Ten Years Too Long

It is that time of year again, as The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s ‘Zadok The Priest’ rings out from millions of television sets worldwide, the biggest teams in Europe will compete for the holy grail of club football.

And with six previous Champions League winners in the squad as well as a manager who has held the ‘big eared’ trophy aloft on two occasions, Real Madrid appear on paper as one of the most experienced and successful sides in the competition. Yet, it has been a decade since Los Blanco’s last tasted success in Europe.

With arguably the best manager and player in the world, in Jose Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid still have a hunger to end a certain drought that is turning into an obsession. Remarkably, iconic captain Iker Casillas is the only current squad member to win the coveted trophy with Madrid.

Before Mourinho’s arrival in 2010, the Spanish champions were eliminated in the 2^nd Round on five consecutive occasions from 2005. Two semi-final’s in each of the last two campaigns highlights the effect of managers’ appointment.

However, Real’s near failures in recent years have partly been self-inflicted. In last year’s semi-final defat to Bayern Munich, key experienced players missed their decisive penalties resulting in the squad being accused of choking at the crucial stages.

With further negative stories emerging from the Bernabeu of late, the warning signs are flashing as the nine time winners look likely to press the self-destruct button once more. If Mourinho does intend to make history by becoming the first coach to win the Champions League with three different clubs, he must first resolve these underlying problems. Having questioned his players’ commitment to the cause, Mourinho is facing the most daunting task of his already illustrious career.

The long awaited arrival of Luka Modric may cause more problems than it solves, as space must now be found in the team for the Croatian playmaker. If the 27 year is to play in his natural position he must vie with Mesut Ozil and Kaka to find an answer to this conundrum. Furthermore, Ronaldo’s unexplained unhappiness could cause catastrophic problems in converting chances to goals. Madrid relies heavily on the former Manchester United star to produce in the big games, and if he is distracted the not-as-prolific Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain will be forced to deliver.

Yet, if any manager can once again bring European success to Spain’s capital it is surely ‘the special one’.