

Urgent Meetings After Desperate Setback

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was not alone. Late into the night, emergency discussions carried on, the club’s leadership reaching their own verdicts after a solitary triumph in five league games. Their analyses were not the same and while radical changes remain on hold, tolerance has limits, the names of possible successors already in the public domain. “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. “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 28th game in charge of Madrid and it could be his last at a club where a state of emergency is perpetually looming after a few setbacks, where even draws will not do, and there’s perpetually an alternative who can coach. Things have indeed changed fast, even if the roots of the crisis were there from the start. Hailed as a tactical disciplinarian, the ideal solution after a season of permissiveness and underachievement, Alonso was counter-cultural at a players’ club.

When Madrid secured victory against Barcelona 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 revealed cracks. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a missive a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. Institutionally, rather than supporting the trainer, there was radio silence.

Frictions Coming to Light

Internally, the assessment was evident: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Asked here if he would do that again, Alonso answered: “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.” Strains had been laid bare, a separation between trainer and a portion of the team. Federico Valverde too had expressed his irritation publicly. The pieces weren’t fitting as they should. A common complaint began to emerge about all the directives, 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, initiating a spell of two wins in seven. Able to play direct, they beat Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those tied with Rayo, Elche and Girona. Belatedly, talks were held to repair cracks or at least cover cracks, to bring calm. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Temporary Truce

In Bilbao, where they had been brought together a day early, it seemed some agreement had been established; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. Reconciliation was staged when Vinícius embraced the 44-year-old as he departed. Two days off followed. A few days after, though, Celta overcame them and so it unravels again.

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 injuries and bad luck, not even truly believing his own words, Madrid were awful against Celta: no identity, a deficient mentality, an absence of tactical shape.

The Manager: The Easiest Target

But the weakest link, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the on-pitch performance, dominated the buildup 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 nearly each answer. The most concise reply he gave might have been the most telling, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the whole squad was behind him, Alonso replied in a one word: “yes.”

“The role of Real Madrid coach isn't to alter the culture; it is to adjust,” Alonso added. “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 support or the lack of it from above, he replied: “Communication [with the hierarchy] is constant, and it comes from confidence, unity and affection. We’re all together in this. We’re mentally ready to face everything that comes: the team is united, convinced that we can win tomorrow, no one has any doubts about that. It is the Champions League. We are at the Bernabéu. The atmosphere will be special. That creates a different energy, including in the players.”