Any piece about La Liga right now should begin and end in exactly the same place – with wide acclaim for the newly-crowned champions.
It was a season in which Real Madrid were well ahead of the chasing pack and had already secured their 35th league title before the month of May began.
That achievement capped a remarkable milestone for Carlo Ancelotti as the Italian became the first manager to capture titles in each of Europe’s top five leagues – England, Spain, Germany, Italy, and France.
That title was something this SBOTOP writer predicted last August which was hardly going out on a limb given the guile of Ancelotti was returning to shape the club from the capital going up against a Barcelona in disarray and city rivals Atletico.
But what I also said at the time was that none of the leading Spanish clubs were yet ready to win the Champions League again.
How wrong was I!
For Los Blancos not only treated us to plenty of La Liga 2022 highlights but only went onto become champions of Europe for a record 14th time.
It was a magnificent achievement for the Spanish giants who beat Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Liverpool in the knockout stages.
This from a team which is aging in key areas, was deemed to be “past its best” and lost its two central defencive stalwarts last summer – all true factors but, nevertheless, something Ancelotti was able to overcome.
As the Guardian’s Jonathan Wilson noted last Saturday in Paris: ‘It has not been a normal season for Madrid. They have survived by their nerve, by their capacity to produce moments of brilliance when they have needed them.”
‘The way Thibaut Courtois saved them again and again is in part a measure of his own excellence, but also of the fact that this is not a Madrid that can control games. They have needed Karim Benzema to convert an absurd proportion of his chances, they have needed Luka Modric to conjure magical passes again and again, and they have benefited from Vinícius’ growing danger running in behind the opposing full-back.”
‘Perhaps if you have enough great players still just about firing, that is enough. Modric’s outside of the boot pass to Benzema to equalise against Chelsea at the Bernabeu is the defining moment of their campaign because it required such virtuosity at such a vital time. Stars are ageing and Kylian Mbappé, who had seemed Madrid’s future for so long, will not be arriving any time soon. There is rebuilding to be done, but the essence of Madrid, that sense of belief, remains as strong as ever.”
Those words perfectly summed up a team which displayed a character few possess or can continue to possess over many months when up against it.
A team which are Champions of Europe, Champions of Spain, and Supercopa de Espana champions.
After a season that ended without titles and with the departures of three big names in the form of Zinedine Zidane, Sergio Ramos, and Raphael Varane, Real Madrid faced 2021/22 with uncertainty.
Nine months on, Real have closed the campaign by winning three of the four titles they competed for and still they don’t stand still.
Attention has already turned to the future with Antonio Rudiger officially confirmed as a Real Madrid player yesterday following the end of his Chelsea contract.
His signature shows a club not resting on its laurels, a club that wants to go again, even stronger, in 2022/23 and needs to recruit intelligently in order to do that.
The German centre-back has been a pivotal part of Thomas Tuchel’s team ever since he took over at Stamford Bridge.
It has been suggested this is part of Real’s transfer strategy: Experience at zero cost with Rudiger following David Alaba, whose Bayern Munich contract had ended and he went to the Bernabeu.
The speculation will increase in the next few months about more arrivals with Aurelien Tchouameni the latest name bandied about and Real rumoured to be closing in on a deal for the AS Monaco star despite late interest from Paris Saint-Germain.
In the words of midfield maestro, Toni Kroos: “Carlo is an exceptional coach. He is incredibly calm and he transmits that to the team.”
‘You don’t see his calmness often in this business and we act accordingly,’ Alaba added.
True words indeed.
What a season they have had and, mark my words, they will be top of the pile when the La Liga 2022 betting odds for 2022/23 are revealed.
Viva Real!
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