Football. ua and Mastercard, the official sponsor of the UEFA Champions League, tell the stories of the most vivid and truly priceless moments of the most prestigious football tournament in Europe.
Madrid Real is one of the most successful clubs in the world with a multimillion-dollar army of fans and the same number of haters. Someone is delighted with this club, someone does not like him, but one thing is certain: Real Madrid deserves respect and it is impossible to deny it. The Spaniards are the club with the largest budget in the world with an annual turnover of 904 million euros and the most valuable club worth 9.5 billion euros. In addition, that Real Madrid has won a total of 60 national trophies and continues to be one of the most titled teams in Spanish football, "Blancos" are the record holders for the number of wins and goals in the Champions League. The trophy of the tournament captains of Real raised over their heads a total of 12 times and are rightly considered his "masters".
Although in the early 2000's the situation did not look so rosy. Then Real Madrid had a long "European stagnation" - for 12 years the team could not win the trophy. Moreover, Real Madrid often flew in the early stages and this could not be affected even by loud transfers. Nevertheless, in recent years, the Spaniards managed to restore the former glory in the European arena and again break out into the forefront. This was made possible by the three victories in the UEFA Champions League in four years. Moreover, this year, Real Madrid will have a chance to win the tournament for the third time in a row!.
The original metaphor was used when commenting on the success of Real, the then head coach of PSG Unai Emery, whose team this season just lost to the Spanish club: "As in the case of a woman, winning the Champions League needs to be achieved gradually. At the moment, the UEFA Champions League - a girlfriend of Real Madrid. Madrid won three of the last four tournaments and can win another victory this year ". We just want to remind you of the two past triumphs of Real Madrid in the most prestigious tournament in Europe. They happened in 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 seasons, which allowed Real to become the first team in the history of the Champions League, who managed to win the tournament two consecutive seasons!.
Season 2015/2016 Real Madrid started under the direction of Rafael Benitez in this line-up: Keilor Navas - Danilo, Rafael Varan, Sergio Ramas, Marcelo - Kroos, Modric, Isco - Bale, Benzema, Ronaldo. The way the team in the UEFA Champions League was not difficult and Real Madrid came out of quartet A without problems, who, besides the Spaniards, also represented PSG, Shakhtar and Malmo. Then the "Blancos" did not win only one match against PSG on the road (0: 0) and finished in first place. Despite confident performances in the Champions League, Benitez was unable to keep his place and in early 2016 was dismissed. The reason for this was his conflict with the team leader Cristiano Ronaldo, as well as strained relations with the fans of the club, who initially did not fully understand this appointment. And at the end of November at Santiago Bernabeu Real Madrid was destroyed 0: 4 by the most important rival - Barcelona.
The president of Real Madrid Florentino Peres understood that Benitez is very difficult to work in conditions of constant pressure from all sides, so he repeatedly publicly supported him and assured him that he did not think about changing the entrenador. Nevertheless, after a draw with Valencia (2: 2) at the beginning of the year the president made a difficult decision and dismissed Benitez.
In less than a day, Real Madrid announced the appointment of a new coach. Quite unexpectedly, he became the legendary player in the past, "Blancos" and the French national team Zinedine Zidane, who previously only for one and a half years, led the youth team of the same Real. Was this a risky step? Certainly. Zidane did not hold managerial positions, especially in the best clubs in the world. There were a lot of questions about how he could manage strong personalities in the team. However, Zidane's authority did his part. Later, the players were ready to give the coach the last strength, so the success of Zinedine boiled down to one question: does the Frenchman have the necessary coaching talents to be successful in a club like Madrid Real? Florentino Perez was previously known for his impulsive decisions regarding eminent mentors, and what about Zidane, who could not at all have a credit of trust?.
"I must try to do everything in my power so that the team will win something at the end of the season. I will put my whole soul into this club, "the Frenchman said at his presentation. As a result, Zinedin did not disappoint and after only one and a half season became one of the most titled trainers in the history of the club. Let's take everything in order. What tasks could Perez put before a mentor coming in the high season? Believe me, the maximum. Florentino is not the president who will reconcile with the season without trophies, and Zidane understood this perfectly. The coach came to the team when Real Madrid was in third place in the Example and lagged behind the second Atletico and the first Barcelona by four and five points respectively. Zidane was obliged to fight for the championship. In the UEFA Champions League, the draw brought the team to the 1/8 finals with Roma. Zidane was required to reach the final.
The Italian team did not become a problem for the "Blancos" and the Spaniards calmly went further thanks to the victories in both matches with the same score 2: 0. In 1/4 Real Madrid was waiting for a pleasant surprise - a blind lot was determined in a pair to Real the weakest team of that stage - German Wolfsburg. However, underestimation played a role and in Germany Zidane's team lost with a score of 0: 2. Given that the Barcelona in the championship could not be matched and could not, the armchair of Zinedine staggered already three months after his first match. But Real Madrid was able to refute the views of critics and thus saved his coach when on Santiago Bernabeu defeated the Germans with a score of 3: 0. For reaching the final, "Blancos" were to argue with the English Manchester City, which broke into the elite of European football thanks to the investments of its owners. However, the experience can not be bought and it is the lack of composure and the banal fear of such a rival as Real Madrid, played their part and the final stepped the Spaniards. In the decisive match, "Blancos" was waiting for one of the most important rivals - Atletico Madrid. The "red and white" had a debt to Real, because two years ago it was the neighbors in the city who deprived them of their dreams when they beat them in the finals with a score of 4: 1. History was repeated two years later and in the decisive match again met two Madrid teams, which confirmed the greatness of Spanish football and its dominance in Europe.
Let's remember the lineups in that final:.
Real: Navas-Carvajal, Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo-Modric, Kazemiro, Kroos-Bale, Benzema, Ronaldo Spare: Casillia, Nacho, Danilo, Hames, Vazquez, Isco, Hese Atletico: Clouds - Juanfran, Savic, Godic, F. Luis - Saul, Gaby, Augusto Fernandez, Coke Torres, Grismann Spare: Moya, Lucas Hernandez, Jose Jimenez, Tiago, Ferreira Carrasco, Thomas Teillet, Correa El Derbi madrileno held in Milan at the San Siro stadium on May 28, 2016. The game from the stands looked 71 942 fans, and the match was seized by the British team of arbitrators led by Mark Klattenburg. Real Madrid was able to score a quick goal when Sergio Ramos pushed the ball into the net after a pass from Tony Kroos from the flank and further discounts of Gareth Bale, after which the Blancos played at a measured pace and were more focused on keeping the score. As Atletico tried, but he could not break through the massive redoubts of the opponent. And then, when many have already left hope for the renewal of intrigue, Atletico unexpectedly equalized the score! Substitute Ferreira-Carrasco 10 minutes before the end of the match took advantage of the pass of Juanfran from the flank and from a close distance struck the gate of Keilor Navas!.
It seemed that the past comes back to Real as a boomerang, because two years ago he left the defeat in the final match of the Champions League against Atletico at the last minute. Then Real Madrid in the extra time managed to complete what was started, but this time in extra time the goals were not scored, which meant that the fate of the coveted trophy will be decided on the basis of a penalty shootout. The score in the penalty spot was quickly equaled 3: 3 - the players quietly scored, and the goalkeepers banally had no chance. The fourth for Real Madrid went to beat Sergio Ramos and was also accurate! Compare the score was called Juanfran, but the experienced football player did not cope with the pressure and hit the bar. This meant that the next blow could be the last. It is symbolic that one of the best players of the world, Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese stepped into his coronal position and. Real Madrid became the owner of the trophy of the UEFA Champions League season 2015/2016! The Champions League submitted to Zidane from the first time as a coach, and the victory in this tournament took off all the questions concerning his future.
Winning the UEFA Champions League is certainly a great achievement, but Peres could not allow Barcelona to become the champion of Spain again in the new season. Therefore, Zidane's first priority for the 2016/2017 season was to lead the team to the title in the Example. What about the Champions League? Real club is a club in which players and coaches are always given maximum goals, so nobody was going to sacrifice the European tournament. In the group to the Spanish club this time got Dortmund Borussia, Polish Legia and Lisbon Sporting. Quit the quartet "Blancos" was not difficult, but in the battle for the first place the Spaniards still suffered a fiasco. Real both times played with Borussia in a draw, but a cruel joke with Zidane's team was played by an away draw with modest Legia, who sent the "royal club" to an unusual second place. The lot was favored by Real, and the team of Zidane fell Napoli, which at that time could hardly have become a serious obstacle for the "Blancos". As a result, the Spaniards in both games won with a score of 3: 1 and confidently stepped into the next stage of the tournament, which presented the team with rivals one of the regular favorites of the tournament - Bayern Munich.
The first match ended in a 2-1 victory for the Spaniards on the road, which made them the undisputed favorites of the confrontation, but at Santiago Bernabeu the guests managed to turn the tide and they achieved a similar victory in the regular time, which translated the game into extra time. True, with one reservation. At the 84th minute of the meeting with the score 2: 1 in favor of Bayern the main referee Victor Kashshai took a very controversial decision and removed Arturo Vidal from the field, which greatly reduced the chances of the guests to succeed. As a result, Real Madrid in overtime took advantage of the majority and literally destroyed the opponent, scoring three unanswered goals. Who knows how the game would unfold if the referee did not remove Vidal, but the result is irrefutable and indicated on the scoreboard.
In the semifinals, Zidane's team was to repeat the final of last year and meet with neighbors in the city - Madrid Atletico. Wrestling, as such, did not work out. After 3-0 at Bernabeu everything became clear, and the victory of Atletico 2: 1 in the second leg did not matter. Real Madrid is absolutely deserved for the second time this season reached the final of the tournament and was on the verge of an incredible achievement - he had a chance to become the first team in the history of football, which managed to win the UEFA Champions League twice in a row! To prevent Real Madrid from doing this, he intended Turin Juventus under the leadership of Maximiliano Allegri. Let's recall the compositions:.
Real: Navas - Carvajal, Ramos, Varan, Marcelo - Kroos, Casemiro, Modric - Isco - Benzema, Ronaldo Spare: Casillia, Nacho, Danilo, Kovacic, Asencio, Bale, Morata Juventus: Buffon - Bardzali, Bonucci, Chiellini - Alves, Pyanich, Khedira, Alex Sandro - Dibala - Manjukic, Higuain Spare: Neto, Benatya, Liechstein, Quadrado, Marchisio, Lemina, Asamoah The match was held on June 3, 2017 in Cardiff at the Millennium Stadium. The arbitrator of the meeting was the German Felix Brykh. Real Madrid began the game more actively and as a favorite took possession of both the game and territorial advantage, which by the 20th minute resulted in a goal Cristiano Ronaldo. Juventus did not retreat, but on the contrary got excited, and after seven minutes the score became equal. Then Mario Manjukic scored one of the most beautiful goals in the history of the Champions League with a blow in the fall through himself under the crossbar! At the break of the meeting, Zidane's most famous conversation with the players took place (http: // isport.
ua / football / europe / 311871-Igrajte-kak-edinaja-komanda-Real-opublikoval-rech-Zidana-v-pereryve-finala-LCh-2016-17), who cheered up the team and in the second half, she simply dared the opponent from the field! Cubed Ronaldo, Casemiro and Asensio.
Here in this unbeaten style, Madrid Real Madrid achieved an incredible achievement and for the second time in a row took over the main trophy of the tournament. Perhaps, the team will go even further and win the UEFA Champions League for the third time in a row?.