By Joao Cunha
Real Madrid won yet another trophy defeating Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 to win the 2022 UEFA Super Cup. It’s Real Madrid 5th win in the competition which ties a recird with AC Milan and Barcelona. It is also Real’s 21st European title and 28th major international title which are both records. Real Madrid unlike the many invented and false media narratives surrounding the club have been a well-run club for some time now. Ever since Florentino Perez won back the presidency in 2009, Real Madrid has won a staggering 23 major tropjies in 13 years. A club that has been derided in the past as “chaotic”, “poorly run”, and “underacheivers” are now the symbol of calm, structured, and exceeding their potential. While some rival clubs spend recklessly and mortgage their future just to keep up with Real’s success, the Madrid side has been able to spend within their means and build a strong and competitive team. The UEFA Super Cup win demonstrated some of those traits.
Real Madrid unlike many other clubs have a culture of success based on keeping the same core of players together for as long as possible. Many clubs prefer to “freshen” the squad with a host of new signings every year to keep the team motivated. Real Madrid are very different as they have kept players in their team as long as they are still productive and built a culture that holds them accountable. The stars of the UEFA Super Cup yesterday were Real Madrid’s midfield trio of Kroos, Casemiro, and Modric who controlled the game and ran the show for the entire match. It was Kroos who delivered the corner in which Benzema won and Casemiro flicked the rebound onto Alaba for a simple tap-in for the opening goal. Kroos was fantastic especially in the first-half as his passing and control kept Real in good positions. Modric despite having a more quiet game had a vey nice second half as his through balls set up several dangerous Real counterattacks. Casemiro was the anchor of the midfield sweeping up mistakes and defending excellently, thwarting several Frankfurt attacks. The trio really provided excellent structure and creativity that Frankfurt had very few answers for. The KCM as they are known have been starters for Real Madrid for about 8 seasons beginning their partenershup in the 2015-16 season. Eight seasons is a lifetime in football and for a midfield trio to last this long and be so effective is nothing short of remarkable. Although the trio has had its share of bad moments like the entire 2018-19 season, the eliminbations in the Champions League to Ajax, Manchester City, and Chelsea, and the 4-0 defeat last season at home to Barca. Despite some of these poor perfdrmances the club has backed them as managers like Zidane, Lopetegui, Solari, and Ancelotti have chosen to keep faith in the trio and the rewards have been clear to see. Their brilliance has allowed Real to maintain their high level and with the help of a certain veteran striker the team has the firepower to advantage of this trio’s excellence.
In the attack there is the presence of Karim Benzema the undisputed best player in the world in 2022 and the current capitain of Real Madrid. He had a critical part to play yesterday winning the header that led to the Alaba goal, and scoring the second goal after Vinicus Junior set him with a nice pass. Benzema is th second-highest goalscorer in Real Madrid’s history with 324 goals only behind the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo. Benzema didn’t have a great start to his Real career struggling to adapt to life in the Spanish capital in his first 18 months at the club. But after a long-term injury sidelined Higuain for several months in 2011, Benzema stepped up and saved his Real career. Although he has had his ups and downs since his breakout 2011 season, he has worked hard for the team and had been a great foil for Cristiano Ronaldo and Bale so they can score goals and succeed. When Ronaldo left in 2018, Benzema assumed the goalscoring responsibility and helped keep Real afloat and even win titles while youngsters like Vinicius Junior and Rordygo developed, and veterans like Bale and Hazard didn’t deliver. Last season when Vinicius Junior had his breakout season, Benzema had his career year scoring 44 goals and being the top-scorer of La Liga and the Champions League. His leadership, quality, and attitude led Real to make some memorable comebacks against PSG, Chelsea, and Manchester City to reach the Champions League final. In the final it was Vinicius Junior who scored the winning goal but Benzeam was the main man of the best team in Spain and Europe. Against Frankfurt he put together andther excellent performance, as his goal yesterday sealed the final and guaranteed Benzema would lift his first trophy for Real Madrid as captain. Which considering that he was questioned just 4 years ago for his lack of goalscoring and big-game ability is a stunning turnaround for him. Real Madrid deserve credit as they never lost faith in Benzema and all the managers that came in always defended him even when his output wasn’t there. It’s through the club’s conviction in their players that this winning culture gets formed. They also bring in the right players and managers to supplement these legends as well.
Real Madrid in addition to sticking with a core of veteran players which also includes the solid Dani Carvjal, Lucas Vasquez, and Nacho who are vital contributors to Real’s recent succees. Carvajal being an excellent right-back, and Lucas Vasquez and Nacho are valuable squad players. The club also adds key signings to add to the club’s culture. David Alaba the goalscorer of the opening goal is a great example, he signed as a free transfer in 2021 without much fanfare by the fanbase. Many fans wanted Ramos to extend or Varane to stay instead of Alaba. Real wisely didn’t extend Ramos due to his wage demands and injury concerns and sold Varane as he had one-year left on his contract and wouldn’t accept an extension. Alaba was the club’s replacement for Ramos and he delivered an excellent season at center-back even scoring at Barcelona last year and now scoring the winner in a final. Very smart business. Real also signed Rudigger on a free which should add much needed depth to the backline. Real over the past few years have also signed players like Mendy, Courtois, who have become vital starters. Courtois who came up with a clutch save from Cavada in the first-half which kept the match at 0-0 is wideldy considered the best goalkeeper in the world. Mendy is the starting left-back at Real Madrid and is a great defender. Real Madrid signed young playrs who they have nutured like Militao, Valverde, Camavinga, Tchoumaeni, Vinicius Junior andf Rodrygo. Rodygo is a grea super sub who scored many vital goals last season especially in the Champions League. Militao was signed in 2019 to be the successor to Sergio Ramos or Varane and after both exited in 2021 he became the undisputed starter of the team. A strong center-back, he has great heading ability and wins his fair share of tackles, a young star defender that is only getting better. Valverde is a modern-day midfielder who has limitless energy and can play as a box-to-box midfielder or a right-winger/wingback. It is the hybrid winger position that allows Valverde to start for Real Madrid and he is excellent at providing defensive structure to the team. Camavinga is a young midfielder who is used a supersub but could end up being a starter soon, and is more creative than Valeverde. Tchoumaeni is the new signing who should be used as a sub this season but will in due time be the replacement for Casemiro as his defensive prowess and reading of the game is very advanced for a p[ayer of his age. Finally Vinicus Junior is the young star who the ream relies on the left-wing tor pace and a secondary goal-scoring threat for Benzema. He is the man who scored in the 2022 Champions League final dna his assist in the UEFA Super Cup final proves his importance to theteam. But in addition to the players you need someone to manage them.
Real Madrid have insistied on hiring player-friendly managers since Mourinho left the club in 2013 with one exception of Benitez. The results have been an overwhelming success. The team has won 17 of their last 19 major finals since 2013, only losing to Atletico in the Spanish Super Cup in 2014 and the UEFA Super Cup in 2018. Managers like Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane have not only brought stability to the club but many trophies. Zidane won 11 trophies in his 2 spells as Real won every final under him (9 for 9) and won two La Liga titles. Carlo Ancelotti the current Real Manager won every possible trophy he could win at Real at least once and has won 8 trophies at the club. Santiago Solari despite having tactical limitaions did win the Club World Cup in 2018 and gave players like Vinicius, Valverde, and Ceballos chances to start games. The only two managers who dind’t win a trophy at Real since 2013 were Rafa Benitez and Julen Lopetegui. Benitez clashed with the veteran players and the squad revolted against his harsh style and he was fired for Zidane’s arrival in 2016. Lopetegui inherited a squad that some infighting and his alck of experience managing Real led to his downfall. Perez as a result of these failures realized that the besrt way to win at Real was to hire a player-first manager and give the players more freedom. Zidane and Ancelotti were idela hires and they help build a machine of sucesss that has translated in a decade of dominance.
The critics are already out after Real won another trophy as if no matter how much Real win it will never be enough for some people. While the club has made mistakes in transfers like signing Hazard, Jovic, Mariano, and resigning Gareht Bale into a long extension, the overall transfer policy has been a massive success. They have the 25th highest net spend since 2013 which is less than clubs like Everton, Leeds, Crystal Palace, Aston Villa, and Arsenal who are nowhere near Real’s standards of winning and sucees. In fact clubs like Leeds and Villa spent years in the second division of English football yet have spent well beyond their means just to maintain themselves in the top-flight. While Real Madrid in the last decade have won four La LIga titles and five Champions League titles, and were one of the few clubs able to make a profit during the COVID-19 pandemic. The club did this through a series of cost-cutting measures, lowering all staff salary, not signing any new players for the 2020 transfer window, and selling off players to keep the club in good financial health. Although these measures were criticized by a large segment of the fanbase, the future of the club was put first over any immediate success. When the club had a trophyless season in 2020-21 and Zidane resigned (again) the club could have been in deep trouble. Perez did the right thing and only signed Alaba and Camavinga, sold Varane and let Ramos go as a free agent, and then re-hired Carlo Ancelotti as the manager. The club didn’t overextend itself and although they bid for Mbappe, Perez realistically wanted to get him on a free transfer the next season. Althought the Mbappe move never materialized, trophies did. Three trophies in 2021-22, Spanish Super Cup, La Liga, and the UEFA Champions League sealed a historic season. Real built a winning machine by not being flashy, overspending, and hiring stylish modern managers. They did it the old-fashioned way with smart timely signings, devloping young players, keeping a winning core together, and building an atmosphere of winning around a great man-manager. These things don’t make Real “sexy” or “cool” to the media and pundits. Being smart and calm is never a good way to get headlines and clicks. However the model of sustainability and calm has been the key to transform Real Madrid into this title winning monster. The lack of chaos, the relative stability, and the commitment to winning above all else has transformed a once downtrodden club into the powwehouses they are today. Any Real Madrid who supported the club prior to the last decade understands full well the mess it used to be. Chaotic clashes with managers, political beefs with players, expensive and bad signings, and inept managers were the norm for Real between 2003-04 and 2008-09. The club as a result only won 4 trophies during that time period and never reached the semi-final of the Champions League. Barcelona were the club that was well-run, played attractive football and were the club to be envied. However fast forward to 2022 and the roles are mostly reversed. Barca are the club in financial crisis, have political tensions, and may not be able to tegister players for the La Liga season. They are the ones who spend recklessly and without abandon and fire managers constantly. They are the crisis club because they went away from their model and adopted a terrible business and sporing model, chasing short-term success instead of long-term stability. While Real Madrid have changed for the better, they are now focused on the future and can withstand a bad season without too much chaos. The club due to its long-term planning understands the most important thing is that to be able to continue with another era of success they must build and maintain a culture. It doesn’t have to do with a style of play, but an ethos of winning and playing vertical attacking football. It may not always entertain the critics but it keeps the fanbase happy and united. Real Madrid’s identity is about trophies and scoring lots of goals to do it. Real Madrid are not measured by how the pundits like them but how the world respects them, Real Madrid as a club have always done it their way and the proof that is working was on display aaainst Frankfurt. A simple effective 2-0 win that helped Real win their foruth trophy in the last eight months. Trophies are the best way to silence critics and no one does it better than Real Madird.
realtakesite 