What has Real Madrid come to?!

When Real Madrid won ‘La Decima’ in the 2013/2014 UEFA Champions League, Carlo Ancelotti had delivered to Madridistas all over the world something they had been waiting for, for more than a decade. Carlo Ancelotti was among three finalists for the 2014 FIFA World Coach of the Year Award.

The following season, Los Blancos were trumped in the La Liga and the Copa Del Rey by arch-rivals Barcelona. The Catalans ran away with yet another domestic double, while Juventus got the better of Real Madrid in the Champions League semifinals. This led a occurrence known by Madrid fans all too well, during Florentino Perez’s tenure as Real Madrid. The man sacked Ancelotti, the man who delivered the much coveted La Decima.

Rafael Benitez got the top job. I was left to wonder if the Perez wasn’t being too greedy. Benitez had barely done anything of note since winning the 2005 Champions League with Liverpool, and I am not sure he would have managed even that, had Liverpool not had an inspirational Steven Gerrard. And rightly so, he was left wanting. Perez did not hesitate in sacking Benitez, but this time the fans heaved a sigh of relief.

The man to replace him was the much beloved club icon Zinedine Zidane who had been earning his coaching badges with the youth team and as an assistant to Ancelotti. The team was buoyed, the fans looked forward to years of glory ahead. True to expectation, Zidane delivered Los Blancos’ 11th Champions League and Real Madrid was in safe hands. The purple patch continued into the 2016/2017 when Real Madrid vanquished all in their path except the Copa Del Rey.

Zidane was supposed to be the man who would trigger domestic dominance in Spain. After all, Real Madrid have won consecutive La Liga titles just once (2006/2007 and 2007/2008) since the 1990, when they won the last of their five consecutive league titles (1985-1990). The 21st Century has not been what Madrisdistas would have liked it to be, and there was a lot of expectation from the second batch of Galacticos Perez had managed to put together, managed by a member of the first batch.

Maybe it was a sign of things to come when Real Madrid started 2017/2018 in the worst possible manner, winning just one of their five pre-season friendlies. They could not have had such a pathetic season on the back of such an all-conquering one. Los Blancos lost only five matches during the whole of 2016/2017. Halfway through 2017/2018, they have already lost four.

All would have been forgiven when the first El Clasico with Barcelona came up on the horizon. Trailing Barcelona with by 11 points with a game in hand, it was imperative for Los Blancos to win. And yet again Messi and Co got the better of Ronaldo and his superstars. Messi was there in the thick of action, while Ronaldo was a mere spectator. With the La Liga out of the question after this, only the Champions League and Copa Del Rey are left to play for.

There are already talks of Perez already sacking the decorated Zidane, the man who delivered back to back Champions League titles after ages. But wait, hasn’t this happened before? This is exactly what happened to Ancelotti four seasons ago. For Real Madrid, the 21st Century has been punctuated by brilliant seasons followed by below-par ones, with no manager allowed to continue beyond a few seasons.

WHAT HAS REAL MADRID COME TO?!

 

Perez need to understand a simple fact of life – You win some, you lose some. Perez is too busy being a businessman and trying to crank up shirt sales. Any one of managers he has shown the door (Vicente Del Bosque, Carlo Ancelotti, Jose Mourinho etc) is an individual any other club would die for. The man is unreasonable and wants to win at all costs. His sackings are nothing but a rich man’s tantrums.

The club philosophy is taking a hit. Madrid has rich footballing heritage that started with Santiago Bernabeu himself, Alfredo Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas among others. Perez makes a splash with the cash way too often. Madrid needs to look into the past to secure its future.

One can only hope that Zidane will be given the breathing space he deserves, so that Los Blancos can regroup and come back a stronger force next season. Its been almost two decades into the 21st Century, and on the whole Barcelona has beaten Madrid to the post after playing second fiddle for more than 50 years in the 20th Century. Something deep and abstract needs to change. It can start with the man in power, Florentino Perez.

Hala Madrid!