halftime approaches, Real Madrid players seem increasingly frustrated by Atlético’s defensive approach, which is tactically designed to break up Real Madrid’s typical beautifully fluid attacking play. Real Madrid looks like they need a break to regroup.
Halftime: Real Madrid 0–1 Atlético Madrid. During the fifteen-minute break, an announcer on one broadcast makes the point that Ronaldo and Benzema barely touched the ball near the Atlético goal area during the first half. Bale only had one real opportunity, which he missed.
When the second half begins, there is a desperate air to Real Madrid’s attacks. Atlético has moved more players to defense, which continues to frustrate Real Madrid, but Real Madrid is advancing the ball deeper and getting a few more opportunities to score. A Ronaldo free kick is deflected by the Atlético goalkeeper and off the bar at fifty-four minutes. A Ronaldo header glances wide at sixty-two minutes. And after an exhilarating sprint, Bale’s shot tamely goes into the side netting at seventy-eight minutes.
After eighty minutes, Atlético players seem like they are on their last legs, tired of chasing after and closing down on Real Madrid’s players and passes. Atlético uses their third, and last, substitution at eighty-three minutes. It seems Atlético can’t clear the ball out of their own third, never mind their own half. The pressure seems to be escalating to an explosion.
At eighty-nine minutes into the game, the Atlético coach implores the fans to cheer his team to the finish. At the ninety-minute mark, the referee decides to add five minutes of stoppage time. Three minutes into stoppage time, a Real Madrid corner kick by Croatian midfielder Luka Modric from the right swings toward the penalty spot. Sergio Ramos gets clear of everyone and powers a masterful header into the far corner of the net. GOAL! English TV commentator Ray Hudson, known for his descriptive color commentary, screams, “. . . magisteeerial . . . the corner kick sails in . . . and Ramos leaps . . . like a fresh salmon from a summer stream . . . it’s an exquisite header . . . with power and accuracy measured down to a pixel!”
The moment the ball swishes the back of the net, a man in a conservative blue suit leaps in front of King Juan Carlos of Spain in the center of the stadium’s VIP suite. The typically levelheaded and controlled Florentino Pérez, president of Real Madrid, raises his arms in celebration. Realizing that his passion is getting the best of him, he quickly pulls his arms down, wipes his glasses, straightens his suit jacket, and sits back down. He is trying to be sensitive and respectful to the president of Atlético Madrid, who is sitting near him.
A TV announcer screams, “We are heading for extra time!”
During the break before extra time, which is divided into two fifteen-minute halves, Atlético’s exhausted and disheartened players stretch out on blue mats laid out on the field, while Real Madrid players gather in a huddle to motivate themselves.
The first fifteen minutes of extra time is sloppy. When the second half of extra time begins, it’s still Real Madrid 1–1 Atlético Madrid. Atlético’s players’ minds now seem as tired as their bodies, and they start making mental errors.
GOAL! Gareth Bale had missed a few opportunities, but in the 111th minute he scores. Real Madrid’s Ángel Di María uses fancy footwork to surge down the left side between two or three weary Atlético players and flicks the ball toward the goal with his outside foot. The Atlético goalkeeper makes an incredible save with his left foot, but the ball still deflects toward the far post. Bale reads the trajectory and spin of the ball and maneuvers his body to head the ball at an acute angle from very close range just inside the top right post.
Ray Hudson jumps off his chair, screaming, “. . . it’s as electrifying as a hair dryer thrown into a bathtub . . . look at the balance . . . the timing . . . he’s like a master thief stealing the silverware in the dark night . . . the galácticos are gladiators tonight . . . and Gareth Bale is Spartacus!”
Looking for an equalizer, Atlético starts to attack harder than they have throughout the game. Their aggressiveness leaves them vulnerable to counterattacks. GOAL! In the 118th minute, the big-haired Brazilian Marcelo takes advantage, driving a low shot right through the left arm of the plunging Atlético goalkeeper. Imagine Andrés Cantor, the Argentine-born Spanish-language sportscaster, yelling his familiar, “Goooooooooal,” with the “o” stretched out over fifteen seconds—and then repeating it.
To make matters worse for Atlético, two minutes later, a tired Atlético player accidentally trips Ronaldo in the penalty box, and Ronaldo is awarded a penalty kick. GOAL! With a right-footed shot, Ronaldo puts the penalty into the back of the right corner of the net with precision and power. Ray Hudson describes the moment: “. . . absolute precision from the Dark Invader . . . this one is a death-ray hit from Real Madrid’s glamour boy . . .” It is Ronaldo’s seventeenth goal of the tournament, a record at the time.
8 There is debate in the media about whether Cristiano Ronaldo or Gareth Bale holds the world record for the highest transfer fee ever paid for a player, both by Real Madrid. Ronaldo joined the team in 2009 for what was reported at the time to be a €94 million ($131 million) transfer fee, while Bale’s fee was originally reported to be €91.5 million in 2013. However, because Bale’s fee was to be paid in installments, the total resulted in around €100 million. Spanish newspaper Marca reported that Ronaldo’s contract also had installments and the total amount was actually €104.7 million, which would make Ronaldo the world’s most expensive player.
9 The first team is the main, upper level team that plays in the first (top) division and major competitions.
10 Rob Hughes, “The Never-Ending Job at Real Madrid.” New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/28/sports/soccer/the-never-ending-job-at-real-madrid.html?_r=0.
11 Ramos was referencing the beloved Pitina Sandoval, Florentino’s wife of forty-one years and mother of their three children, who died in May 2012.
12 Michael Owen, “Champions League final 2014: Real Madrid ruled by Europe so they dare not lose to Atletico Madrid.” Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/columnists/michael-owen/10852545/Champions-League-final-2014-Real-Madrid-ruled-by-Europe-so-they-dare-not-lose-to-Atletico-Madrid.html.
How Real Madrid Became the Most Successful Sports Team on the Planet
REAL MADRID’S ON- AND OFF-FIELD DOMINANCE
AT THE CENTER of the Real Madrid way for success are the values of their community and resulting culture. Real Madrid management believes the culture has translated into continued success on the field thus creating a profitable and sustainable enterprise that people can identify with and turn to, embracing it as a meaningful and steadfast
