No doubt one of the hardest questions I have faced in recent times- and why won’t it be, after all, I am not Paul the Octopus, Chaco the Armadillo, Princess the Camel, Mr. Nuts the Cat or, Ozzy (sounds very much like Ozil of Arsenal) the Grizzly Bear.
Undoubtedly, Real Madrid will rank as one of the most successful club sides in world football as it has won 32 La Liga titles, 18 Copa Del Rey, 9 Supercoppas de Espana, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la Liga. Internationally, Madrid has been successful too with a record joint three Intercontinental cups, two UEFA Cups, 1 UEFA Super Cup but just like every successful venture, the past is never enough as new targets have to be spelt out and met.
Stagnancy is never an option as growth is a given. With 9 Champions League trophies (the most by any club) in their colourful cabinet, Los Blancos are searching for the holy grail- their 10th title in the UEFA Champions league.
Evocatively termed La Decima, the quest for the tenth title started in earnest after the 2001/2002 season when Madrid won their 9th title after beating Bayer Leverkusen with former French international and three-times Ballon d’Or winner, Zinedine Zidane scoring the winning goal with a superbly executed left-foot volley from the edge of the penalty area.
That was a whole different generation of Los Galacticos players; a new one since 2009 have by the way, been saddled with the responsibility of winning the very elusive 10th title. A quarter final, four semi-finals and six 2nd rounds exits tells the tale of the chase. The table below sums up the chase
2003- Champions League Semi-Final
2004 - Champions League Quarter-Final
2005 - Champions League 2nd Round
2006 - Champions League 2nd Round
2007 - Champions League 2nd Round
2008 - Champions League 2nd Round
2009 - Champions League 2nd Round
2010 - Champions League 2nd Round
2011 - Champions League Semi-Final
2012 - Champions League Semi-Final
2013 - Champions League Semi-Final
But it looks like the wait is almost over.
If there is any player that can help the Madrid based club to win it, it should be the current best player on the planet, Cristiano Ronaldo.
In a year where CR7 claimed his second Ballon d’Or award as the best footballer on the planet, a lot is expected from the Portuguese this season. Although, many critics have pointed out the fact that Ronaldo has not done much to win laurels for Madrid despite proving to be one of the club’s lethal finishers since his arrival from Manchester United for a world record fee of £80m, the refrain is that this is the golden year.
Ronaldo boasts of just one La Liga, one Copa Del Rey and a Supercopa de Espana title for Madrid but this season, he could cap it up with a UEFA Champions League title. Ronaldo qualified Real Madrid to the round of 16 asserting himself as the highest goal scorer (ever) in the Group stage with 10 goals. His record goal-haul has clinched him the position of third already on the all time goal scorer’s table with a total of 59 goals, (15 in Manchester United) and (44 in Real Madrid).
Ronaldo’s consistency this season again has proven how much he is to this present team now tutored by Carlo Ancelotti, a veteran of the Champions League himself boasting of success with AC Milan in 2003 and 2007 with a runner ups medal in that memorable final of two-halves at the Atatürk Stadium.
Ronaldo and Co will try to see off the threat of Schalke 04 at the Stadion Gelsenkirchen, Germany in the first leg of the round of 16, a step that will take the Los Vikingos closer to their holy grail.
And, yes, this is a 29th happy birthday’s wish to the leader of the La Decima Army. Happy Birthday, Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro.
