No membership is extra synonymous with a trophy than Actual Madrid and the Champions League.
Since 1955-56, when former Madrid president Santiago Bernabeu helped usher in a brand new competitors for Europe’s elite soccer golf equipment, the Spanish giants have gained it a report 15 instances, most not too long ago in 2023-24. The closest rivals are AC Milan – with seven to their identify.
However what does it take to grow to be the dominant drive in European soccer?
Former Germany midfielder Sami Khedira, who was a part of the Madrid crew that gained La Decima – the membership’s tenth Champions League trophy in 2013-14 – says there may be an expectation on gamers who be part of the membership to ship the trophy.
“You need to deliver one thing again to the shirt – you must win,” he says, in a brand new BBC documentary – Learn how to Win the Champions League: Actual Madrid.
In current seasons, the Spaniards have appeared to win some video games within the competitors via sheer magnetism – for example, throughout final season’s quarter-final second leg when holders Manchester Metropolis pummelled Madrid, however ended up on penalties.
Paul Clement, who was assistant supervisor to Carlo Ancelotti when the Italian gained the primary of his three Champions League trophies with the membership in 2013-14, says the followers on the Bernabeu Stadium, “suck the ball into the aim”.
The burden of historical past
The concept for a contest between Europe’s finest golf equipment was dreamt up in 1955 by a bunch of journalists from French newspaper, L’Equipe. The then president Madrid, Bernabeu, was one of many major proponents.
Spanish soccer journalist Phil Kitromilides known as him a “visionary president,” who, “actually noticed the way forward for soccer as a enterprise”.
Between 1955-60, Bernabeu’s Madrid, with a squad of ‘Galacticos’ together with Alfredo di Stefano, Francisco ‘Paco’ Gento, Raymond Kopa and Hungarian Ferenc Puskas, gained the primary 5 editions of the European Cup consecutively – a feat that has by no means been repeated.
1997-98 was catalytic for the fashionable period
After profitable the European Cup for a sixth time in 1966, it could be 32 years earlier than Los Blancos tasted success within the competitors once more.
Journalist Graham Hunter says that Madrid, “completely abhorred that failure vacuum”.
Beneath president Lorenzo Sanz and supervisor Jupp Heynckes, Madrid had constructed a crew squad to compete once more, signing stars between 1996-98 together with Brazilian left-back Roberto Carlos, Croatian striker Davor Suker, Spanish defender Aitor Karanka and Dutch midfielder Clarence Seedorf.
The Spanish crew beat favourites Juventus 1-0 within the 1997-98 last in Amsterdam. Juve had gained the competitors two years prior and had their very own megastars, akin to Zinedine Zidane and Alesandro Del Piero.
Former President Calderon says, “we did not assume actually that we had been going to win that title,” including, “from that second, we began to recuperate our satisfaction”.
Between 1998-2002, Madrid gained the competitors twice extra, to assert three Champions League trophies in 5 years.
How Perez created the ‘fashionable Galactico’
Madrid president Florentino Perez has overseen two intervals within the membership’s historical past, having served on the helm between 2000-06 earlier than returning in 2009.
Throughout his first stint, he aggressively pursued the signatures of the world’s largest stars, or ‘Galacticos’.
In 2000, Portuguese ahead Luis Figo turned the world’s costliest footballer when he stop Barcelona to for £37m.
The next summer season, Los Blancos set a brand new switch world report once they from Juventus for £45.8m.
In the summertime of 2002, Madrid paid £28.5m to from the Italian facet and in 2003, from Manchester United for £24.5m.
Nonetheless, Madrid solely gained one Champions League and two La Liga trophies between 2000-06.
Calderon, who succeeded Perez, talks concerning the flaws in his predecessor’s technique, saying, “work at all times beats expertise when expertise would not work”.
Throughout the 77-year-old’s second time period, he has centered extra on shopping for younger skills.
Brazilian winger in 2018, aged 18 and has grow to be arguably the crew’s finest participant.
In 2023, Madrid to deliver then 20-year-old English midfielder Jude Bellingham to the Bernabeu. In his first season, he was the membership’s prime scorer within the league as they secured the Spanish title and a fifteenth European Cup.
The Impartial’s chief soccer author Miguel Delaney describes this “fashionable Galactico,” method by saying, “it is signing younger, however it’s signing younger at a sure stage”.
Hunter calls Perez “the good puppet grasp” who orchestrated the success of 2023-24.
Ancelotti the ‘excellent determine’ with similarities to Zidane
Ancelotti is presently in his second spell as Madrid supervisor. He first took over in 2013, at which level the membership had been via 10 managers since their earlier Champions League last in 2002.
The Italian coach, who had beforehand gained two Champions League titles with AC Milan, introduced the trophy again to the Bernabeu in his first season. Since returning to Madrid in the summertime of 2021, he has gained the Champions League twice extra – in 2021-22 and 2023-24.
Delaney describes Ancelotti as “the proper determine” for Madrid’s presidential construction, as a result of he’s “somebody that understands his place inside the hierarchy, but additionally is aware of learn how to handle the personalities in that hierarchy”.
Seedorf, who performed underneath the 65-year-old at Milan, reveals his former boss stood out from different coaches as a result of he would “take heed to concepts,” including, “it could be an open dialog and that made us answerable for the outcome on the pitch as nicely”.
In between Ancelotti’s two spells at Madrid, Zidane had two stints as supervisor. In his first, he delivered three Champions League trophies in a row – 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18.
Clement says that Zidane has, “related traits,” to the Italian, calling them each, “humble and quiet”.