🔗 Share this article

“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” Xabi Alonso insisted, maybe affirming a tad forcefully. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he continued on the day before Pep Guardiola's side visit once more 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.” Losing and things could shift instantly, and permanently: this moment is an obligation, too.

Crisis Talks After Dismal Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 loss at their own stadium on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Late into the night, urgent meetings persisted, the club’s hierarchy drawing their own conclusions after a mere one victory in five league games. Their assessments were divergent and while drastic decisions are temporarily shelved, forbearance is running out, the names of potential replacements 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

“Certainly the trainer devised an effective approach, but when it comes down to it, the players execute on the field,” one of the squad's leaders stated. “If we lost 2-0 to Celta, there’s a problem that’s on us: it’s not the coach’s fault.”

A Swift Decline After Early Success

City will be his twenty-eighth outing 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 ties are unacceptable, and there’s always someone else 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, precisely the required remedy after a season of permissiveness and underachievement, Alonso was an anomaly at a players’ club.

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 setback was significant: 5-2 at Atlético. It also exposed fissures. 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 apologised to everyone except Alonso. From the club's leadership, rather than backing the coach, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Frictions Brought to the Surface

Internally, the conclusion was clear: Alonso was wrong to remove Vinícius off. Questioned on this point if he would make the same call, Alonso replied: “The intent behind that question eludes me. When a situation on the pitch demands a choice, I make it.” Strains had been exposed, a disconnect between trainer and a portion of the team. Federico Valverde too had expressed his irritation publicly. The components weren't meshing as they should. A familiar lament began to emerge about all the orders, the video analysis, the long sessions. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

More than a week after the clásico, Madrid were beaten by Liverpool, starting a sequence 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. Eventually, talks were held to repair cracks or at least paper over the issues, to establish peace. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Temporary Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been brought together a day early, it seemed some compromise had been found; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. A thawing of relations was displayed when Vinícius greeted the coach as he departed. Two days off followed. Four days later, 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 calculated. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about injuries and injustice, not even truly believing his own words, Madrid were awful against Celta: no identity, a deficient mentality, an absence of tactical shape.

The Gaffer: The Easiest Target

But the most vulnerable point, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the sporting matters, was the central theme to this game. However much the man who is still Madrid’s manager kept trying to bring it back to the match, which he did with virtually all his replies. The shortest answer he gave might have been the most significant, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the complete roster was behind him, Alonso replied in a one word: “yes.”

“Being Madrid manager is not about changing [the culture]; it is about adapting,” Alonso stated. “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 by himself that Alonso talked of a collective, a club, that goes together, and when attention was turned to the question of support or the lack of it 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.”