It was five-fifteen in Madrid on a splendid Tuesday evening in April. Inside a youth hostel situated in the heart of the Spanish capital, two Madridistas, or supporters of Real Madrid, frantically readied themselves for battle. One was a Mexican, the other a Spaniard; both were in the city for only one day with a common goal, bathing in their club’s royal white, and only moments away from heading to the battlefield, the hallowed Santiago Bernabeu stadium.
They were only responding to a rallying cry that spanned the globe. Kick-off between Real Madrid and Wolfsburg in the return leg of the Champions League quarter-final may have been a full three-and-a-half hours away, but preparations were already in full swing. Fan groups began assembling, throats were being cleared, jerseys were being worn and scarves were being bought. There was an inescapable sense that the entire city of Madrid was on a collective footballing mission.
A rallying cry
Preparations had probably started six days prior to the day. Real’s shock 0-2 defeat in the first leg in Germany had transformed a relatively routine quarter-final into a proper mission – not just for the players, but also for the fans. The Bernabeu isn’t renowned in football circles for its unconditional support.
The atmosphere inside the stadium often becomes toxic as fans turn on their own team when things aren’t going well on the pitch. Waving of white handkerchiefs, a popular gesture in Spain to show displeasure, has become a common sight at the venue over a turbulent last decade or so.
Success probably does that to you: it spoils you. And no other football club in the world boasts of a more impressive history of success than Real Madrid, the record ten-time winners of Europe’s biggest crown. It is the club of the Madrid's richer class.
For the working class, there is Rayo Vallecano and somewhere between these two ends of the spectrum lies Atletico Madrid, the city’s other big club. Real, though, remain a luxury of sorts, and luxury often lacks soul.
Except when the UEFA Champions League is in town, which in Madrid is an occasion steeped in unrivalled history and tradition. If you wish to attend a one-off fixture at the Bernabeu, make sure it’s a European one. It is indeed a truly unique experience.
Against Wolfsburg, both players and the fans delivered in style. Madridistas were remarkably electric on the night. The 85,000-strong crowd in the stadium was a picture of support, hostility and intimidation – chanting, cheering, whistling and playing the role of the 12th man to near perfection.
The Bernabeu had become a terribly lonely place for the away team, especially with Real sticking to the Spanish norm and dumping away fans in the upper tier of one corner of the stadium. Led by their Portuguese talisman Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored a memorable hat-trick, and fuelled by the energies of an unbelievably raucous crowd, Los Blancos blew the Germans away.
An obsession beyond affection
It is only for such key Champions League fixtures that the Bernabeu truly comes alive these days. Real Madrid’s relationship with the competition formerly known as the European Cup isn’t one of mere affection, but of an obsession. Much of the club’s modern history, from managerial sackings to star-studded player signings, has been governed by the chase of a European crown, especially La Decima – the tenth European Cup – which the club finally won following a 12-year wait.
Twelve years? For the European Cup? A fairly acceptable wait for the world’s biggest club trophy, you would think. Not at Real Madrid, though, where the parameters for success are impossibly high. Since 2003, when the club controversially decided to part ways with manager Vicente del Bosque, who had led them to two La Liga (Spanish League) and two Champions League titles in just four years, Real went all out in chasing their next European success. A chase that has become part of footballing folklore.
From 2002, the year Los Blancos won their ninth European crown, to 2014, when they clinched their tenth, the Spanish club spent £1 billion on player transfer fees alone, largely under the rule of club President Florentino Perez and his “Galacticos” policy of signing a marquee player virtually every season.
The club also broke the world transfer record three times and sacked 11 managers, two of whom were let go right after winning La Liga. Winning the league was just a bare minimum. Managers were decisively judged on European success. Between 2004 and 2010, Real failed to go beyond the round of 16 in Europe and, as a result, went through eight managers in the same period.
Steeped in history
Real Madrid’s European triumphs have come at significant moments in their history. First, when the competition was launched in 1956, powered on by the incredible goal-scoring feats of legendary forward Alfredo di Stefano, Real won the first five European Cups and landed another in 1966.
Then, following a massive 32-year wait, the club went on another winning spree at a time when football’s modern culture was taking shape, lifting the trophy thrice in a glorious five-year period from 1998 to 2002. Little wonder then that the club and its fan base are deeply attached to the trophy.
Pressure to deliver at Real Madrid is always immense, and often stifling. Players such as Ronaldo and Gareth Bale have often spoken of how they had been told they were at the club “to win La Decima”. Players are put under a microscope by the media, the fans and all members of the club. Supporters are really demanding. They expect victories rather than hope, which doesn’t always lead to the best of fan cultures.
La Decima was finally achieved in 2014, when Real beat local rivals Atletico 4-1 (after extra time) in Lisbon, Portugal. Before they ran away with the game, skipper Sergio Ramos’s stoppage-time header had rescued Real and sent the game into extra time. It is an iconic goal, by an iconic player, in an iconic competition, that is now repeatedly played in the club’s museum, fan shops, official merchandise stores and even at the Bernabeu’s giant screen before kick-off.
On Saturday, two years on, another Madrid derby will grace the European final. It comes only two weeks after Real lost the league to Barcelona on the final day of a largely uninspiring campaign. Los Blancos have won only one La Liga title in the last eight seasons, which is an astonishingly poor record for a club of its stature.
But that won’t matter one bit if the Zinedine Zidane-managed side go on to lift their 11th European title in Milan. Because at Real Madrid, the world begins and ends with the Champions League.
Akarsh attended Real Madrid’s Champions League quarter-final against Wolfsburg at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in April. He’s a Delhi-based writer who tweets here.