It's Real Madrid again

It’s that team Real Madrid again! For the sixth time in the last ten years, Real Madrid has won the UEFA Champions League in the previous ten years. They have been so dominating in this competition that the rest are left thinking of what makes the Royal Whites so good that they always find a way to reach the final and win the tournament.

In this season, Borussia Dortmund was the opponent and even a layman would not bet on the Yellow Boys because the Los Blancos does not lose a final.

Yes, Dortmund brought the Under Dogs punch and pressured the Big Boys from Madrid with a stirring liberation in the first half of the match – creating opportunities and missing them. Madrid reset their plan and started pressing the opponent – they were waiting to grab the opportunity, and Real Madrid did not lose them when an opportunity arrived. 

That is known as conviction and that differentiates the Bog Boys from the smaller ones.

Madrid waited, waited and waited – Dani Carvajal opened the scoring and Vinicius Junior confirmed the title for the fifteenth time with a delicate finish.

The English pundits like Jamie Carragher kept on saying that Real Madrid had been lucky – but Mr Carragher forgets that your luck does not smile upon you if you are not good enough in conviction and your fighting spirit is not sparkling.

Throughout the season – Carlo Ancelotti’s diamond-shaped 4-4-2 formation was never hard to break down for the salesmen of philosophical football.

While on possession – Toni Kroos dropped into the full-back pocket to pull the strings in the build-up, Fede Valverde pushed high and wide to receive switches, Rodrygo Goyes slid under Vinicius to overload the left wing and Bellingham arrived from midfield to do striker duty.

Off the ball - they are passive but hard to play through, dropping into a flat 4-4-2 block instead of committing to a high press.

That was never hard to break down. That was not difficult to analyse. That came under pressure time and again. That tactic won from time to time.

But still – Real Madrid won.

How?

Caro Ancelotti once said, “I am very clear that there are two types of coaches: those who do nothing and those who do a lot of damage. I try to be in the first. The game is for the players, and you can tell them a certain strategy, convince them, but then the decisive thing is their quality and commitment.”

Ancelotti had put the right players in the right position and groomed others to switch on certain positions so, they could be the backup when required. He gave the players the freedom to flourish. His man management qualities should be a lesson for all. The freedom factor and man management abilities developed one of the best understandings between the players where iconic moments were created that can’t be analysed.

 Ancelotti just maximized the abilities of the players he had who always displayed their killer instinct whenever the situation demanded.

You need luck, yes! But to operate that luck you need to have a certain skill. 

Real Madrid are well equipped to operate their luck.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar