NO GIFTS FOR THE XAB
Heading into Wednesday night's clash against Manchester City, the position of the Real Madrid manager in the dugout seemed as up in the air like a Spanish omelette tossed in a pan. Only a handful of matches since his appointment, the only major stain on his record had been a shocking heavy defeat against Atlético. But, since the start of last month, Madrid have managed just three in nine, including their most unpalatable results coming in the form of stalemates with supposed Spanish league cannon fodder, and ending with Sunday’s embarrassing loss at the Bernabéu to Celta Vigo.
In Europe's premier club competition, the Spanish giants still look set to claim a crucial top eight spot despite their loss at the hands of Pep Guardiola's side, a defeat that was met with shrill whistles from the crowd by hard-to-please fans who had actually just seen injury-hit squad play reasonably well.
"When you don’t win in your own stadium that can happen," sighed Alonso regarding the response from the famously tough faithful. "The team persevered, we tried until the end and with all the difficulties we have [with injuries] the players gave everything. Today there is nothing to fault. The results in November and December haven’t been good, not up to our standards. We’re self-critical, but must continue working and have faith that things will improve."
Despite rumours the club's overpaid prima donnas are not enamored with Alonso's demands for making them “do” tactics, sit through lengthy analysis sessions and compulsory evening classes about the economics of fishing in Galicia, there was no shortage of public backing for the under-pressure boss.
After netting the first goal, Rodrygo slapped hands with Alonso by the sideline, while both Thibaut Courtois and Jude Bellingham provided heartwarming post-match references in front of the TV cameras. "The boss has been excellent," tooted the England star, in what some might call excessive flattery he might do well to replicate next time he’s on England duty. "I myself have a fantastic rapport with him, a lot of the lads do as well. After the first run of games where we drew a few, we held great conversations internally. Recently, we’ve just let ourselves down again. Yet nobody is downing tools, no one is complaining, moaning, believing our campaign is finished."
While it would be unusual for the UK press to twist Bellingham's words to suit some weird agenda, it could be argued that by saying that “a lot” of his teammates get on with Alonso, he was tacitly implying that a significant number do not. The Brazilian winger clearly hasn’t seen eye-to-eye with his boss and he is said to have informed the club's hierarchy he will not ink a new deal as long as Alonso remains in charge. It makes you think how Vinícius made of the next day's coverage in Spain, that offered Alonso a free pass for this defeat and instead placed responsibility squarely at Viní’s wasteful feet.
STATEMENT OF THE DAY
"Free speech and the right to privacy are fundamental rights. No football fan surrenders those rights simply because they cross a border. This measure introduces a chilling atmosphere of monitoring which goes against the welcoming, open spirit the tournament is meant to embody and it should be scrapped immediately" – Ronan Evain, the head of a fan organization, condemns a proposed policy requiring fans heading to the USA for the World Cup to provide details regarding their online disgrace accounts.