As Zinedine Zidane volleyed home one of the greatest goals in Champions League history at Hampden Park in 2002, sealing a 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen to take 'Ol' Big Ears’ back to the Bernabeu for the ninth time, few could’ve predicted the turbulent and torturous route that Real Madrid would have to take to seal their tenth crown. The famous trophy has since eluded Los Blancos, and the quest for European success has become somewhat an obsession for the Real Madrid fans, so much so that they’ve even devoted a now infamous title for their impending tenth success, ‘La Décima’. It is an obsession that has lasted for 12 incessant years, at a price of nearly €1.2bn in transfer fees, but their excruciating battle for glory finally ended in triumph this season, at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, 24th May 2014. Here’s the story of their winning Champions League campaign:
17th Sept 2013: Galatasaray 1-6 Real Madrid (Bulut; Isco, Benzema x2, Ronaldo x3)
Ronaldo 3, Real Madrid 6, Galatasaray 1. Real Madrid got their 2013/14 Champions League campaign off to a flying start as they demolished Turkish champions Galatasaray in Istanbul. Having run Real Madrid close in last year’s quarter final, with a 3-2 home win for Galatasaray just not enough to overcome 3-0 first leg deficit from the Bernabeu, there were no such anxieties for the Spanish club this time as a Cristiano Ronaldo second half hat-trick blew the Turks away.
The hosts started the brighter on this occasion, with Melo denied twice within 30 minutes by Diego Lopez, who had been substituted on following Iker Casillas’ early injury. Yet it was Galatasaray who soon found themselves behind as Isco neatly controlled Angel Di Maria’s cross-field pass and cooly slotted past Fernando Muslera. A misjudged header early in the second half allowed Di Maria to play in Karim Benzema to double their advantage, before Ronaldo was offered two simple tap ins in quick succession to heap upon their host’s misery. A Ronaldo cross then set up Benzema to put home his second of the day, and although Umut Bulut pulled one back for the Turks with six minutes to go, the final word went to Carlo Ancelotti’s men, and more specifically, Cristiano Ronaldo. Having received the ball outside the box on the left, Ronaldo slalomed his way around three Galatasaray defenders before slamming home past a helpless Muslera to seal his hat trick in emphatic fashion.
2nd Oct 2013: Real Madrid 4-0 FC Copenhagen (Ronaldo x2, Di Maria x2)
With the other two matches in Group B both ending in draws, Real Madrid’s 4-0 home win over FC Copenhagen saw them take full control of the group, sitting four points clear at the top with a much superior goal difference after just two games. The Danish side failed to heed an earlier warning when Benzema headed a Marcelo cross wide, and soon found themselves trailing Ancelotti’s side after 21 minutes with Ronaldo powering home a header at the back post. Luka Modrić, pulling the strings in midfield, delicately lifted the ball to Marcelo on the left flank, whose cross was carelessly missed by goalkeeper Johan Wiland, offering Ronaldo a simple header into an open goal to give Madrid the lead. Despite the goal, Copenhagen tenaciously hung on in there and even forced Casillas, whom Ancelotti had now decided would be the ‘cup goalkeeper’, into a fantastic save, before Rúrik Gíslason hit the underside of the bar with a header from a corner.
Having received the wake up call that they needed, Real Madrid turned it up a gear in the second half and soon made it 2-0 with a goal from, you guessed it, Cristiano Ronaldo. A deftly lofted cross from Angel Di Maria was nodded home with another trademark header from the ex-Manchester United man, before Di Maria turned from provider to scorer as he smashed home past Wiland after Benzema played him through. There was even time for a fourth as Di Maria seized upon a poor pass on the edge of the box, cut inside and drilled the ball into the right-hand corner of the net.
23rd Oct 2013: Real Madrid 2-1 Juventus (Ronaldo x2; Llorente)
Los Blancos made it 3 wins out of 3 against Italian champions Juventus as Ronaldo scored his sixth and seventh goals of this season’s Champions League. This time, it only took four minutes for the Portuguese forward to get going, charging onto Di Maria’s expertly weighted reverse through ball before rounding Gigi Buffon and slotting home from a tight angle. The Old Lady reacted well, however, and after Carlos Tevez came close to levelling the scores twice, the ball did eventually find its way to the back of the Real Madrid net via the boot of Fernando Llorente. A deep cross was met by Paul Pogba, and his effort towards goal could only be parried straight into the path of Llorente, and the Spaniard duly poked the ball home past a helpless Casillas lying on the floor.
With the mentality of true champions, however, the Madrid side bounced straight back and soon retook the lead seven minutes later from the penalty spot. As Buffon came out and comfortably collected a cross, Giorgio Chiellini tumbled over Sergio Ramos off the ball, illegally in the eyes of the referee, and the resulting penalty was rifled home by Ronaldo. Chiellini found himself in further controversy later in the game, when, three minutes into the second half, he received his marching orders from the referee for an alleged elbow on Ronaldo. Replays suggest that he did little wrong, but with the numerical disadvantage, Juventus struggled to get back into the game with their closest effort falling to Sebastian Giovinco, whose shot was tipped around the post by Casillas. Real had chances of their own, with Benzema somehow missing from point-blank range and Sami Khedira sending a weak chip straight into the arms of the goalkeeper, but little did it matter at the final whistle as Real came away with all three points to strengthen their grip on the group.
5th Nov 2013: Juventus 2-2 Real Madrid (Vidal, Llorente; Ronaldo, Bale)
The return match in Turin ended Real Madrid’s 100% record, but a point was enough to all but seal their passage into the knockout stages. Both keepers were on top form in the first half, with Casillas saving from Claudio Marchisio and Carlos Tevez, as well as preventing an own goal from his own defender Pepe, whilst Buffon’s reflexes were tested with a low Gareth Bale drive, but it was Juventus who finally made the breakthrough after Pogba was fouled in the box, and there was nothing Casillas could do about Arturo Vidal’s powerful resulting penalty.
It didn’t take Real Madrid to find a response though, and it was Cristiano Ronaldo again who, after shooting narrowly wide in the first half, eventually found the net again. After Xabi Alonso rattled the bar from a long range pile-driver, Madrid took the lead for the first time when Bale grabbed his first ever Champions League goal with a neat strike past Buffon at his near post. The hosts did salvage a point when Llorente met Martin Cáceres’ cross with a glancing header, but it was a result that suited the visiting side much more, leaving Los Blancos comfortably top of the group and Juventus rooted to the bottom.
27th Nov 2013: Real Madrid 4-1 Galatasaray (Bale, Arbeloa, Di Maria, Isco; Bulut)
A red card to Sergio Ramos was not enough to stop 10-man Real Madrid from a return to winning ways as they dismantled Galatasaray yet again, this time at the Bernabeu. An early professional foul by Ramos earned the Spaniard an early bath, but Madrid’s worries, compounded by Ronaldo’s absence to injury and Ancelotti’s weakened team selection, were lessened after Bale dinked a costless kick worthy of his Portuguese team-mate over the wall and into the top corner. Bale had previously missed a clear cut chance and would’ve been relieved to see the ball hit the back of the net, but such happiness lasted less than a minute as Umut Bulut calmly slotted past Casillas to restore parity after Didier Drogba played a divine through ball.
However, there was little surprise as Real Madrid retook the lead, and this time, once they got in front again, there was no stopping them. Alvaro Arbeloa somehow found himself unmarked to tuck home, giving Angel Di Maria yet another assist in this season’s European competition, before their roles were reversed with Arbeloa setting Di Maria up to add a third. Now playing with the confidence and costlessdom that saw them win 6-1 in Istanbul, Real Madrid went into party mode and eventually grabbed a fourth through a neat turn and finish by Isco inside the box.
10th Dec 2013: FC Copenhagen 0-2 Real Madrid (Modrić, Ronaldo)
Modrić, Ronaldo, a 2-0 win and group comfortably won. The breakthrough came midway through the first half when a disguised fake shot by Luka Modrić left his marker bamboozled, giving the Croatian the room to curl a delightful effort into the top corner out of the despairing reaches of the a helpless Wiland. With Ronaldo returning to the starting XI and fighting for the Ballon d’Or, the Portuguese forward seemed determined to hit the net, but to little avail in the first half as Wiland held his own.
The inevitable breakthrough was eventually reached, however, three minutes into the second half as Pepe headed Marcelo’s cross back across the face of goal, leaving Ronaldo a simple finish to grab his record ninth goal of the group stages. He even came close to extending his record to a tenth, as his left-footed drive came back off the foot of the post, before his weak penalty was saved by Wiland with a minute on the clock. The chance to grab a tenth and even eleventh goal will be no doubt regretted by Ronaldo, but nine goals in five matches is no mean feat and it is a record likely to stand for a very long time, a deserving embodiment of the unique brilliance of the man who has unfortunately found himself in Lionel Messi’s shadow in recent years.
26th Feb 2014: Schalke 04 1-6 Real Madrid (Huntelaar; Benzema x2, Bale x2, Ronaldo x2)
Real Madrid established their reputation as perennial contenders for the Champions League with an incredible second 6-1 away win in this season’s campaign, this time coming at the expense of German side Schalke 04. Three different players bragged a brace for Los Blancos before Klaas-Jan Huntelaar blasted home a consolation, and if it means anything to the Dutchman, it was arguably the best goal of the night.
Despite an early Benedikt Höwedes header fizzing narrowly past the wrong side of the post for Schalke, Real Madrid soon took the lead after 13 minutes when Karim Benzema latched onto a deflected Ronaldo flick to unleash a powerful effort past Ralf Fährmann. Schalke were presented a fantastic opportunity to equalise when Max Meyer fired over from just a few yards out. Casillas had made a sensational save from a Julian Draxler header, but the ball fell kindly to Meyer with the goal at his mercy, and despite the undoubted potential of the young midfielder, he was unable to convert. The miss was soon punished as Bale danced his way from the right wing past three desperate challenges before stabbing home via the inside of the near post. A dazzling, step-over-filled Ronaldo run twisted Joel Matip inside-out, creating the room needed to rifle the ball beyond the reach of a despairing Fährmann and into the far top corner, before some delicious link up play between Ronaldo and Benzema set the Frenchman up to slot home a fourth. It was 5-0 before long as Bale dinked the ball past an onrushing goalkeeper before Ronaldo added a sixth to compound their host’s embarrassment. The best was saved for last though, as Huntelaar, playing against his former side, unleashed a quite spectacular volley into the top corner. Unfortunately for the hosts, it was far too little, far too late.
18th Mar 2014: Real Madrid 3-1 Schalke 04 (9-2 agg.) (Ronaldo x2, Morata; Hoogland)
Real Madrid sealed their passage into the quarter finals of the Champions League as Cristiano Ronaldo equalled Ferenc Puskas' goalscoring record with his 41st goal of the season. Despite hitting both the post and the crossbar throughout the duration of the game, the Portuguese international still managed to grab a brace with two neat finishes before Alvaro Morata clinched yet another Real Madrid victory.
Tim Hoogland had equalised for Schalke on the night with a deflected shot that left Casillas helplessly wrong-footed, but very rarely did the Germans look like taking the lead, with Los Blancos taking advantage of their five goal lead from the first leg. The Spanish side dominantly dictated play throughout the game, almost making a mockery of their opponents, and comfortably booked their place in the quarter final draw.
2nd Apr 2014: Real Madrid 3-0 Borussia Dortmund (Bale, Isco, Ronaldo)
Los Blancos sent out yet another warning to their European rivals as they eased past last year’s finalists Borussia Dortmund at the Bernabeu. Ready for revenge after Dortmund had knocked the Madrid side out at the semi final stage last season, Real came flying out of the traps and took the lead within three minutes as Daniel Carvajal picked out an onrushing Bale as he burst into the penalty area, deftly controlled the ball before prodding home under Roman Weidenfeller.
Isco, a late replacement for Di Maria who was suffering with a virus, soon doubled Real’s lead with a clinical finish from the edge of the box, before the Germans were completely swept aside as Ronaldo, who had previously been denied several times by Weidenfeller, latched onto an exquisite Modric through ball, rounded the keeper and slotted home into an unguarded net. Kevin Grosskreutz and Henrikh Mkhitaryan came close to scoring for the visitors, but Casillas and a dogged defence in front of him made sure that Real Madrid came away with a clean sheet, denying their visitors a crucial away goal.
8th Apr 2014: Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Real Madrid (2-3 agg.) (Reus x2)
Having failed to grab a vital away goal, Borussia Dortmund were left with an almost impossible task for the second leg, but set about their challenge with their usual aplomb and nearly reaped the rewards. Roared on by the Yellow Wall, a Marco Reus-inspired show nearly saw the unlikeliest of all comebacks, but it was Real Madrid who finally prevailed to progress to the last four.
Real Madrid were awarded an early penalty, but with Ronaldo sitting on the sidelines due to injury, it was Angel Di Maria who put the ball on the penalty spot after Lukasz Piszczek penalised for handling Fabio Coentrao’s cross. An away goal would have effectively ended the tie, but Di Maria’s penalty was saved by Weidenfeller and Reus soon took advantage, pouncing on a wayward back header by Sergio Ramos before rounding Casillas and firing home. Hummels then had a bullet header remarkably tipped over the bar before Asier Illarramendi surrendered possession in the centre of the park, gifting Dortmund a glorious opportunity to double their lead. Lewandowski’s shot was tipped onto the post but there was nothing anyone could do about Reus’ rebound, smashed home into the roof of the net. Now smelling blood, the Germans bombed forward and repeatedly knocked on their opponent’s door, and a chance eventually fell to Mkhitaryan after some clever play by Reus. Having gone round the keeper, with the goal at his mercy, the Armenian somehow failed to hit the target, only able to direct his shot off the outside of the post. Casillas made some vital saves late on to send Real through to the semis, allowing Di Maria to finally breath a sigh of relief at the final whistle, knowing that his poor penalty had nearly cost his side a shot at La Décima.
23rd Apr 2014: Real Madrid 1-0 Bayern Munich (Benzema)
A solitary strike from Karim Benzema was all that was needed to give Real Madrid a vital home win in the semi final first leg against Bayern Munich, who, despite complete dominance in terms of possession, failed to make a breakthrough and in turn, failed to score an away goal. The German side boasted 64% of possession throughout the game, but struggled to create any meaningful opportunities to score, and instead it was Real who had the best chances of the night.
A delicious pass down the left wing from Ronaldo found an onrushing Coentrao, whose low cross evaded all Bayern defenders to find Benzema at the back post, left with the simple job of tapping home an easy finish. Real could easily have been three up at the break, with Ronaldo and Di Maria gifted wonderful opportunities to score, but both lacked the composure to convert and extend their side’s advantage. Bayern’s lack of penetration and tempo to their possession saw them struggle to break Real Madrid down, often trying to force too much from too little. Their exasperation was highlighted late on in the game, when Thomas Muller desperately appealed for a penalty after a challenge from Xabi Alonso that bared no resemblance to a foul of any kind. Mario Gotze came closest for the Bavarian club with his effort smartly denied by Iker Casillas, whilst Phillip Lahm struck the side netting, but all in all, it was a flat, toothless performance from the newly-crowned Bundesliga champions.
29th Apr 2014: Bayern Munich 0-4 Real Madrid (0-5 agg.) (Ramos x2, Ronaldo x2)
Los Blancos sent Bayern Munich crashing out of the Champions League with a demolition in Munich, ending all myths about Real’s struggles to play well in Germany. A brace from both Sergio Ramos and Ronaldo ensured of their place in their first Champions League final since that day in Hampden 12 years ago. The sheer pace and power of the Real Madrid side shone through as they dismantled Bayern in their own backyard, sparking up discussions, misguided although they may be, over the death of tiki-taka.
Having seen a possession based game dominate our screens for the past few years, starting with Spain’s success in Euro 2008, it came as a pleasant surprise to many to see Real Madrid’s quick, counter attacking football having the success it did. Ramos opened the scoring, powering home from a Luka Modrić corner, before doubling his and Madrid’s tally, this time latching onto Angel Di Maria’s costless kick with a diving header past Manuel Neuer. The speed and precision of Real Madrid’s attacking transitions had been a key trait all season, and their trademark counter attack was exhibited at its finest on the biggest stage of all. From one side of the pitch to the other in seconds in a scintillating move, Di Maria, on the edge of his own area, fed Benzema on the halfway line, who set Bale clear of the desperately backtracking Bayern defence, and the Welshman unselfishly set up Ronaldo to fire past Neuer. Ronaldo then nearly scored from 40 yards as the Madrid side began to party, and eventually did Real’s fourth with a low costless kick drilled underneath the jumping wall, a clever move that sealed his 16th Champions League goal of the campaign.
24th May 2014: Real Madrid 1-1 Atletico Madrid (4-1 aet) (Ramos, Bale, Marcelo, Ronaldo; Godin)
An all Madrid final in Lisbon was to be the setting of the finale of Real Madrid’s quest for a historic tenth European title, with the added spice of the chance to get one over their nearest rivals. Having been beaten to the league title by the plucky underdogs from across the city, Los Blancos were more determined than ever to win the final in Lisbon, having seen Atletico’s title celebrations just one week earlier. Simeone’s men had become somewhat a revelation across Europe, with many impressed by their organisation, pressing and teamwork, and having failed to beat them in the league this season, Ancelotti and his men knew that this would be no easy task.
Real were, however, boosted by the return of Cristiano Ronaldo and Sami Khedira from injury, whilst Arda Turan and Diego Costa were clearly not ready to play from the Atletico camp, despite the latter receiving horse placenta treatment in an attempt to last the final, an appearance that lasted just nine minutes. Despite the loss of their star man, Atletico continued to press and hassle Real Madrid in possession with their usual aplomb, and limited their opponents to very few chances, with the best falling to Bale around the half hour mark. The Welshman pounced on a poor Tiago pass in the Atletico half, drove forward but put his shot wide of the post, possibly distracted by Miranda’s late lunge in front of him. Bale was made to pay for the miss though, as Miranda soon gave Atletico the lead against the run of play. Casillas stormed off his line in an attempt to claim the ball, but was easily beaten to it by Diego Godin, whose looping header bounced into an unguarded goal, despite the best attempts of a clambering Casillas.
Los Blancos got back into it in the second half, however, as Atletico tired, their tiny squad evidently stretched by the demands of a long season where they had played over 50 matches. Real continued to barrage the Atletico goal, but were seemingly unable to find a route to Thibaut Courtois’ goal, until deep into stoppage time, Sergio Ramos expertly planted a header into the bottom corner of the net from a Luka Modrić corner. Real’s persistent perseverance had paid off, and with momentum on their side, the white side of Madrid were in full control in Lisbon in extra time. Their dominance was eventually rewarded when Di Maria’s saved shot was parried to the far past, where Bale lay waiting and nodded home to effectively pay back his £86m transfer fee from last summer. A completely fatigued Atletico had reached the cliff, and allowed Marcelo to walk through their defence to add a third, before Ronaldo converted a late penalty to make it 4-1. It is a scoreline that is extremely harsh on Atletico, one that doesn’t begin to tell the story, with the match being one of complete parity for the majority of the 120 minutes.
And as the final whistle blew at the Estádio da Luz on a cold Saturday night in Lisbon, Real Madrid had finally won La Décima, an unprecedented tenth European crown. With victory, Carlo Ancelotti became only the second manager in history to win three European titles as a coach, whilst Ronaldo’s penalty was his 17th goal of the campaign, a new record in itself. He also became the fourth man to score in two European Cup finals, and the first in the European Cup’s modern format, the Champions League, to score for two different teams in two different finals. The four goals scored in the final took their total aggregate of goals in this season’s Champions League campaign to 41, setting a record with an average of 3.15 goals per game, topping Barcelona’s previous record of 2.81 from the 1999/2000 season. Records broken all round then, a fitting way to end a record-breaking season for Real Madrid, a season where they finally won La Décima.