🔗 Share this article

“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” Xabi Alonso stated emphatically, possibly protesting a tad forcefully. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” he added on the morning before Manchester City step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for a new meeting of a frequent heavyweight clash. “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”. Losing and things could shift instantly, and permanently: this chance is an duty, too.

Urgent Meetings After Desperate Setback

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was not alone. Late into the night, urgent meetings carried on, the club’s hierarchy forming their own opinions after a single win in five league games. Their analyses were divergent and while radical changes are temporarily shelved, tolerance has limits, the names of possible successors already in the public domain. “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 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 might be his final one at a club where a crisis is always just two losses around the corner, where even ties are unacceptable, and there’s invariably another candidate who can coach. Things have indeed changed fast, even if the origins of the trouble were there from the start. Presented as a tactical disciplinarian, exactly what they needed after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was counter-cultural at a star-driven institution.

When Madrid secured victory against Barcelona in late October, they opened a five-point gap at the top. They had triumphed in twelve out of thirteen competitive games, although the defeat was emphatic: 5-2 at Atlético. It also revealed cracks. Taken off after 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a statement a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. From the club's leadership, rather than backing the coach, there was silence.

Strains Coming to Light

Within the dressing room, the assessment was evident: Alonso ought not to have substituted Vinícius off. Questioned on this point if he would repeat that decision, Alonso replied: “The intent behind that question eludes me. When a situation on the pitch demands a choice, I make it.” Tensions had been brought to the surface, a separation between manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The puzzle pieces weren't aligning as they should. A common complaint began to slip out about all the directives, the video analysis, the extended practices. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Over a week after the clásico, Madrid were overcome at Liverpool, starting a sequence of two wins in seven. Able to play direct, they overcame Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those were held by Rayo, Elche and Girona. Belatedly, talks were held to fix fault lines or at least paper over the issues, to bring calm. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Short-Lived Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been gathered a day early, it seemed some agreement had been reached; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. Reconciliation was orchestrated when Vinícius embraced the coach as he departed. Two days off followed. A few days after, though, Celta defeated them and so it unravels again.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is on the line is as important as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be disputed, but it is deliberate. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about fitness issues and unfairness, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: no identity, poor commitment, no structure.

The Manager: The Easiest Target

But the weakest link, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the on-pitch performance, overshadowed the preparation 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 briefest response he gave might have been the most revealing, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the whole squad 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 hand in hand, and when attention was turned to the question of endorsement or the deficit 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.”