Xabi Alonso Fights for His Future in Fresh Edition of Modern Fixture

“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” the Real Madrid coach insisted, possibly protesting somewhat excessively. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he added on the eve before Manchester City return to the Santiago Bernabéu for another meeting 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 definitively: this moment is an obligation, too.

Crisis Talks After Dismal Loss at the Bernabéu

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso said he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was far from the only one. Late into the night, emergency discussions carried on, the club’s leadership drawing their own conclusions after a mere one victory in five league games. Their analyses were divergent and while radical changes remain on hold, patience is finite, the names of possible successors already in the public domain. “One must confront such circumstances, but my focus is solely on the match, on elements within my power,” Alonso said here

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

A Rapid Decline After Initial Success

City will be his twenty-eighth outing 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 sharing points is insufficient, 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. Presented as a systems coach, exactly what they needed after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was a cultural shock at a star-driven institution.

When Madrid triumphed in El Clásico in late October, they opened a five-point gap at the top. They had won 12 of 13 competitive games, although the loss had been heavy: 5-2 at Atlético. It also exposed fissures. Replaced in the 72nd minute, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, seemingly ready to quit the club. In a statement a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. At the executive level, rather than backing the coach, there was radio silence.

Tensions Brought to the Surface

Internally, the assessment was obvious: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Asked here if he would do that again, Alonso responded: “I am unsure of the purpose of that query. If, in the moment, I believe a decision is required on the field, I will make it.” Tensions had been exposed, a disconnect between coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had expressed his irritation publicly. The components weren't meshing as they should. A familiar lament began to slip out about all the directives, the video analysis, the extended practices. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Nine days after the clásico, Madrid were defeated at Anfield, initiating a spell of two wins in seven. Capable of a more direct style, they defeated Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those were held by Rayo, Elche and Girona. Belatedly, talks were held to mend divisions or at least mask the problems, to establish peace. 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 middle ground had been found; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. A thawing of relations 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 falls apart once more.

That it is known that Alonso’s future is on the line is as significant 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: no identity, poor commitment, a lack of organization.

The Coach: The Easiest Target

But the simplest fix, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the actual football, 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 revealing, 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. “The culture of Real Madrid is well-known to us; it's the reason for its status as the world's premier club. Adaptation, continuous learning, and player communication are key. There will be highs and lows. Meeting challenges with drive and a positive mindset is the only route to improvement.”

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