5 special moments that Real Madrid fans would love to relive again?

We don’t really realise the value of something until we have lost it. When we are in the now, we don’t seem to appreciate its beauty in the best possible way. However, there are some moments that are impossible to not pay full attention to.

Moments like those are a sort of a meditation for us since they make us fully focus on them, forgetting about everything else. These are the moments we would love to relive again since they have the capacity to take us where we want to go.

As a football fan, we have a lot of moments which we would love to relive. It is the same for Madridistas as they would absolutely do anything for a time-loop move to relive these 5 moments over and over again.

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#5 That Zidane volley

Zinedine Zidane celebrates his wonder goal

The Galactico era in the early 2000s might not have yielded as much success as the team were hyped to do so, but it did garner a lot of glorious moments – and none better than Zinedine Zidane’s volley against Bayer Leverkusen.

The league was already won by Valencia. As a matter of fact, Madrid ended a disappointing third behind Valencia and the Super Depors. So, the final of the Champions League was a must-win for Vicente Del Bosque to keep his job.

Raul opened the scoring with just 8 minutes on the clock. However, 5 minutes later, Brazilian defender, Lucio, equalised to put the pressure back on the Blancos. In the 45th minute of the game, Santi Solari played a lovely ball towards Roberto Carlos, who then lobbed it towards the box from the left flank.

And then... everything paused, for Zizou at least. He just kept staring at the ball like a predator glares at his way – in a meditative way – and then pounced on it with a left-footed volley. If any other player had done it, the ball might have gone out of the stadium.

But Zidane is something else entirely – the master of the Universe, the keeper of time, the deity of illusion... a God of his own time.

As the ball made impact with his feet, there was going to be one outcome – straight into the top-right corner for the winning goal of the game. It was not just any winning goal, it was a goal that was going to stand the test of time and become something the mortals would label as *that* Zidane goal till the end of eternity.

#4 Cristiano Ronaldo's header

Ronaldo rises above all

If you look at the major trophies the two clubs have won, then the Blancos are far superior to the Blaugranas, who have spent most of their history under the shadow of the Galacticos. So when the stature of Pep Guardiola’s Barca grew so big that it eclipsed every other team in the world, it had Los Blancos on their knees.

There was seemingly no other way to stop Barcelona and win accolades themselves. Florentino Perez came and saw only one way to overtake the Catalans: go on a spending spree. And so he signed Cristiano Ronaldo for a world record fee, but it still wasn’t enough. Something was still missing.

Ah, yes, another Portuguese – another winner – Jose Mourinho.

In his very first season, he might have fallen short of winning the league and the Champions League, but it was in the final of the Copa del Rey where he finally got the better of Pep Guardiola. As Angel di Maria raced down the left and executed an inch-perfect cross, Cristiano rose above everyone else and floated in the air like an angel from heaven.

It felt as though the wings were cloaked on Cristiano’s body, something which was only visible to him and invisible to the others, as he suspended himself in the air and blasted in a superb header to send Madrid to glory and finally start to come out of the shadow of the great Catalans.

#3 Mahamadou Diarra’s touch against Mallorca

Mahamadou Diarra

Those were the dark days for the Blancos. The first era of the Galacticos had ended in the worst possible way and the team that had many defences kneeling to the ground were now reduced to a lopsided bunch of could-have-beens that weren’t hitting their potential.

Barcelona were running away with the league like a rabbit against tortoises, but like it happened in the stories, they slept once they gained a massive lead. Real Madrid, meanwhile, had just added a set of wheels on the tortoise with the addition of David Beckham to the playing XI.

Fabio Capello had shunned the Englishman for months, but finally had to take note of him after the former Manchester United player showed diligence in his activities. Beckham rejuvenated the team and shot them towards Barca with his magnificent form.

By the final match-day, all Real Madrid required was a win and they would conquer the league due to superior head-to-head results against nearest rivals, Barcelona. However, as luck would have it, Mallorca scored in the game first and induced a lot of anxiety among the Madridistas.

To put them into further stress, Ruud van Nistelrooy – who had scored 7 in his last 7 – departed after the 10th minute due to a hamstring problem. Beckham, the man who provided 5 assists in his last 6 games, joined him in the 65th minute. Madrid were now doomed. And it was a shame because they only just gained leadership of the league in the last match-day after Barcelona dropped points.

But sometimes in real life, fairytale endings do take place.

The player that replaced Beckham was no longer wanted at the club, but he made all the difference. Jose Antonio Reyes came in and scored the equaliser. There was hope, there always was to be honest. And then it happened.

Mahamadou Diarra had only just returned from international duty a day ago and didn’t even want to play, but found himself at the end of a corner that he headed towards Moya, whose resulting save was deflected in by Angelos Basinas.

‘VAMOS’ was the word screamed by Iker Casillas at the other end of the pitch. The goalkeeper was in tears – and so were Madridistas, and they would love to cry again on the moment that gave them the league that season.

#2 Bale's goal in the final against Barca

The moment Bale silenced his critics

About 9 months ago, many Madridistas were really upset at the fact that the apple of their eye, Mesut Ozil, had to be sold to make way for Gareth Bale. What irked them even more was the price tag of the former Tottenham player, who became the most expensive player of all time following his £86 million move to Madrid.

It didn’t make sense at the time, but by the end of the season, most sceptics were his fans – and his goal against Barcelona in the final of the Copa del Rey played the biggest role.

The power shift became visible. Madrid were leading on all three fronts, but only just bottled the league to Atletico Madrid in an otherwise perfect season. The first of the triumphs came when Fabio Coentrao laid out a simple pass to Gareth Bale within Madrid’s half.

Bale, on the left flank, knocked the ball past Marc Bartra and sped past him with the Spaniard chasing the Welshman’s shadow. The former Southampton starlet then cut inside and poked the ball between Pinto’s legs to bring the crowd on their feet and send them to a frenzy.

The individual brilliance of that goal is still remembered fondly by the Galactico fans as it still remains Bale’s greatest moment as a Madrid player.

#1 Ramos' goal for Decima

The moment of Ramos

Real Madrid have won the Champions League twice in a row in 2016 and 2017, but if you ask a fan as to which European glory was their favourite, they will unanimously name the 2013-14 season. In 2002, Real Madrid won their 9th Champions League and were on the cusp of further glory in what promised to be dominating period for the Blancos.

But things went awry when Florentino Perez decided to run the Galacticos like a corporation rather than a football club. One year, two years, three years… 12 years. The fans just kept waiting for the precious 10th title to come to the club.

The club, too, spent relentlessly in an attempt to lay their hands on it. An outlay of close to a billion euros in the 12 years between 2002 and 2014 finally helped Madrid get what they coveted the most – but it wasn’t without drama.

Atletico Madrid were leading and were looking set to complete a double after winning the league from under their rival’s nose. What promised to be a great season for the Merengues was now staring at the dark.

However, Sergio Ramos rose above the darkness to produce a ray of light in the stoppage time as he headed home the equaliser in the dying seconds the game. The magnitude of the moment was such that many fans were just too shook to celebrate while some celebrated it like they had already won the trophy.

Eventually, they did as the match ended 4-1 after going to extra-time.