{"id":105950,"date":"2025-12-08T22:08:04","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T22:08:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=105950"},"modified":"2025-12-08T22:08:04","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T22:08:04","slug":"why-alonsos-chances-of-survival-at-real-madrid-are-slim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=105950","title":{"rendered":"Why Alonso\u2019s chances of survival at Real Madrid are slim"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>6 Minute, 54 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
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Xabi Alonso\u2019s Real Madrid fate has not yet been decided, but Wednesday\u2019s Champions League game against Manchester City at the Bernabeu could prove crucial.<\/p>\n

Fans are losing patience and Madrid were booed off after\u00a0Sunday\u2019s 2-0 La Liga defeat by Celta Vigo, prompting an emergency meeting for the club\u2019s hierarchy to discuss Alonso\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

Real remain four points behind leaders Barcelona having won just one of their last five La Liga matches and, after a dramatic slump since beating Barcelona in October, it seems now his chances of survival are very slim.<\/p>\n

Alonso arrived at Real in the summer offering a modern approach but the club has to accept that this step is necessary. And it still resists.<\/p>\n

President Florentino Perez has never fully believed in this kind of change, even though people inside the club convinced him to appoint Rafa Benitez, Julien Lopetegui and Xabi Alonso \u2013 steps in a new direction.<\/p>\n

But the moment they falter, show doubt or the players stop buying in, Perez turns his thumb down, given that in the past the club has been more successful with less interventionist coaches like Carlo Ancelotti or Zinedine Zidane.<\/p>\n

When he arrived at Bayer Leverkusen, Alonso asked to be released if any of the clubs he had played for came calling, provided he felt like taking the job.<\/p>\n

He added one more team to that list \u2013 Manchester City, as Pep\u2019s eventual replacement. Now it could be Pep who leaves him without a job.<\/p>\n

Madrid\u2019s return to the Bernabeu after six games away reflected everything that has gone wrong across their run of just three wins in seven. Some good moments were there but what stood out most was the lack of connection between the manager\u2019s idea and the players\u2019 execution. They don\u2019t seem to fully believe in the plan.<\/p>\n

The scenes in the dressing room after Sunday\u2019s defeat were pure frustration \u2013 objects thrown, raised voices. Any time someone tried to blame the referee, the response was immediate: \u201cThat\u2019s a bad excuse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alonso had shouted a swear word towards Fran Garcia when he had been sent off and the manager said in the press conference that he did not like the referee\u2019s performance \u2013 but it was no excuse.<\/p>\n

The most worrying moment in his press conference after the Celta defeat was when he said certain things had been prepared \u2013 a higher tempo, pressing upfield \u2013 but the team didn\u2019t apply any of it. Echos of what previous boss Ancelotti had warned him about.<\/p>\n

The second most worrying moment was finding out the decision-makers at the club stayed behind closed doors at the Bernabeu for a few hours after the match analysing what had happened. That is never good.<\/p>\n

\u2018If Mbappe doesn\u2019t score, nobody does\u2019<\/h2>\n
Image caption,Kylian Mbappe has scored 25 goals in 21 games for Real Madrid this season<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Alonso perhaps set himself up by announcing the return of \u201crock and roll\u201d when he first arrived. He meant a side with a clear identity, that would press with aggression, attack with the impact of adrumbeat, and have players stepping up with the personality and sharpness of an electric guitar riff.<\/p>\n

Despite all the signs and previous warnings, Alonso didn\u2019t realise just how hard it would be to achieve the most difficult thing in football \u2013 getting everyone to think as one.<\/p>\n

He knew things would be complicated. Ancelotti had already warned him, privately and publicly, that certain ideas were prepared during the week but never applied on the pitch.<\/p>\n

Ancelotti went even further in conversations with those close to him \u2013 this was the most difficult dressing room of his career. Not because players are bad people, but because there are so many conflicting interests. Kylian Mbappe thinks about his records. Vinicius worries about not losing his authority in the team. Federico Valverde wants to play in midfield and doesn\u2019t yet have the maturity expected from a captain.<\/p>\n

On the day of the match at Liverpool, those who make the decisions at Real Madrid were openly expressing full support and admiration for what Alonso was doing \u2013 modernising the team, making it dynamic and versatile.<\/p>\n

He had just beaten Barcelona and was on a run of 13 wins in 14 matches. But after the defeat at Anfield, followed by draws away to Rayo and Elche, the pressure became relentless.<\/p>\n

Stories began to leak out that there were too many videos, that the demands were too high, that the players were expected to be robots. The typical clash between a coach with a clear methodology and players who want to rely on instinct.<\/p>\n

Problems had been accumulated.<\/p>\n

Alonso was convinced Jude Bellingham would help him as he knew English players tend to submit to the general idea. The problem has been his position. Jude is a second forward, a finisher. If used as a midfielder, he is not comfortable but will work hard to adapt. That transitional period makes for a player that doesn\u2019t give as much as he would like to. That creates frustration and doubts.<\/p>\n

Alonso would have liked Martin Zubimendi because he believes Madrid lack a midfielder who can give them rhythm and organisation. But he didn\u2019t get him and had to work with physical, dynamic midfielders who are far more comfortable with quick transitions than with positional football and short, patient passing that he also wanted to implement. Arda Guler is trying to direct the team\u2019s play but he is more of a forward than a midfielder.<\/p>\n

If Mbappe doesn\u2019t score, nobody does: Vini has now gone 11 games without a goal, Rodrygo 33.<\/p>\n

Injuries \u2013 mostly in defence \u2013 have forced Alonso to field 20 different line-ups in 21 matches.<\/p>\n

Eder Militao is Real Madrid\u2019s latest casualty and the Brazil defender is expected to be out for three to four months with a torn hamstring suffered against Vigo.<\/p>\n

\u2018Xabi believes he is capable of finding solutions\u2019<\/h2>\n
Image caption,Xabi Alonso has a 69% win rate in La Liga this season<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Perhaps everything had already fallen apart in the reaction of Vini when he was replaced at the Clasico.<\/p>\n

It was a challenge to the authority of the manager that has not been resolved. That time the club did not protect Alonso and in the apologies, Vini \u201cforgot\u201d to mention him. It was going to be very hard to come back from that.<\/p>\n

When the entire press corps turns up with the same message \u2013 Alonso\u2019s future is uncertain \u2013 it usually means that message comes from the very top and that sources from the changing room back it up. Conversations then followed those disappointing results \u2013 between the coach and the players, and between the coach and the president.<\/p>\n

The manager began making decisions partly designed to please the players, hoping they would also compromise and allow him to keep adding layers to the team\u2019s understanding \u2014 to press more, to improve their attacks against deep blocks, to control games better.<\/p>\n

The defeat by Celta on Sunday effectively ended the fans\u2019 honeymoon with Alonso, although polls show that supporters also blame the players, who they felt didn\u2019t run nearly enough. \u201cWhen they\u2019re intense and press well, it\u2019s very hard to get out,\u201d said Celta\u2019s coach, Claudio Giraldez, after the match. But Madrid simply aren\u2019t doing that work with conviction or consistency, a clear sign of a team that doesn\u2019t think they are going the right way.<\/p>\n

Earlier, Giraldez had also said that Real Madrid were evolving, but nobody wants to listen. Alonso believes he is capable of finding solutions. But the media are now portraying him as a coach who has been overtaken by events. Again, when that happens, it usually means the club shares that view even if it isn\u2019t actually true.<\/p>\n

At Real Madrid, you go from crisis to paradise and back to hell in one or two matches. Which is why Wednesday\u2019s is not just another game.<\/p>\n

If Alonso were to go in the next few days, don\u2019t be surprised if Real try again to bring Zidane back to the club, while former Madrid full-back and current B team manager Alvaro Arbeloa is also a contender.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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