The test at Real Madrid comes with every match, starting with the next one on the schedule. The club’s history and the demands that come with wearing the badge make that clear. Everyone knows it, and anyone who arrives has to accept it. That does not mean the manager is gambling with every decision, despite what some have suggested in recent weeks about the current coach. Nothing is definitively lost, or so they say.
Evaluations take place at specific points during the season, when everything around the team is assessed from within, not only what happens on the pitch. This applies to every manager. Decisions are always weighed and studied carefully.
Xabi Alonso and his players, along with the entire squad, are under constant review. They face a major challenge in December and the first half of January: to reverse a trajectory that has begun to worry the club. They have gone from being five points ahead of Barcelona to four points behind, with the match at San Mamés still to come. It is worth remembering that only a week ago, after being thrashed by Chelsea, the team looked completely adrift.
Ancelotti’s most difficult moment last season came after the Super Cup and the heavy defeat to Barcelona, followed by the Copa del Rey match against Celta Vigo. He survived that spell thanks to the now-criticised Endrick, whose current situation at the club is baffling. If Celta had managed to knock Real Madrid out of the Copa del Rey, the Italian would not have stayed in the job.
A year ago, after returning from Saudi Arabia, the team were considered to be out of control. That is not the case now. There is still confidence in Xabi Alonso’s work, and only time and results will show the real value of the former Bayer Leverkusen manager’s efforts.
During the meetings held last week, some of which the president attended, the squad committed to getting through the upcoming matches together. The Girona match broke that promise, although the club did acknowledge an improvement in the players’ attitude.
In his press conference before the trip to San Mamés, Xabi Alonso again highlighted the active support of Florentino Pérez. He also stressed that Pérez understands the team must react, especially with January approaching and with the significance of what happens in Jeddah increasing, starting with the derby against Atlético.