“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” Xabi Alonso declared, maybe asserting somewhat excessively. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” he continued on the eve before Pep Guardiola's side return to the Santiago Bernabéu for a new instalment of a contemporary rivalry. “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 change immediately, and permanently: this moment is an obligation, too.
Crisis Talks After Poor Home Defeat
Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Into the early hours, emergency discussions carried on, the club’s leadership reaching their own verdicts after a solitary triumph in five league games. Their analyses were divergent and while severe measures remain on hold, forbearance is running out, the names of potential replacements already out. “You have to face those situations but my head’s only on the game, things I can control,” Alonso said here
“Certainly the trainer devised an effective approach, but when it comes down to it, the players execute on the field,” the French midfielder said. “If we lost 2-0 to Celta, there’s a problem that’s on us: it’s not the coach’s fault.”
A Swift Deterioration After Initial Success
City will be his twenty-eighth outing in charge of Madrid and it may prove to be his farewell at a club where a state of emergency is always just two losses around the corner, where even ties are unacceptable, and there’s perpetually an alternative who can coach. Things have indeed changed fast, even if the origins of the trouble were there from the start. Sold as a structured planner, the ideal solution 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 triumphed in twelve out of thirteen competitive games, although the setback was significant: 5-2 at Atlético. It also revealed cracks. Taken off after 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior stormed off down the tunnel, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a letter a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. Institutionally, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was a conspicuous quiet.
Frictions Coming to Light
Within the dressing room, the conclusion was obvious: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Pressed on the issue if he would make the same call, Alonso answered: “The intent behind that question eludes me. When a situation on the pitch demands a choice, I make it.” Tensions had been exposed, a rift between trainer and a portion of the team. Federico Valverde too had expressed his irritation publicly. The pieces weren’t fitting as they should. A familiar lament began to emerge about all the orders, the video analysis, the lengthy training. Who did he think he was, the manager?!
Nine days after the clásico, Madrid were beaten by Liverpool, starting a sequence of two wins in seven. Capable of a more direct style, they overcame Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those drew at Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to repair cracks or at least mask the problems, to restore tranquility. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.
A Fragile Rapprochement
In Bilbao, where they had been gathered a day early, it seemed some middle ground had been reached; 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 disintegrates anew.
That it is public knowledge that Alonso’s future is under scrutiny is as important 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 player absences and unfairness, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were awful against Celta: an absence of character, poor commitment, no structure.
The Gaffer: The Easiest Target
But the weakest link, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the on-pitch performance, dominated the buildup 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 almost every response. 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.”
“The role of Real Madrid coach isn't to alter the culture; it is to adjust,” 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 unit, a club, that goes together, and when attention was turned to the question of support or the lack of it from above, he replied: “Our contact with the board is continuous, stemming from belief, solidarity, and care. We stand as one in this situation. Our mindset is geared to confront all obstacles: the team is cohesive, fully believing we can triumph tomorrow, with absolute certainty. It's the Champions League. The Bernabéu is our stage. The ambiance will be unforgettable. That fosters a distinct vitality, particularly within the squad.”
