With Real Madrid leading La Liga and in the top 8 strongest teams in the Champions League before the confrontation with Olympiacos, it is almost unlikely that coach Xabi Alonso will fall into a precarious situation.
However, unfortunately, this is one of the most political and harsh clubs in world football. That means Alonso is no exception and he understands this.
In the 2-2 draw against newly promoted Elche, Real Madrid played under pressure, two goals behind their own young products - Aleix Febas and Alvaro Rodriguez - and only escaped defeat thanks to Jude Bellingham's last-minute equalizer. This goal was not to be recognized because Vinicius Junior fouled goalkeeper Inaki Pena, and it was that controversial situation that angered a large part of Real fans in the media.
Partly because Real have gone through a 3-match winless streak, partly because Alonso's playing style is not really convincing. And of course, Barcelona's close behind-the-scenes approach makes the pressure even more stuffy.
For the most fierce critics, it was an easy-to-gase meal in a mixture that was already "fiery". However, Alonso remains steadfast in his optimistic and tough outlook. He makes sense when he stressed that the team is in the process of improvement. In addition, there are still positive signals, and especially the fighting spirit that Real showed to avoid defeat in the last match.
However, despite three disappointing results, there is one problem Alonso needs to really pay attention to ahead of the trip to Greece. That is how he is perceived, and the wave of criticism from the media recently.
The most difficult problem at the moment is the relationship between Vinicius and Alonso. In the match against Barcelona, when he was withdrawn, the Brazilian striker reacted so strongly that he shouted: "This is the reason I have to leave the club".
The incident was temporarily suspended, but a few days later, the Spanish media caused a stir again when they posted an article affirming: "A deadline for Vinicius is a completely mandatory thing".
It was a reassuring message to Vinicius, his agent and fans - but at the same time, it was a clear criticism of Alonso. Because at that time, the Spanish captain had only used the Brazilian star for 904 minutes out of a total of 1,235 minutes in La Liga, and 270/380 minutes could play in the Champions League.
So when Vinicius was left out of the starting lineup for the match against Elche, and was only put on the field in the 57th minute, it was understandable that everyone gave him unpleasant looks.
Alonso - who is intelligent and brave - certainly has a professional reason to rotate, from leaving Federico Valverde on the bench to reusing the system of 3 centre-backs and wing-backs. And if Alonso believes Vinicius needs to rest before the important match against Olympiacos, it could be a reasonable decision.
But he also understands that leaving a player like Vinicius on the bench - especially in the context of a team not winning - is almost destined to be considered a "challenging", "difficult to say" act or " follow your own will".
The media constantly repeats phrases such as " misunderstanding", "suspicion", "lack of connection" between Alonso and some players it is not a coincidence. The extent of the spread and lack of refutes in this information shows that they almost certainly come from one or more powerful sources: within the team, practice grounds, player representatives or influential groups.
Under the reign of President Florentino Perez, Real Madrid have seen no less than 10 coaches who have only stayed for 3 months to less than a year. The two most recent examples are Rafa Benitez and Julen Lopetegui. In that context, Alonso's position as a concern in the middle of the season sounded somewhat unreasonable, even unrealistic. However, Madrid is still Madrid when everything can happen.
At this time, the most effective drug regimen for all pressures - from the media, internally to the fan - is one: victory. And that journey must start right in the match against the champions of Greece.
