Xabi Alonso Struggles for His Future 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, maybe protesting somewhat excessively. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” he added on the day before the English champions step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest edition 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.” Losing and things could alter for good, and permanently: this opportunity is an duty, too.

Crisis Talks After Desperate Loss at the Bernabéu

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Late into the night, crisis talks persisted, the club’s leadership reaching their own verdicts after a mere one victory in five league games. Their diagnoses were not the same and while radical changes are being postponed, 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. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Quick Descent 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 crisis is never more than a couple of defeats away, where even draws will not do, and there’s perpetually an alternative who can coach. Things have indeed shifted swiftly, even if the seeds of the problem were there from the start. Hailed as a structured planner, the ideal solution after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was a cultural shock at a squad-centric organization.

When Madrid won the clásico in late October, they opened a five-point gap at the top. They had secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the loss had been heavy: 5-2 at Atlético. It also revealed cracks. Taken off after 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior marched straight down the tunnel, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a missive a few days later he expressed regret to all apart from Alonso. At the executive level, rather than backing the coach, there was radio silence.

Strains Brought to the Surface

Internally, the verdict was evident: Alonso ought not to have substituted Vinícius off. Pressed on the issue if he would repeat that decision, Alonso answered: “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.” Frictions had been laid bare, a disconnect between manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had expressed his irritation publicly. The puzzle pieces weren't aligning as they should. A familiar lament began to emerge about all the orders, the videos, 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 tied with Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to fix fault lines or at least cover cracks, to establish peace. Focus was directed at the footballers for the first time.

A Short-Lived Truce

In Bilbao, where they had been brought together a day early, it seemed some compromise had been reached; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. Reconciliation was staged 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 understood that Alonso’s future is in doubt is as important 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 unfairness, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: a lack of style, no attitude, an absence of tactical shape.

The Manager: The Most Obvious Solution

But the weakest link, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the sporting matters, 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 nearly each answer. The shortest answer 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 solitary term: “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 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 replied: “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.”