Alonso Battles for His Position in Fresh Edition of Modern Classic

“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” the Real Madrid coach declared, perhaps affirming somewhat excessively. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” he continued on the day before the English champions visit once more the Santiago Bernabéu for another meeting of a very modern classic. “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 shift instantly, and permanently: this moment is an imperative, too.

Urgent Meetings After Poor Loss at the Bernabéu

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Long after the final whistle, urgent meetings carried on, the club’s board reaching their own verdicts after a single win in five league games. Their diagnoses were different and while radical changes remain on hold, forbearance is running out, the names of candidates already in the public domain. “You have to face those situations but my head’s only on the game, things I can control,” Alonso stated in the press conference

“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 remarked. “Losing by two goals to Celta points to a deficiency in our performance, not the coach's planning.”

A Swift Decline After Early Promise

City will be his 28th game in charge of Madrid and it might be his final one at a club where a state of emergency is never more than a couple of defeats away, where even draws will not do, and there’s perpetually an alternative who can coach. Things have indeed evolved rapidly, even if the origins of the trouble were there from the start. Presented as a structured planner, the ideal solution after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was a cultural shock at a star-driven institution.

When Madrid triumphed in El Clásico in late October, they moved five points ahead at the top. They had secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the loss had been heavy: 5-2 at Atlético. It also highlighted flaws. Taken off after 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, seemingly ready to quit the club. In a letter a few days later he apologised to everyone except Alonso. From the club's leadership, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was radio silence.

Strains Coming to Light

Behind the scenes, the conclusion was obvious: Alonso ought not to have substituted Vinícius off. Pressed on the issue if he would do that again, Alonso responded: “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.” Frictions had been laid bare, a separation between manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had voiced his discontent openly. The pieces weren’t fitting as they should. A common complaint began to emerge about all the orders, the video analysis, the lengthy training. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Over a week after the clásico, Madrid were overcome at Liverpool, beginning a run of two wins in seven. Able to play direct, 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 paper over the issues, to restore tranquility. Focus was directed at the footballers for the first time.

A Short-Lived Rapprochement

In Bilbao, where they had been assembled a day early, it seemed some compromise had been established; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. Rapprochement was displayed when Vinícius greeted the coach as he departed. A couple of days' rest followed. Subsequently, though, Celta defeated them and so it falls apart once more.

That it is public knowledge 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 player absences and injustice, not even truly believing his own words, Madrid were terrible against Celta: an absence of character, a deficient mentality, no structure.

The Manager: The Most Obvious Solution

But the simplest fix, 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 refocus on the match, which he did with nearly each answer. The shortest answer 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 one 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 by himself that Alonso talked of a team, a club, that goes in unison, and when attention was turned to the question of endorsement or the deficit from above, he commented: “Dialogue with the leadership is ongoing, founded on trust, togetherness, and mutual respect. We are all united in this endeavor. We are psychologically prepared for any challenge: the squad is unified, certain of victory tomorrow, without a shadow of doubt. This is the Champions League. We are playing at the Bernabéu. The environment will be electric. That generates a unique dynamism, even among the players.”