Alonso Fights for His Future in Latest Instalment of Contemporary Showdown

“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” Xabi Alonso stated emphatically, perhaps protesting somewhat excessively. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he remarked on the eve before the English champions step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for a new edition 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.” Losing and things could change immediately, and definitively: this opportunity is an obligation, too.

Emergency Discussions After Poor Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was far from the only one. Into the early hours, emergency discussions carried on, the club’s board forming their own opinions after a mere one victory in five league games. Their diagnoses were not the same and while radical changes are being postponed, tolerance has limits, the names of candidates already circulating. “One must confront such circumstances, but my focus is solely on the match, on elements within my power,” 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,” the French midfielder said. “Losing by two goals to Celta points to a deficiency in our performance, not the coach's planning.”

A Rapid Decline After Initial Promise

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 draws will not do, and there’s invariably another candidate who can coach. Things have indeed shifted swiftly, even if the roots of the crisis were there from the start. Hailed as a tactical disciplinarian, exactly what they needed after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was counter-cultural at a squad-centric organization.

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 loss had been heavy: 5-2 at Atlético. It also exposed fissures. Substituted on 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 expressed regret to all apart from Alonso. Institutionally, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Strains Emerging

Behind the scenes, the assessment was evident: Alonso ought not to have substituted Vinícius off. Asked here if he would make the same call, 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.” Strains had been exposed, a separation between coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had voiced his discontent openly. The components weren't meshing as they should. A familiar lament began to surface about all the instructions, the film sessions, the long sessions. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

More than a week after the clásico, Madrid were defeated at Anfield, initiating a spell of two wins in seven. Able to play direct, they beat Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those were held by Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to fix fault lines or at least mask the problems, to bring calm. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Short-Lived Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been assembled a day early, it seemed some compromise had been reached; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. Rapprochement was orchestrated when Vinícius embraced the coach as he departed. A brief break followed. A few days after, though, Celta overcame them and so it disintegrates anew.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is under scrutiny is as important as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be rebutted, but it is calculated. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about injuries and injustice, not even truly convincing himself, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: no identity, no attitude, a lack of organization.

The Gaffer: The Easiest Target

But the weakest link, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the actual football, 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 virtually all his replies. The briefest response he gave might have been the most revealing, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the entire team was behind him, Alonso replied in a one word: “yes.”

“Managing Real Madrid doesn't involve transforming the culture; it requires fitting in,” Alonso added. “We understand the ethos of Real Madrid thoroughly; it's what makes it the globe's greatest club. One must adjust, absorb knowledge, engage with the squad. Certain days bring success, others less so. We must confront this with vigor and optimism; it's the sole path to reversal.”

It was when he was asked if he felt isolated that Alonso talked of a collective, a club, that goes together, and when attention was turned to the question of endorsement or the deficit from above, he commented: “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.”