‘Si, se puede!’ it sounds in the Bernabéu stadium, since this spring. ‘Yes we can do it!’
The renovation of Real Madrid’s iconic, vertigo-inducing stadium is not yet complete. But the atmosphere is great, as Real Madrid is Real Madrid again, sovereignly on its way to the league title that can already be won next weekend and advancing to the semi-finals of the Champions League at the expense of two top favourites, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea . Top favorite number 3, Manchester City, awaits Tuesday evening, a week later the return is in Bernabéu, where many a miracle has already taken place this season.
Just like the stadium, the team also contains new elements, but the leading roles are for the veterans Luka Modric (36), Karim Benzema (34) and Toni Kroos (32). With Carvajal (30), Casemiro (30), Bale (32), Isco (30) and captain Marcelo (33) they are the remainder of a team that won four Champions Leagues between 2013 and 2018.
royal epoch
In that royal period they often operated in the shadow of Cristiano Ronaldo. When the Portuguese left in the summer of 2018, followed by Ajax’s unequivocal elimination in the eighth finals of the Champions League, this generation of Galácticos seemed to be over.
Since then, not more than one (due to errors of refereeing) controversial national title has been added in the bulging trophy room at the bottom of the monumental stadium. Last summer, two other eye-catchers, Varane and Ramos, moved on, while Bale, Isco and Marcelo are at most substitutes.
There has been plenty of rumbling and arguing over the years. Modric wanted to go to Inter, but had to stay. Benzema had a problem with toute France and openly denounced the insight of young Real striker Vinicius. Kroos complained about the pay cut that Real made during the corona pandemic.
Expensive renovation
Little to nothing was expected from Real this season. Coach Zidane, responsible for three Champions League titles in a row, pulled out in the summer, chairman Pérez brought Ancelotti back, although the 62-year-old Italian had barely been successful in the meantime. Furthermore, Pérez was largely on the cutting edge for the third summer in a row, the corona pandemic and the renovation of Bernabéu were expensive enough. Moreover, after the hopeless flop of Hazard and Jovic (who together cost about 180 million), he no longer believes in spending large transfer fees, preferring to save for the salaries of transfer-free top players, such as Alaba and Rüdiger next summer and probably Mbappe.
The fact that Real ran away smoothly in the competition is partly due to the (financial) problems at eternal rival Barcelona and the relapse of champion Atlético. But for the king of Europe (13 Cups) the Champions League is most important, because of the history and the money.
Real started badly, with a humiliating home defeat to Moldovan Sheriff Tiraspol in the group stage. And in the eighth final, an ultra-defensive Real in Paris was blown away by Paris Saint-Germain.
The magic of Bernabeu
But after the last home game before the return against PSG, after a strong performance against Real Sociedad, it sounded for the first time: Si se puede† And yes, Real was able to do it, even after another hour of being messed up by PSG and especially by the coveted whirlwind Mbappé. In the last half hour there was suddenly what Ancelotti described as ‘the magic of Bernabéu’. A primal force was released in the old, drawn bodies. Benzema scored three times, the second on a pass from the tireless Modric.
The games against Chelsea were, if possible, even more bizarre. Benzema who already seemed to crush the title holder in London: 1-3. Chelsea that came in 0-3 in Bernabeu. Duckweed who was substituted and was furious. Modric, whose face was showing an increasingly impressive interplay of lines, but who still squeezed out a fantastic assist with the outside of the foot on substitute Rodrygo – Rodrygo of all people, who always affectionately calls Modric fifteen years his senior ‘daddy’. Benzema, who played with one hand in the bandage, often grimacing at his stomach, eventually only managed to stumble, but still made it to the winner in overtime.
Rafael van der Vaart, former teammate of Modric, Marcelo and Benzema, is amazed at the resurrection of the thirty-somethings. ‘Benzema used to be really overweight, Marcelo was a flier and Modric always walked a lot. But they’ve got families, peace of mind and they look astonishingly tight. They don’t want to say goodbye, realize that football is the most beautiful thing. Especially if you win.’
Invincible
Furthermore, you always get something invincible about you in that white shirt in that large stadium, knows Van der Vaart, who played for Real for two years. ‘But above all, Kroos, Modric and Benzema are smart stylists. It’s nice that in today’s football world, full of runners and powerhouses, that footballing class is surfacing again.’
Ancelotti emphasized in the Spanish press another talent, the gift to suffer. “The more we suffer, the happier I become.”