For much of the past month, it looked very much like Xabi Alonso would not be ‘eating his Christmas turron’ as Real Madrid coach, as the Spanish phrase has it for managers who lose their jobs before the winter break.
After Saturday’s shaky 2-0 La Liga win at home to Sevilla at the Bernabeu, Alonso looks to have held onto the position — for now at least — and the upcoming winter break brings some respite after a difficult end to 2025.
“We had to win the game, and we got the three points,” the 44-year-old said in his post-match press conference. “There are things we can improve: off the ball, and in possession. Now we’ll use the time to rest, and to analyse and reflect on where we are. When we get back energy and more players, I know we’ll improve.”
The three points were welcome for Alonso, given the very real possibility that a third straight home defeat for Madrid could well have seen him sacked by club president Florentino Perez. But even after finishing the year with three consecutive wins, the reality is that Alonso will not be safe unless the team quickly starts performing better.
During the past two months, Madrid’s only really convincing performance came in a 3-0 win at Athletic Club on December 3. As their early November five-point lead over Barcelona in La Liga became a four-point deficit, there have been few signs of the high-intensity, modern football that Alonso’s former team Bayer Leverkusen produced so impressively.
There has also been little of the “emotion and joy” Alonso promised Madrid’s supporters when he took over in May. Instead, the team’s performances have often recalled the lethargic and stale displays of the final stages of Carlo Ancelotti’s tenure last season.
This stark difference between what Alonso promised and what the team has been delivering is a big reason why Perez has not offered even a small amount of public support to the coach in recent weeks, instead railing at length against the club’s perceived enemies, including Spanish referees.
Alonso and Perez at the manager’s presentation in June (Pedro Castillo/Real Madrid via Getty Images)
Another example of how the power works at the Bernabeu was Perez appearing to take Vinicius Junior’s side against Alonso after the Brazilian’s angry reaction to being substituted during El Clasico on October 26. That controversy took the gloss off a 2-1 win that ended a run of four heavy defeats in the fixture, and came after an opening couple of months of 2025-26 in which the team appeared to be taking their new coach’s ideas on board.
That seems a long time ago now. Among the biggest recent embarrassments for Madrid was last Wednesday’s struggle at Talavera de la Reina in the Copa del Rey. That game saw a strong line-up go 2-0 up by half-time against a side battling towards the bottom of Spain’s third tier, but Alonso’s team still ended up requiring a last-gasp save by goalkeeper Andriy Lunin to escape with a 3-2 victory.
Following that game, Spanish TV show El Chiringuito de Jugones broadcast a video of the Madrid bench during the frantic final moments. While Alonso nervously conferred with his assistants on the sideline, players including Vinicius Jr, Endrick and Franco Mastantuono were laughing on the bench, apparently amused by the potential disaster.
At Friday’s pre-Sevilla press conference, Alonso diplomatically claimed not to have seen the video. He was doing his best to put forward an image of calm and control, but when asked by a reporter how he felt after such a difficult period, he allowed a glimpse of his true emotions to escape.
“I’m fine, I hope you are too, journalists,” Alonso replied. “I see you more than my family these last months. But I’m feeling good, motivated, with energy, strong, looking forward to ending the year well. This job has always been like this; you’d be wrong to think there won’t be all kinds of moments.”
Alonso and Vinicius Jr after the Brazilian’s substitution at Alaves (Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Madrid supporters’ views on who is most to blame for the team’s current malaise were clear the following evening. Vinicius Jr was regularly whistled, with the noise especially loud when he was substituted off after 83 minutes. The Brazilian has now gone 14 games without scoring (a period during which he told Perez he would not renew his contract while his relationship with Alonso was strained).
Defender Dean Huijsen was another Madrid player jeered by the upset Bernabeu on Saturday evening, for regularly giving away possession and allowing dangerous Sevilla counter-attacks.
Huijsen’s personal season has mirrored his team’s. He seemed to settle quickly after his £50million ($67.5m) signing from Bournemouth in June, defending with purpose and intensity, and using his incisive passing to regularly start attacking moves. But since returning from injury a few weeks ago, the 20-year-old has looked nervous and unsure. It is perhaps understandable given he has come into an XI that is constantly changing and appears to lack a consistent tactical idea.
Given the deficiencies within his squad (especially a midfielder who can control the tempo and direction of games), and the reluctance of big names to follow his detailed instructions, Alonso has apparently realised that it is just impossible to turn Madrid into the intense, tactically excellent machine that he quickly built when he took over at Leverkusen.
That is partly to do with injuries to most of the squad’s best defenders, and also a clear collective fatigue. In this calendar year, Madrid have played the most official games in their history, at 67. Participation in last summer’s inaugural Club World Cup also meant a very limited pre-season to prepare the team for this campaign.
Circumstances have forced Alonso to cede power to his squad. Following complaints from some of his biggest stars, there are now fewer tactical and video sessions to prepare for each opponent. The so-called ‘Fantastic Four’ (Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr, Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo) have started the past two La Liga games, having never before been in the same XI under Alonso.
Victory over Sevilla was Madrid’s first at the Bernabeu since November 1 (Denis Doyle/Getty Images)
This makes it more difficult for Alonso’s team to play as a collective unit on or off the ball, and means a heavy reliance on star individuals to do something special themselves — another echo of the final stages under Ancelotti.
That is not to give the coach a pass. Alonso arrived last May confident of being able to impose his will on the team, but many players have not understood or assimilated his footballing ideas. Adapting his tactical and managerial concepts to the realities of the squad may be a realistic response to the situation, but as their coach has become less himself, the team’s performances and results have become worse.
Perez might not be disposed to show much understanding for the challenge Alonso faces, but the Bernabeu’s reaction against Sevilla showed their sympathy was more with the coach than his players.
A Madrid fans poll published in Marca on Monday had 76 per cent of over 100,000 voters saying they would keep Alonso as coach, with 61 per cent saying players are most guilty for the team’s form, while 86 per cent voted to sell Vinicius Jr, whose contract expires in June 2027.
There is no sign of Perez actively looking to move out the Brazilian at present, or of any club making an offer. It also looks unlikely Madrid will provide Alonso with reinforcements in January.
So the current manager will have to use the winter break to (as he said himself) “rest, analyse and reflect” on how to best organise his available players, and how to better get his ideas across. All of this while knowing that, without rapid improvement in results and performances, Perez could wield the axe at any moment.
Madrid have a tough start to 2026. They play Real Betis in La Liga on January 4. Betis are sixth and have lost just one of their past five meetings with Madrid. On January 8, the Supercopa de Espana semi-final pits Alonso’s team against Atletico Madrid, who beat them 5-2 in September. Win that, and it will be either Barcelona or Athletic Club in the decider in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on January 11.
Asked what he wished for in 2026 on Saturday night in the Bernabeu press room, Alonso answered philosophically.
“I’d like to begin to get players back from injury, to have more options,” he replied. “I’m ready for whatever comes. I’m not one to ask for much.”
Before leaving his final press conference of the year, he offered one last message to the gathered reporters.
“Season’s greetings to everyone,” he said with a smile, before he got up and left the room, perhaps thinking of enjoying his turron with his family over the coming days.
