Xabi Alonso Struggles for His Position in Latest Edition of Modern Showdown

“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” the Real Madrid coach insisted, perhaps asserting somewhat excessively. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he remarked on the morning before Pep Guardiola's side step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for a new 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 change immediately, and permanently: this moment is an imperative, too.

Urgent Meetings After Poor Loss at the Bernabéu

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, crisis talks persisted, the club’s hierarchy forming their own opinions after a solitary triumph in five league games. Their analyses were different and while drastic decisions remain on hold, forbearance is running out, the names of possible successors already in the public domain. “You have to face those situations but my head’s only on the game, things I can control,” Alonso said here

“For sure the coach had a good plan but, in the end we, the players, are the ones on the pitch,” the French midfielder stated. “Losing by two goals to Celta points to a deficiency in our performance, not the coach's planning.”

A Rapid Descent After Early Success

City will be his 28th game in charge of Madrid and it might be his final one at a club where a crisis is always just two losses around the corner, where even ties are unacceptable, and there’s always someone else who can coach. Things have indeed changed fast, even if the origins of the trouble were there from the start. Hailed as a structured planner, precisely the required remedy after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was an anomaly at a star-driven institution.

When Madrid secured victory against Barcelona in late October, they established a five-point lead at the top. They had won 12 of 13 competitive games, although the defeat was emphatic: 5-2 at Atlético. It also revealed cracks. Replaced in the 72nd minute, Vinícius Júnior stormed off down the tunnel, seemingly ready to quit the club. In a missive 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.

Tensions Brought to the Surface

Internally, the verdict was evident: Alonso was wrong to remove Vinícius off. Pressed on the issue if he would repeat that decision, Alonso responded: “The intent behind that question eludes me. When a situation on the pitch demands a choice, I make it.” Tensions had been laid bare, a disconnect between coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The puzzle pieces weren't aligning as they should. A typical grievance began to emerge about all the directives, the videos, the extended practices. 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. Capable of a more direct style, they beat Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those tied with Rayo, Elche and Girona. After a delay, talks were held to repair cracks or at least paper over the issues, to bring calm. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Short-Lived Rapprochement

In Bilbao, where they had been brought together a day early, it seemed some middle ground had been found; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. A thawing of relations was orchestrated when Vinícius hugged the 44-year-old as he departed. A couple of days' rest followed. A few days after, though, Celta defeated them and so it disintegrates anew.

That it is known that Alonso’s future is on the line 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 player absences and injustice, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were awful against Celta: a lack of style, a deficient mentality, a lack of organization.

The Coach: The Simplest Fix

But the simplest fix, 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 virtually all his replies. The briefest response he gave might have been the most significant, 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 continued. “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 in unison, and when attention was turned to the question of support or the lack of it 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.”