Real Madrid—The royalty in European football

The Spanish giants won the 14^th UCL title and it was a special victory for the special club

Real Madrid is often termed as the biggest club in the world but not surprisingly, they are not the only club to make such claims.

There are English teams like Manchester United, Liverpool who have won things in the past and have tons of money to attract the best players on the planet to display their talent, then there Italian clubs historically from AC Milan to Inter Milan to Juventus who dominated European football in the past.

There is also Bayern Munich where coming second is almost a sin unforgivable and there are new boomers in the market too with some ‘oil money’ making the likes of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Manchester City a part of the big boys.

But regardless of the money, success in domestic competitions and historical achievement, something will always keep Real a step ahead from the rest.

On Saturday (May 28), Los Blancos defeated Liverpool in the final of the UEFA Champions League in Paris, the same city where PSG star forward Kylian Mbappe opted to stay by ditching the reigning Spanish champions.

That victory was a special one, not because it was the first time Real went over the line as it was actually the 14th time. It was also not special because the Madrid-based outfit won that competition after a long time as it was their fifth European title since 2014.

What made their victory special was that before the season started, not many gave them a chance to win much in a season which was termed as a ‘transitional’ one. They lost their centre-back pairing in Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane, and their £100 million signing Eden Hazard could not play much of a role whereas the club was heavily relying on the old guard.

But as some pundits often claim, Real is not a club where you just play, it is a club where you play to win and nothing else, which perhaps makes them who they are in the history of club football — royalty.

Vinicius — the star

TOPSHOT – Real Madrid’s Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal during the Spanish League football match between RCD Mallorca and Real Madrid CF at the Son Moix stadium in Palma de Mallorca on March 14, 2022. (Photo by JAIME REINA / AFP) (Photo by JAIME REINA/AFP via Getty Images)

Vinicius Junior has been long touted as the start for the future. The Brazil international often remains a frustrating figure, largely because of his inability to provide the finishing touch after doing all the hard work.

However, this season was all about Vini, the star who he really is. From scoring important goals like Manchester City in the semi-final first-leg while at the Etihad Stadium where he ran all the way from the opposition’s half to score a screamer to providing an assist at Stamford Bridge to Karim Benzema who scored a worldie and stunned the home crowd, the 21-year-old has come a long way and is now the star he was always tipped to become.

The São Gonçalo-born fittingly scored the winner in the final of the Champions League and cemented his name in the history books at the club.

Soon after, reports emerged that Real are looking to tie the winger down with a contract till the summer of 2028, hence making him probably the face of the next project and looking at his performances in the last campaign, it might not be a bad idea after all.

In the 2021-22 season, Vinicius scored 22 goals and provided 20 assists in 52 appearances in all competitions.

In the Champions League, he was involved in 10 goals in 13 matches which included four of his own whereas he also provided six assists, the second-highest in the competition.

Benzema—the leader

In any successful team, there are players who are stars, who will rise to the challenge when there is a need. Then, there are players who work as slaves, giving their all so that those stars can enjoy the glory.

It is extremely rare that one can find a combination of both of those traits who would sacrifice for the others but also put their hand up and make themselves count when they are asked to do so.

Karim Benzema is one of those rare bread. For so many years after joining Real Madrid as one of the most promising young strikers in Europe, the French international happily remained in the shadow of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale.

So much so that the fans wanted him out as his numbers didn’t really do justice to his talent and opportunities.

However, once Ronaldo left for Juventus and Bale failed to become the star he was expected to be, Benzema became what he once was, a lethal striker.

At the age of 34, the former Lyon striker had the best season of his life where he played a key role in helping Real winning La Liga and the Champions League.

In the domestic league competition, Benzema was far and away from the best player after scoring 27 goals, nine more than second-placed Iago Aspas of Celta Vigo.

If those numbers are not enough, the Lyon-born was also the top-scorer in the Champions League with 15 goals to his name. Those numbers also include his remarkable hat-tricks against PSG and later against Chelsea which helped Real in overcoming two difficult opponents.

Even though Benzema has never been tipped to win a big individual award, if any year there is hardly any doubt on who should win the all-prestigious Ballon d’Or, it is this year where the veteran striker is clearly leading the race to win the ultimate price.

Talismatic trio

Midfield is perhaps the area where football matches are mostly won or lost. In every great team of any era, their midfield would be amongst the world’s best if not the best.

The same has been the case with Real where the presence of a majestic trio of Luka Modric, Casemiro and Toni Kroos has been the silent heroes of Los Blancos’ success over the last decade.

Despite getting towards the twilight of their respective career, the veteran midfield trio were instrumental in helping the Madrid-based outfit in securing crucial victories in the campaign.

At a time when a lot of teams would struggle to maintain the tempo of the game according to their own wish, Real have been simply luckier to have three outstanding players who would do that in a blink of an eye.

The most impressive thing about all three of them is how underrated they have remained despite having the numbers to back their claim.

Its often mentioned how Barcelona’s trio of Xavi, Iniesta and Sergio Busquets was the best ever to grace the football field but to be able to win four Champions League together must be a great achievement on their own, something which should never be discounted.

Fede – the work machine

In every successful football team, there are always silent warriors who are willing to go that extra mile without worrying about whether they will get appreciated or not.

Federico Valverde was Real Madrid’s that player in the 2021-22 campaign, especially in the second half of the season, where he was simply unstoppable.

The central midfielder produced numerous outstanding performances in the season for Los Blancos and fitting also provided an assist to Vinicius in the final of the Champions League.

The most interesting point here is that despite getting a feeling that he is being around for a while now, Valverde is still just 23-year-old and has ample amount of time to get better as a player.

It is also very interesting that after being declared ‘untouchable’ by Real’s higher management for quite some time now, Valverde joined the Spanish club in a deal worth just €5 million in the summer of 2016 from Peñarol, a deal which looks like a steal in today’s market considering how Barcelona plaid €86 million to sign Frenkie de Jong from Ajax.

Thibaut Courtois — the safe house

Having a safe pair of hands between the sticks is a match made in heaven for any successful football team in the world. It is no surprise that the best teams in the past always had the best goalkeepers producing remarkable performances day in, day out for their respective teams.

From Manchester United’s Edwin van der Sar to AC Milan’s Dida, from Juventus’ Gianluigi Buffon to Petr Chelsea’s Čech and from Real Madrid’s Iker Casillas to Manuel Neuer at Bayern Munich, the story was repeated over and over again.

Madrid followed the same path and they were certainly lucky to have someone like Thibaut Courtois in between the sticks during the last campaign.

The Belgium international was on the top of his game throughout the season where he produced numerous match-winning performances.

He capped them all with a remarkable outing in the final of the Champions League where he was undoubtedly the Man of the Match for making some ridiculous saves.

It was because of those quick reflexes that Madrid managed to keep a clean sheet against a team like Liverpool who were on the front foot from the word go.