🔗 Share this article

“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” Xabi Alonso stated emphatically, maybe protesting a little too much. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he continued on the eve before Pep Guardiola's side step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for a new instalment of a very modern classic. “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 definitively: this chance is an duty, too.

Urgent Meetings After Dismal Loss at the Bernabéu

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Into the early hours, crisis talks continued, the club’s board forming their own opinions after a solitary triumph in five league games. Their diagnoses were different and while drastic decisions are temporarily shelved, tolerance has limits, the names of potential replacements already in the public domain. “One must confront such circumstances, but my focus is solely on the match, on elements within my power,” Alonso commented

“Undoubtedly the manager prepared a solid strategy, but ultimately, we the footballers are the ones performing,” the French midfielder said. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Swift Deterioration After Early Promise

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 never more than a couple of defeats away, where even sharing points is insufficient, and there’s invariably another candidate who can coach. Things have indeed evolved rapidly, even if the seeds of the problem were there from the start. Hailed as a systems coach, the ideal solution after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was an anomaly at a star-driven institution.

When Madrid won the clásico in late October, they opened a five-point gap at the top. They had secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the loss had been heavy: 5-2 at Atlético. It also revealed cracks. Replaced in the 72nd minute, 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. Institutionally, rather than supporting the trainer, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Tensions Coming to Light

Behind the scenes, the assessment was obvious: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Asked here if he would make the same call, Alonso replied: “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 exposed, a disconnect between coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The components weren't meshing as they should. A common complaint began to slip out about all the instructions, the film sessions, the lengthy training. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Over a week after the clásico, Madrid were defeated at Anfield, initiating a spell of two wins in seven. Able to play direct, they overcame Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those tied with Rayo, Elche and Girona. After a delay, talks were held to fix fault lines or at least paper over the issues, to establish peace. Focus was directed at the footballers for the first time.

A Temporary Rapprochement

In Bilbao, where they had been gathered a day early, it seemed some agreement had been found; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. Reconciliation was displayed when Vinícius embraced the coach as he departed. A couple of days' rest followed. A few days after, though, Celta beat them and so it disintegrates anew.

That it is public knowledge that Alonso’s future is in doubt is as important as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be disputed, but it is calculated. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about player absences and bad luck, not even truly convincing himself, Madrid were terrible against Celta: a lack of style, poor commitment, no structure.

The Coach: The Easiest Target

But the simplest fix, 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 refocus on the match, which he did with almost every response. The most concise reply he gave might have been the most significant, 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 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 isolated 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 answered: “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.”