• Real Madrid host Manchester City on Tuesday night in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final.
  • A remake of last season, when the Madrileños had qualified at the end of a dingo scenario that helped to strengthen a little more his legend.
  • Attempt to analyze what makes Real great and why it carries within it this image of ultimate club, which makes all the children of the world dream.

But what is Real Madrid's secret? It is the story of a club that, season after season, maintains the legend that underpins its future success. A kind of virtuous circle cleverly elaborated, where the great players of the moment are there thanks to those of yesterday, and already ensure the succession for the next ten years by taping in front of their TV the kids who will become the kings of the game. We see from here the new crack of the year 2030, whether French, Brazilian or Cameroonian, telling during his first interview at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium how he fell in love with Real when he saw Karim Benzema turn all the defenses of Europe to win the Champions League 2022.

With its cosmic white jersey and trophy cabinet that overflows like the grandparents' attic, Real exerts an unparalleled fascination, to which no other great club can claim, whether it is called FC Barcelona, Manchester United, AC Milan or Bayern Munich. "It's something that has been created over time, mainly from the creation of the European Cup [1955]," says Victor Martinez Paton, president of the Spanish Association of Football Historians (CIHEFE). The key is the mix between being the most successful team in the history of football and having the distinction of never giving up. Last year's course is the best example of this. »


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Decade after decade, the Madrid club has managed to inscribe in the collective imagination something that touches on the mystical, summed up last year by Jonathan Barnett, the agent of the neo-Madrid Eduardo Camavinga: "If you want to be the best player in the world or one of the best, the best thing to do is to play for Real Madrid. "

The young French midfielder had told during his presentation how much this club had marked him when he was little. "My first memories are the Champions League, Ronaldo, Zidane Figo... All the great players who have gone through this club," he said. Not the first time we hear a player claim that he arrives in "his club of heart" at the time of his signature, except that with Real, we do not doubt too much of the authenticity. Many in the world of football have declared their love – without any illusions that it could be reciprocated one day.

The dream club par excellence

It could have been, at one time, for Paul Pogba. The meeting was never made, but that did not prevent the world champion from reminding us of what is so special about this club. "It's one of the biggest clubs in the world, a dream for all children," said La Pioche. Youth, we come to it. The trainer Jérémy De Magalhaes has been working with her for a few years now, first within the Cannet-Rocheville club and since this year at the Michel Hidalgo Academy, based in Antibes. He assures him, Real holds a good place in the imagination of apprentice footballers.

"It's been a reference for generations," says the former pro, who has played in Laval and Cannes. When you're young you always identify with players or key moments. I'm more pro-PSG and I'll always have the head of Kombouaré against Real precisely [in 1993]. Memories of youth do not fade. And what happened last season with these scenarios and all these goals from Benzema, it affected the youngsters for sure. Like before that the sweets of Redondo and Guti, Zidane's volley in the final against Leverkusen or Ronaldo's return to 3,000 meters above sea level against Buffon and Juve.

In the corridors of the Academy, where 18 young people from France but also from the United States, Canada, Maghreb countries and Qatar are gathered this year, it is not uncommon to meet teenagers with White House jerseys. Benzema, of course, but also Modric and Kroos, proof that the art of passing still has its place. "We see new ones coming anyway, Vinicius, Rodrygo. In not long these will take the place of the elders, "predicts the trainer.


It's always like that with Real, anyway. In each era its great stars. Alfredo Di Stefano opened the golden age in the post-war period, soon joined by Ferenc Puskas. Emilio Butragueno and his "quinta of the bushes" followed, the emergence of Raul, Figo, Zidane and Ronaldo at the head of the Galactic period, the CR7 era and finally the coronation of Karim Benzema. Spaniards, but also the best of what is done outside the borders. "Real have always had this tradition of bringing players from abroad, especially from Eastern Europe at the beginning, unlike English or Italian clubs who could not. There is therefore a kind of international influence of Real that dates back many years, says sports sociologist Christian Bromberger. The weight of history adds another dimension when talking about this club. »

The professor emeritus at the University of Aix-Marseille also puts his finger on an element without which Real would not be what it is: its rivalry with FC Barcelona. "She helped him build his image. Faced with the club of Catalanists who claim their independence, Real is the symbol of royalty, the capital, the identity of Spain, he believes. In this country made up of various regional groups, there is something strong in it that marks the imprint of the State. There is a certain nobility in this Real. »

Trophies and Ballon d'Or

A greatness jealously cultivated with grandiloquent phrases by the various presidents who have crossed the history of merengue, from the legendary Santiago Bernabeu to Florentino Perez, worthy heir who never misses the opportunity to give a little paint to the White House. One of his favorite couplets: "Real Madrid is the great referent of the world of sport," he used to say, whether to greet the new star recruit or to respond to UEFA when he gets slapped on the fingers after the abortion of the Super League project.

The current president sits comfortably on 35 leagues, 14 Champions Leagues, three Intercontinental Cups and five Club World Cups. Only records, and he knows it. Real is also the club where you have to be to win a Ballon d'Or. Twelve players have done so in the white jersey – a record there too – and it is not for nothing that the only two to have interfered in the Messi-Ronaldo duel since 2008 are Luka Modric and KB9.

Big European "prospects" already pre-empted

From a French point of view, the rarity and quality of the players who have played there reinforce this feeling of majesty (we do not forget Julien Faubert anyway). Only Juventus, perhaps, comes to this height here. "Real is a special club for young people," observes Jérémy De Magalhaes.

The trainer can say it all the better because he has just shown his students the documentary currently playing on Apple TV entitled "Real Madrid until victory", which traces the epic of last season. "It affects them all. This club is a winning machine, a tradition, they manage to keep this requirement over the long term, he considers. There is an interview with Camavinga who says that no matter what he did in France, it had no value there. He was forced to work hard to get up to speed, because he was not in this "champion" framework. That fascinated them. »

Enough to feed the myth for a few more years, and for the Madrid club to stay one step ahead when it comes to pre-empting new great talents, like Jude Bellingham, desired by all England but who would be about to opt for Real at salary conditions much lower than what could promise him a Manchester City. Finally, the only crack identified to have resisted the club of his dreams is Kylian Mbappé. For now. Even if it didn't work, Florentino Perez still has something to turn around, knowing that Haaland has made it clear through his agent that he would like to discover Real one day. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Dominik Szoboszlai, Rayan Cherki... They are some of the main current "prospects" who do not hide where they would see themselves if it were up to them.

  • Football
  • Champions League
  • Real Madrid
  • Manchester City
  • Karim Benzema
  • Zinédine Zidane
  • Sport