NO GIFTS FOR THE XAB
Going into midweek's clash against the Premier League champions, the future of the Real Madrid manager as head coach appeared as uncertain as a tortilla tossed in a pan. Just a handful of matches since his appointment, the solitary major stain on his record had been an unacceptable heavy defeat at the hands of Atlético. But, from the beginning of last month, Los Blancos have managed just three victories in nine outings, including their most unpalatable performances coming in the form of stalemates against supposed La Liga lesser teams, culminating in a humiliating home defeat to the Galician side.
In the premier club competition, the Spanish giants still appear likely to claim a crucial quarter-final place despite their reverse at the hands of Pep Guardiola's side, a defeat which was greeted by loud boos of disapproval from hard-to-please fans that had witnessed their knack-ravaged team put in a decent shift.
"When you don’t win at home that can happen," sighed the coach regarding the response from the notoriously demanding crowd. "We kept going, we fought right to the final whistle and with all the difficulties we have [with injuries] the players gave everything. Today there is nothing to criticise. Our form over the past two months haven’t been good, not up to our standards. We are analyzing ourselves, but must continue working and believing that things will improve."
Amid speculation the club's overpaid prima donnas have little or no truck with Alonso's demands for making them “do” tactics, sit through lengthy analysis sessions and attend mandatory evening seminars about the economics of fishing in Galicia, there was no shortage in shows of support for the under-pressure boss.
After netting the first goal, the Brazilian forward slapped hands with his manager on the touchline, with both Thibaut Courtois and the midfielder provided heartwarming post-match references to the media. "The boss has been excellent," stated Bellingham, in what some might call unedifying sycophancy he might do well to replicate next time he joins the national team. "I myself got a great relationship with him, a lot of the lads do too. Following our initial spell when we had some draws, we had some great conversations internally. Recently, we’ve just let ourselves down again. But no one is downing tools, no one is complaining, moaning, thinking the season is over."
Although it might be unheard of for the UK press to distort Bellingham's words to suit some weird agenda, it could be argued that by saying many of his colleagues have a good relationship with the coach, the midfielder was tacitly implying that quite a few others don’t. Vinícius Júnior has evidently had disagreements with his boss and the winger is said to have told the club's hierarchy he will not ink a new deal as long as Alonso remains in charge. One wonders what the Brazilian made of Thursday morning’s coverage in Spain, which gave Alonso no blame for this defeat while laying the blame firmly on Viní’s wasteful feet.
QUOTE FROM THE NEWS
"Free speech and privacy rights are universal human rights. No supporter gives up those freedoms just because they travel abroad. This policy introduces a chilling atmosphere of surveillance which goes against the welcoming, open spirit the tournament is supposed to represent and it must be withdrawn immediately" – Ronan Evain, the head of a fan organization, condemns a proposed policy requiring fans heading to the United States for the GWC to disclose information regarding their online profiles.