Will there be even one spectator of the Champions League final on Saturday, except among the craziest members of the “Yellow Wall”, not convinced of Real Madrid’s 15th coronation in C1? Almost as much as during their daunting 2022 European campaign, the Merengue seem unplayable/indestructible in 2024, as proven by their recent half-happy, half-admirable qualifications against RB Leipzig, Manchester City, and Bayern Munich. So obviously, it’s hard to imagine how Borussia Dortmund, absolute outsiders, could overthrow such a mountain on Saturday (9 p.m.) at Wembley.
One question still comes to mind before this epilogue of the season: to what extent would the weight of history, this white Madrid outfit capable of transcending the players, not have a greater impact on this control in C1 that the methods of the coaches who have had a string of triumphs there for ten years, namely Carlo Ancelotti and Zinédine Zidane? In other words, what credit can be given to this fable which says that any coach could come and sit on the bench and win a Champions League simply by pressing the button.
David Alvarez Izquierdo, who has worked for Real Madrid TV since 2005 and who will comment on Saturday on this sixth European final for the Merengue in the last 11 editions, confirms that this question is clearly raised in Spain.
“ Outside of the Real sphere, there is a devaluation of what Ancelotti does. This was already the case with Zinédine Zidane, who was given practically no tactical merit. It was only emphasized that he was a good manager of the players’ character and that he himself had a good character. Yet he has won three C1s in a row, that makes no sense… For Ancelotti, it’s exactly the same thing, the anti-Real and certain media only point out that he is a nice person who gets along good with players and who controls egos. But you don’t win that many titles by just being a good person… »
Sublimated second knives
Champion of France in 1999 as coach of the Girondins de Bordeaux, Elie Baup adds: “OK, the culture of results has been part of the Real institution for a very long time. One of the strengths of this club is to have a common language at all levels to always win. But the human management of the group by Ancelotti and Zidane is essential. Their greatest merit is their management style which keeps everyone involved and efficient. » On this point, behind phenomena like Jude Bellingham and Vinicius, there is no shortage of examples of individuals who are sometimes as improbable as they are decisive in this 2023-2024 squad.
- Joselu: At 34, this striker with an honorable career in second-rate clubs (Frankfurt, Newcastle, Alaves, Espanyol) was in no way planned to one day have his chance at Real, where he had almost only worked with Castilla during his previous stint from 2009 to 2012. Well imagine that the salvation of a poorly started semi-final return against Bayern (0-1 ten minutes from the end) came from the digital replacement for Karim Benzema in the squad, double scorer after coming on in the 81st minute (2-1). And here is our no name author of 5 goals in C1 this season, for his very first Champions League campaign.
- Nacho Fernandez: Also at 34, Nacho has probably never been one of the 50 best central defenders in Europe. But if he only has 24 caps with La Roja, he can boast of having spent his entire career in the biggest club in the world, capable of helping out in all positions of the defense. With the wagons of serious injuries in defense this season (especially Militao and Alaba), Nacho has been more valuable than ever, with 11 matches played in C1. Including the 120 minutes of the quarter-final return to Manchester City, with his shot on goal scored as a bonus (1-1, 4-5). That is the demand of the people ?
- Lucas Vazquez: Here again, we are a priori dealing with a good little La Liga club player, capable of sliding from winger to full-back over the years. Except that despite poor stats (36 goals in 348 professional matches at Real), Lucas Vasquez (32 years old) has made his place for ten seasons in the Madrid squad. To the point of still starting in the first half in Munich (2-2).
- Andriy Lunin: The surprise guest of this Champions League campaign is him. Thibaut Courtois’ serious knee injury at the start of the season pushed Real Madrid to urgently recruit Kepa Arrizabalaga. Except that the Spanish international was quickly overtaken in the hierarchy by this Ukrainian goalkeeper unknown to the general public. At 25, after various loans to Leganés, Valladolid and Oviedo (yay), Andriy Lunin was able to seize the chance of his life at Real. Monstrous at the Etihad Stadium, with eight saves, including two during the penalty shootout, he is one of the great architects of this umpteenth Merengue epic in C1, even if Thibaut Courtois will take “his” place again on Saturday at London.
“Ancelotti adapted to the recruits and not the other way around”
The impact of Carlo Ancelotti on these second knives, and more generally on his entire group, is summed up by the English star Jude Bellingham: “I believe that our greatest strength is that Carlo finds a way to let us play with freedom. We are a little unpredictable. And on a human level, he gives us a lot of calm and confidence.” This rare complicity between a coach and his players even pushes Brazilian defender Eder Militao to say of him: “We are like father and son”. This season also marks the ability of “Don Carlo” to adapt to his squad, from the 4-3-3 of his first stint at Real to best exploit the Bale-Benzema-Cristiano Ronaldo trio to his current 4-4-2 , with Bellingham supporting Vinicius and Rodrygo.
“Ancelotti adapted to the recruits and not the other way around,” notes David Alvarez Izquierdo. It was especially this year that we saw its impact, with this new system linked to the arrival of Bellingham. During his time at Real, José Mourinho was a much more tactical coach than Carlo Ancelotti. But the Italian is the one who has won the most in history. He is a flexible coach who never complains. He always adapted, without highlighting his ego. » Among his main feats of arms, he managed to convince our Frenchies Aurélien Tchouaméni and Eduardo Camavinga to regularly move back on the field for the needs of the team, respectively to the position of central defender and left back where we did not imagine them hardly.
“Collective appropriation of successes”
Elie Baup admires the longevity of “Mister Champions League” (64 years old): “He is my idol, his know-how is incredibly rich. He always shows humility, with a good word, and he doesn’t get lost in other battles than the field. For such a club, the management is right, more than a very didactic coach, to favor a human profile like him or Zinédine Zidane. They both promote collective ownership of successes and they play a large part in the success of this Real. So much so that between them they could win their sixth Champions League on Saturday out of their ten appearances in total on the Real bench.
OUR FILE ON REAL MADRID
“Ancelotti’s greatest achievement is to have made all his players believe that they were capable of winning everything for ten years,” reports David Alvarez Izquierdo. There Decima, it was in 2014 and now, Real can already win its 15th C1. It’s incredible. And it’s not over, because as Ancelotti says, his honeymoon with Real Madrid continues. » When we think back, the Champions League was still an open competition when “Don Carlo” had the good idea, from 2019 to 2021, to complete seasons in the soft underbelly of the Premier League with Everton.