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On this day six years ago, Real Madrid achieved La Decima, a feat that no club has achieved. They won their tenth Champions League title, three more than the next club on the list against Atletico Madrid in Lisbon, 2014. It was a season that served as a prologue to an unbelievably dominant version of Los Blancos that the world witnessed a few years later.
It took them 12 years to win La Decima. Having last won the coveted trophy against Bayer Leverkusen in 2002, the tenth CL title eluded them for quite some time. Many managers were instilled at the helm with the hope of winning the competition but Real Madrid fell short in their La Decima hunt time and again.
Yet, they failed to reach a single final since Glasgow in 2002, let alone win the elusive La Decima. Carlo Ancelotti, a two-time Champions League-winning manager before this spell, was hopeful of achieving this.
Real Madrid sailed through the group stages with ease barring a slip-up in Turin where Ancelotti's men dropped points. With 16 points, they topped Group B and were up against Schalke 04 in the quarter-finals. It was a thumping start to their La Decima ambitions.
German domination en route La Decima
Unfortunately for Schalke, they were always going to be the underdogs against Los Blancos, and the difference in class was exposed. They were ripped apart by Real Madrid's mesmerising line of lethal forwards. Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema ran riot at the VELTINS-Arena and scored a brace each to win 6-1.
A similar yet less intense hammering in Madrid saw Los Blancos win the tie with an aggregate score of 9-2. They had to return to Germany for the next phase of the tournament as they were up against Borussia Dortmund. It was a test of their La Decima credentials.
This was always going to be a tricky fixture for Real Madrid as they were ripped to shreds by Robert Lewandowski & co. in their previous meeting under Mourinho. The Pole scored four goals against the Portuguese's Madrid and dumped them out of the tournament.
After a comfortable 3-0 win at the Santiago Bernabéu, they were in for a bit of a scare at the Signal Iduna Park. A Marco Reus brace in the first half nearly restored parity, but Real Madrid emerged victorious with a 3-2 aggregate scoreline. Their La Deima hunt was picking up pace.
Assault on Pep Guardiola's Bayern
They eagerly awaited to find out who their next opponents were and unsurprisingly by this point; it was another German club between them and La Decima. Only this time, they were up against the champions of the land and were led by Real's former foe Pep Guardiola.
The first-leg against Bayern Munich ended up being a cagey affair with Benzema's 19th-minute opener being the only difference between the sides. With La Decima on the horizon, what followed next was something no one could have possibly predicted.
Ancelotti's men set foot into the Allianz Arena with a slender advantage and dismantled the champions of the land in emphatic fashion en route La Decima. Sergio Ramos blitzed Bayern Munich with a quickfire brace in the opening 20 minutes of the game. The current Spanish captain headed a perfect Luka Modric corner and did the same from a pin-point Di Maria free-kick just four minutes later.
Cristiano Ronaldo added further gloss to the scoring with a smart finish in the first half and stunning free-kick in the 90th minute to make it 4-0. The stage was set for a thrilling Madrid derby in the final.
LaLiga heartbreak to La Decima in seven days
A week before the spectacle in Lisbon, Real Madrid's LaLiga ambitions were broken by upcoming opponents Atletico Madrid. Diego Simeone's club went to the Nou Camp on the final day of the season and clinched the title after a thrilling race where they amassed 90 points. Barcelona and Real Madrid were both on 87, with the former having a better goal difference.
Real Madrid played their hearts out only to be rebuffed by Atletico's unbreakable unit. Diego Godin's early opener gave Atleti the lead, and they looked all but certain to do the unthinkable double and create history. Unfortunately for the Argentine and his troops, fate had other plans for them.
92:48 is what the clock read on that day six years ago when Real Madrid ace Sergio Ramos helped Los Blancos make history. His bullet header past a helpless Thibaut Courtois from a Luka Modric corner sent the Champions League Final into extra-time. Once the next 30 minutes began, it was a retro Real Madrid show of sheer and absolute dominance and showed the world their La Decima credentials.
Courtois saved Angel di Maria's strike, but the ball fell kindly for Gareth Bale due to a deflection, and the Welshman made it 2-1. Marcelo capitalised on Atleti pushing forward for a goal to add a third, which felt like the icing on the cake. When La Decima was all but sealed, Cristiano Ronaldo did what he does best and converted a penalty in the dying embers of the fixture and scored the fourth.
It would be followed by them winning the competition four times in the next five years. But, demolition of their city rivals to win La Decima remains a significant moment till this very day. A game etched into Real Madrid history.
