Alonso Fights for His Position in Newest Instalment of Contemporary Classic

“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” the Real Madrid coach declared, perhaps protesting somewhat excessively. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he added on the eve before Manchester City step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for another edition 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”. A defeat and things could shift instantly, and permanently: this moment is an obligation, too.

Emergency Discussions After Desperate Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s utterly disappointing 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso said he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Into the early hours, crisis talks continued, the club’s hierarchy drawing their own conclusions after a solitary triumph in five league games. Their analyses were not the same and while drastic decisions remain on hold, tolerance has limits, the names of possible successors already out. “These are scenarios you must deal with, yet my mind is fixed only on the game, on what I can influence,” 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,” Aurélien Tchouaméni remarked. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Quick Decline After Initial Promise

City will be his 28th game in charge of Madrid and it might be his final one at a club where a turmoil is perpetually looming after a few setbacks, where even draws will not do, and there’s perpetually an alternative who can coach. Things have indeed evolved rapidly, even if the roots of the crisis were there from the start. Sold as a tactical disciplinarian, the ideal solution after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was counter-cultural at a players’ club.

When Madrid triumphed in El Clásico in late October, they moved five points ahead at the top. They had triumphed in twelve out of thirteen 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, reportedly threatening to leave the club. In a letter a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. At the executive level, rather than backing the coach, there was silence.

Frictions Coming to Light

Internally, the assessment was clear: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Asked here if he would do that again, Alonso answered: “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 laid bare, a separation between manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The puzzle pieces weren't aligning as they should. A common complaint began to emerge about all the instructions, the videos, the long sessions. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

More than a week after the clásico, Madrid were overcome at Liverpool, starting a sequence of two wins in seven. When adopting a straightforward approach, they beat 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 restore tranquility. Focus was directed at the footballers for the first time.

A Short-Lived Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been assembled a day early, it seemed some middle ground had been established; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. Rapprochement was staged when Vinícius embraced the coach as he departed. A couple of days' rest followed. Four days later, though, Celta defeated them and so it unravels again.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is on the line is as significant as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be denied, but it is deliberate. 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: no identity, no attitude, a lack of organization.

The Coach: The Easiest Target

But the simplest fix, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the on-pitch performance, was the central theme 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 almost every response. The shortest answer 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 stated. “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 by himself that Alonso talked of a team, a club, that goes hand in hand, and when attention was turned to the question of support or the lack of it from above, he answered: “Dialogue with the leadership is ongoing, founded on trust, togetherness, and mutual respect. We are all united in this endeavor. We are psychologically prepared for any challenge: the squad is unified, certain of victory tomorrow, without a shadow of doubt. This is the Champions League. We are playing at the Bernabéu. The environment will be electric. That generates a unique dynamism, even among the players.”