Whether or not a new coronation is at the end of the final against Liverpool on Saturday May 28, the 2021-2022 Champions League will remain that of Real Madrid, as the 2018-2019 edition was that of Ajax Amsterdam . No unexpected epic this time, but an ability to get out of desperate situations with disconcerting serenity. It was after overthrowing Paris Saint-Germain, then Chelsea and Manchester City – both times in extra time – that the Merengues validated their ticket for the Stade de France.
Never had such an impression of power emanated from a team used to qualifying in extremis. This team never died, even when they had two goals to go against Manchester City and the 180 minutes of regular time were up.
A clue had been slipped in the first leg, when Karim Benzema had cheerfully celebrated his panenka to reduce the gap to 3-4. Custom would have liked the French international (34) to rush into Ederson’s cage to bring the ball back to the center circle, and bring the restart of play as far forward as possible. Real were still behind and had ten minutes in an attempt to make up for its delay.
“The greatness of this club is that it never lets you down. When all seems lost, it gives you the strength to continue, to fight, to believe“, had reacted Carlo Ancelotti at the microphone of Movistar + after the qualification snatched during the semi-final return. Implied: to wear the shirt of Real Madrid offers an additional soul. It is to play with a superior force, drawn from the glorious past of the most successful club in the most prestigious of European competitions.
A little closer to the stars… pic.twitter.com/JJAQhzQqju
— Karim Benzema (@Benzema) May 18, 2022
“A team like Real is more likely to win this Champions League because everyone in and around the club, from supporters to journalists, has experienced it and knows how difficult it is.“, analyzes Denis Troch, the former assistant to Artur Jorge at PSG, now a mental trainer. According to him, we must adopt a holistic approach to better understand why Real Madrid, rather than another club, has achieved such a career in C1 this season. And not only because his coach is the one with the most C1 finals and that a large part of the players were present during the hat-trick under Zinédine Zidane (2016, 2017, 2018).
The White House knows how to use it. “Some teams transcend each other at some point, like Paris during the quarters for example. They are already focusing and spending crazy energy to win these quarters. It’s an energy that they will no longer have in the semi-finals or in the final. Having an excessive desire to succeed without ever having done so is a stress amplifier“, says Troch.
Teams like Paris or Manchester City lack the idea of the feasibility of the feat. The two formations have coveted the cup with the big ears for more than ten years, sometimes touching it, without ever seizing it. Enough to create a complex, at a time when Real Madrid, figurehead of European leaders, feeds on its exploits by giving the impression of being immortal.
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“Madrid comes from another world”titled AS, the day after qualifying for the final. “To create history or something out of the ordinary, you obviously have to have results, but there also has to be a triggering event.“, explains Denis Troch, identifying the comeback against Paris, on March 9. “In the struggle for influence, Real shows its opponent that it is powerful. His posture exudes serenity. He constantly tells himself that he can do it and that impresses the opponent.“
Liverpool are in a weak position heading into the final, despite having a near-immaculate 2022. It is on this that Real relies to draw its strength, according to Denis Troch. The pitfall for the Reds would be to adapt too much. The Merengues have a psychological ascendancy. But it remains to be seen whether the scenario of the 2018 final, won 3-1 against Jürgen Klopp’s team, will happen again.