For Real Madrid landing an elusive 10th European Cup has become an obsession. For the men who pull on the famous white shirt, Los Blancos, winning La Decima is a chance to become heroes. To write history. For Jose Mourinho it is a requirement.
Victory over Galatasaray means that the Portuguese genius has guided Madrid to the last four in each of his three campaigns with the club. But make no mistake about it, when Bayern Munich, Barcelona or one of Europe’s other big guns visit Madrid later this month for the Champions League semi-final and 85,000 passionate fans descend on the Santiago Bernabeu it will be make or break for Real Madrid and their manager.
Having won the inaugural European Cup in 1956, a Real Madrid team inspired by the great Alfredo Di Stefano and widely regarded as one of the greatest club sides of all time went on to retain the trophy for the next 4 years, wining in ‘57, ’58, ’59 and ’60, a feat that has never been matched. 6 years later a sixth trophy was added to the collection with a victory over Partizan in Brussels.
A baron spell of 32 years would follow before triumph in the 1997-98 tournament sparked the beginning of the galacticos era in which Figo, Raul, Zidane, Ronaldo and co. were crowned kings of the continent twice more with an eighth title in 2000 being quickly succeeded by a ninth in 2002. 11 years later and the wait for La Decima is still very much on.
In 2010 Jose Mourinho was brought in as the man to change all that. He arrived in Madrid on the back of an unprecedented treble with Italian giants Inter Milan, adding a second Champions League victory to his CV following his remarkable 2004 success with Porto. Yet thus far even the self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ has failed.
The Spanish title race has long been over, with Madrid lagging behind El Classico rivals Barcelona from the off, and so not only is the Champions League now Real’s main focus but probably Mourinho’s last chance to save his job…not that it means he’ll be around much longer anyway; when you consider that Mourinho left Porto and Inter instantly after guiding them to European glory, it seems inevitable that Madrid will be shopping for a new manager this summer.
So can they actually do it? While their league form has been indifferent to say the least, in Europe Real have performed when it matters. They qualified second from the ‘Group of Death’ behind potential dark horses Borussia Dortmund, beating Ajax comprehensively home and away and experiencing victory over English champions Manchester City en route.
They then completed a Manchester double of sorts, outclassing United in the round of 16. And despite a late scare in Istanbul courtesy of Sneijder, Drogba and comically, Emmanuel Eboue, they had far too much for Galatasaray over 180 minutes. So in terms of their European form, yes they can.
Unsurprisingly there is no shortage of quality in the Madrid dressing room. Karim Benzema, Gonzalo Higuain and Jose Callejon provide a wealth of striking options whilst the fact that former Ballon D’Or winner Kaka can hardly get a game tells you all you need to know about the ability of a midfield that includes Xabi Alonso, Angel Di Maria and German internationals Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira alongside summer acquisitions Luka Modric and Michael Essien.
At the back Raphael Varane is already being touted as one of the best young defenders ever, Sergio Ramos is as dependable as always and Spain’s World Cup winning captain Iker Casillas will surely be reinstated to the staring XI sooner rather than later. There is also the small matter of a certain Cristiano Ronaldo who has hit 48 goals in all competitions this year, 11 of them in Europe.
So is La Decima on? On paper, yes. But only in the same way that it has been ‘on’ every year since 2002. Hatching the master plan has never been the problem. It’s when the time comes to act that problems usually arise. But if beating Manchester United had Madrid, as a city and a club, dreaming again, then victory over Galatasaray will have surely given them genuine belief. A belief that the wait may be about to end. And for all his controversies, Jose Mourinho may just be the man with the blueprint… remember this anyone?
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