Shrill Whistles alongside Fawning Praise, but Still Intense Pressure on Xabi Alonso
NO GIFTS FOR XABI ALONSO
Heading into Wednesday night's encounter against Manchester City, the position of Xabi Alonso as head coach appeared as up in the air like a tortilla tossed in a pan. Only 14 games since his appointment, the solitary unsightly blot on his copybook had been an unacceptable heavy defeat against Atlético. But, since the start of last month, Madrid have only won three in nine, including their worst performances coming in the form of stalemates against perceived La Liga lesser teams, culminating in Sunday’s humiliating home defeat at the hands of Celta Vigo.
In Europe's Bigger Cup, they still look set to secure an all-important top eight spot despite their reverse to City, a loss that was met with loud boos of disapproval from demanding supporters that had witnessed injury-hit squad put in a decent shift.
"If you fail to win at home that can happen," sighed Alonso regarding the response from the notoriously demanding faithful. "The team persevered, we tried until the end and with all the difficulties we are facing [with injuries] the players left it all on the pitch. For this match I have nothing to criticise. The results in November and December has been poor, not up to our standards. We are analyzing ourselves, but have to continue working and have faith it will pass."
Despite rumours Madrid’s high-profile stars are not enamored with Alonso's demands for tactical drills, sit through long-winded analysis sessions and compulsory mandatory evening seminars on the economic history of fishing in Galicia, there was plenty of public backing for the under-pressure manager.
After netting their opener, the Brazilian forward slapped hands with Alonso by the sideline, with both Thibaut Courtois and Jude Bellingham provided supportive post-game comments to the media. "The manager’s been great," tooted Bellingham, in an act of unedifying sycophancy he might do well to replicate the next time he joins the national team. "I myself got a great relationship with him, a lot of the guys do as well. After the first run of games when we had some draws, we had some productive talks within the group. In the last couple of games, we have simply let ourselves down again. Yet no one is downing tools, nobody is complaining, moaning, thinking our campaign is finished."
While it would be unheard of for the UK press to twist Bellingham's words to fit a narrative, one might suggest that in stating many of his colleagues get on with Alonso, he was subtly hinting that a significant number do not. The Brazilian winger has evidently had disagreements with his boss and he is widely reported to have informed the club's hierarchy he will not sign a new deal as long as Alonso is the coach. One wonders what the Brazilian thought about Thursday morning’s coverage in Spain, which gave Alonso no blame for the loss while laying the blame firmly on Viní’s wasteful feet.
QUOTE FROM THE NEWS
"Freedom of expression and the right to privacy are fundamental rights. No football fan gives up those freedoms just because they travel abroad. This policy creates a chilling atmosphere of monitoring which goes against the inclusive ethos the [Geopolitics] World Cup is supposed to represent and it should be scrapped immediately" – Ronan Evain, executive director of a fan organization, criticizes a proposed policy requiring fans travelling to the USA for the GWC to provide details about their social media disgrace accounts.
