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“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” Xabi Alonso stated emphatically, perhaps asserting 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 edition of a contemporary rivalry. “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 change immediately, and permanently: this chance is an obligation, too.

Urgent Meetings After Poor Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Late into the night, crisis talks carried on, the club’s leadership forming their own opinions after a solitary triumph in five league games. Their assessments were different and while drastic decisions remain on hold, tolerance has limits, the names of candidates already out. “These are scenarios you must deal with, yet my mind is fixed only on the game, on what I can influence,” 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 remarked. “Losing by two goals to Celta points to a deficiency in our performance, not the coach's planning.”

A Quick Decline After Early Success

City will be his 28th game in charge of Madrid and it may prove to be his farewell at a club where a crisis is perpetually looming after a few setbacks, where even sharing points is insufficient, and there’s perpetually an alternative who can coach. Things have indeed shifted swiftly, even if the origins of the trouble were there from the start. Presented as a systems coach, precisely the required remedy after a season of permissiveness and underachievement, Alonso was counter-cultural at a squad-centric organization.

When Madrid triumphed in El Clásico in late October, they established a five-point lead at the top. They had won 12 of 13 competitive games, although the loss had been heavy: 5-2 at Atlético. It also highlighted flaws. Taken off after 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior stormed off down the tunnel, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a missive a few days later he expressed regret to all apart from Alonso. Institutionally, rather than backing the coach, there was silence.

Strains Brought to the Surface

Internally, the verdict was clear: Alonso ought not to have substituted Vinícius off. Asked here if he would repeat that decision, Alonso replied: “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.” Tensions had been exposed, a disconnect between manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The components weren't meshing as they should. A common complaint began to surface 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, starting a sequence of two wins in seven. Able to play direct, they overcame 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 compromise 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 defeated them and so it falls apart once more.

That it is known 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 fitness issues and injustice, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: a lack of style, no attitude, an absence of tactical shape.

The Manager: The Easiest Target

But the simplest fix, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the actual football, 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 virtually all his replies. The shortest answer 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 single 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 isolated that Alonso talked of a unit, a club, that goes together, and when attention was turned to the question of endorsement or the deficit 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.”