Julien Laurens and Stewart Robson assess the La Liga title race as Real Madrid move five points clear of Girona. (2:47)
The last few days have contributed significantly to the sense of surprise and amazement that will have to make Real Madrid’s rivals tremble at the moment. On the pitch this weekend, they treated their closest La Liga rivals with a night of sheer brutality, a functionality of such contempt, authority and intensity that she snarled “How dare you sit at our head table?”
Poor Girona; So far this season, they’ve provided us with some very mischievous and bold entertainment, but Saturday’s 4-0 win allowed them to get the solution right. It was clinical in the sense that Yann Couto, one of Girona’s most outstanding players, was not only presented with falsified evidence of his deviation from the required elite level, but also shed tears of self-pity at the final whistle. having been torn apart by Vinícius Júnior on the wing.
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Míchel, the Madrid coach of Girona who, despite this defeat, deserves a gigantic applause for the entertainment he provided to a relatively mediocre group, admitted: “Madrid left me with egg on my face and reminded Girona that the name is the race. ” This is not the war we are in.
However, it is here that I see that Madrid’s resounding victory will have to be seen in a much broader context.
Four days earlier, Madrid and the NFL jointly announced that either the Miami Dolphins or Chicago Bears would play a regular-season home game in front of 85,000 spectators at the Santiago Bernabeu next year. The Spanish capital now joins London, Munich, Frankfurt, Mexico City and Toronto in having had this immense opportunity to revel in the eyes of the world, and it is significant that Real Madrid, and not Atletico Madrid, has won the right to welcome.
There was an open festival between the two La Liga clubs. On paper, the Estadio Metropolitano is modern, well-located, has already hosted a Champions League final, and is a lovely venue with a capacity of 70,000. But the NFL has been influenced by the fact that the Santiago Bernabeu is a huge, recently renovated stadium that, fundamentally, has the ability to close off its roof and a dome. This arguably provides the ultimate enjoyment of a big event: no exposure of players, fans, sponsors, or media to adverse weather conditions.
It is well established that beyond the fundamental monetary agreement between the NFL and a host club outside of North America related to a major game, there are also a number of fantastic ancillary benefits (monetary, prestige marketing) to come; in this case for Los Angeles. Whites and their neighborhood. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 21-16 win over the Seattle Seahawks at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena in November 2022 would have brought a €70 million effect to the city; Madrid are confident of surpassing that figure.
Once again, even this NFL announcement requires deeper context, as there are other seismic occasions that Real Madrid are about to take advantage of.
We know that the privilege of hosting the FIFA Men’s World Cup is coming to Spain in six years’ time: the 2030 tournament will be theirs, with partner matches in Morocco, Portugal, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina. What we don’t know, formally, is where the jewel in the crown, the final itself, will be played. But you can absolutely bet your bottom dollar — and please, come back and tease me if I’m wrong — that it will be in the Santiago Bernabéu.
And while even Los Blancos president Florentino Perez will try to turn his magnificent stadium into the minimum 3. 5km (2 miles) length required for a Grand Prix circuit, perhaps the only feat beyond the kind that can convince everyone to bow to his will. – It remains true that Madrid is also presented as the venue for the annual Formula 1 races from 2026 for 10 seasons. It’s another mega boost to the image, coffers and self-confidence of the city where Real Madrid lives. ; In fact, part of the circuit will take Ferrari, Red Bull and others in front of the club’s educational floor in Valdebebas.
Pérez has already negotiated a €360 million deal with Sixth Street and Legends whereby the two corporations will maximize the use of the stadium for live music. That is why Taylor Swift has chosen the Santiago Bernabéu as the only concert she will offer in Spain on her 2024 world tour.
At the time of writing, none of us know for sure whether or not Kylian Mbappé will finally add his remarkable skill and scoring prowess to Madrid’s already 24-karat talent stable, but it’s a genuine prospect. And just as a little garnish on the top of this already appetising Madrid menu, we’re only a month or so away from Spain playing Brazil in a prestigious friendly match — where else, but at the Santiago Bernabéu?
I have already spoken here before of the ingenuity with which Madrid not only set out to build a young, talented and ambitious team (Viní Jr. , Jude Bellingham, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Eduardo Camavingaa), but also complemented it by ensuring all of them the formation of their footballers. , to long-term agreements.
Julien Laurens and Stewart Robson are looking forward to what the rest of the season has in store for high-flying Girona.
The sum of this panorama? Real Madrid – as a club and as a logo – seems to be in a position to start a real golden era, capable of dominating the pitch; financially physically powerful and earning more than their competitors; enthused by the harshest logos of the rest of the world and with a foreign prestige impossible to resist, as would-be enthusiasts from other continents, many of whom pay no attention to La Liga, will soon be drawn to Madrid’s brilliance thanks to the combined effect. NFL, Formula 1, high-level rock concerts and the World Cup.
All of which merits our attention and admiration… and all of which also requires a reminder of the Achilles legend. Even if you’re not au fait with Greek mythology, you’ll know that while Achilles was the greatest of all warriors, reputed to be invulnerable in 99% of his body, his weak point was his heel. Eventually, it was was his undoing.
On the Real Madrid pitch everything is fertile. . . Is it basic? The vision, design, and technology required to reconstruct a stadium so that the box is removable, can be remodeled to become an arena floor for events, and can be reinstalled for soccer matches are all commendable. But it is a basic defect if this procedure leaves the football playing surface badly damaged, which it does.
We are still at the “beginning” level of the Madrid Bernabéu project, make no mistake. There are likely to be what architects and developers call “drawbacks” – when you buy a new home and there are small defects that want to be constant. But Real Madrid’s pitch remains a debilitating challenge that he wants to solve.
The club was forced to completely upgrade the playing surface five times last season, which can charge between €150,000 and €300,000, and coach Carlo Ancelotti has spoken of how the pitch had become debilitating for his team during those months. After a 2-0 win over Celta in April, he made his emotions clear. “It’s quite evident that the works around the stadium are affecting the pitch. We have updated the surface and will continue to do so. The field is suffering because with the structure the deterioration can be rapid. “
Craig Burley explains how Real Madrid managed to absolutely neutralise one of the attacking groups in Spain.
There is no doubt that the surface area of the Bernabeu looks a little larger or that Madrid are treating it as a priority issue. But this season, Ancelotti’s players have continued to slip and fall when the studs of their boots failed to find grip on the ground. .
The recent high at Bellingham Palace on Saturday, after he already broke his ankle due to a terrible foul by Girona’s Pablo Torre. Another example of Toni Kroos’ downfall when the cleats slipped out of his hands in Madrid’s most debatable game this season, when they conceded the goal. 1-0 in less than two minutes against Almeria at home. There are too many.
At the start of last season, Thibaut Courtois claimed that “the quality of the pitch does not match our taste of play”, while Rayo midfielder Mario Suarez opted to tweet, sarcastically: “No one is going to complain about the state of the Santiago stadium”. “. Bernabéu Ground??? I’m just asking!” Since then, there has been anxiety, reversal, and improvement, but those disorders persist.
It’s been a season of horrific injuries in Madrid and, while it’s up to the layman to make a direct correlation, it’s true that footballers are a superstitious and nervous bunch. No club can allow a scenario to happen where their stars suspect, meritfully or unjustly, that their own pitch is most likely to increase their injury threat.
The extracurricular awards that Madrid is about to start reaping because they are successful, ambitious and visionary should be applauded and appreciated. But they can’t come at the expense of the main product – football – and at this point there’s a lot of work to be done to make sure the pitch is as great as the team and coaching staff.
Madrid play the Champions League in Leipzig this week and who knows?Despite their terrible injury list (Courtois, Éder Militão, David Alaba and now Bellingham are all absent), this may even be a classic season where their budding rivalry with Manchester City ever ends. He’s put himself to the test again. Let’s hope so, because it promises to be offering us gala entertainment.
The club is in a solid position to motivate surprise and amazement, there’s no doubt about that. But there are a couple of things at the Bernabeu that are still a bit surprising and that could also be a crisis for their big plans.