Xabi Alonso Struggles 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 manager insisted, possibly protesting a little too much. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” he remarked on the eve before Manchester City return to the Santiago Bernabéu for another instalment of a very modern classic. “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.” Failure and things could change immediately, and definitively: this moment is an duty, too.

Crisis Talks After Dismal Setback

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 loss at their own stadium on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was far from the only one. Long after the final whistle, crisis talks persisted, the club’s board drawing their own conclusions after a single win in five league games. Their analyses were different and while severe measures are being postponed, tolerance has limits, the names of candidates already in the public domain. “These are scenarios you must deal with, yet my mind is fixed only on the game, on what I can influence,” Alonso commented

“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 said. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Rapid 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 crisis is always just two losses around the corner, where even sharing points is insufficient, and there’s always someone else who can coach. Things have indeed evolved rapidly, even if the seeds of the problem 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 squad-centric organization.

When Madrid triumphed in El Clásico in late October, they moved five points ahead at the top. They had secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the defeat was emphatic: 5-2 at Atlético. It also revealed cracks. Replaced in the 72nd minute, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, seemingly ready to quit the club. In a letter a few days later he expressed regret to all apart from Alonso. From the club's leadership, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was radio silence.

Frictions Coming to Light

Within the dressing room, the assessment was clear: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Questioned on this point if he would repeat that decision, Alonso replied: “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 separation between trainer and a portion of the team. Federico Valverde too had voiced his discontent openly. The pieces weren’t fitting as they should. A familiar lament began to slip out about all the instructions, the video analysis, the lengthy training. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Over a week after the clásico, Madrid were beaten by Liverpool, beginning a run of two wins in seven. Able to play direct, they defeated Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those tied with Rayo, Elche and Girona. Belatedly, talks were held to repair cracks or at least cover cracks, to establish peace. 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 compromise had been reached; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. A thawing of relations was staged when Vinícius greeted the 44-year-old as he departed. A brief break followed. A few days after, though, Celta defeated them and so it unravels again.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is in doubt is as notable as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be denied, but it is intentional. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about fitness issues and bad luck, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were terrible against Celta: an absence of character, a deficient mentality, a lack of organization.

The Gaffer: The Most Obvious Solution

But the simplest fix, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the sporting matters, overshadowed the preparation to this game. However much the man who is still Madrid’s manager kept trying to refocus on the match, which he did with nearly each answer. The most concise reply he gave might have been the most revealing, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the entire team was behind him, Alonso replied in a single word: “yes.”

“Being Madrid manager is not about changing [the culture]; it is about adapting,” Alonso continued. “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 in unison, and when attention was turned to the question of backing or its absence from above, he commented: “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.”