‘Fortunate, ‘Riding Their Luck’, ‘Winning Ugly’, ‘Grinding out results’, ‘Ramos to the Rescue’. These are just a handful of phrases that have been commonly thrown out by various members of the football fraternity when describing Real Madrid’s highly successful, yet seemingly unconvincing season so far. Now on the back of a 3-0 victory over 11th placed Deportivo Alves, it somehow feels like the score line flatters to deceive, yet again.
It is undoubtedly a rather peculiar and awkward situation to find yourself in, especially considering that the team is in pole position to win La Liga, comfortably leading their illustrious rivals Barcelona by two points with a game in hand. Meanwhile, in Europe they are all set to lock horns with powerhouses Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League, which promises to be a tantalising affair.
Yet the jury is still out and whether this team is indeed the real deal? As opposed to previous seasons, the swashbuckling 5-0 drubbings now almost feel like a distant memory, with Real often seemingly doing the bare minimum week in, week out, garnering narrow victories amidst a flurry of huffs and puffs.
The Ferrari and Range Rover analogies
Carlo Ancelotti recently used the analogy of ‘a highly tuned Ferrari’ to describe his talented but injury prone winger, Frank Ribery, when justifying why he is starved of minutes this season for Bayern Munich, despite his blistering form.
This is indeed a fascinating insight and is something that can be used to compare and contrast the ruthlessly efficient and mechanical Real Madrid of 2016/17, with the more swashbuckling flair and elegance of past Real Madrid teams that we are more accustomed to seeing.
In hindsight, it would make sense to associate the Real Madrid team of the 2016/17 season with a high powered Range Rover, as opposed to a 200 MPH Ferrari, which would be a car that is more likely to be associated with the club in the recent past. How does this make sense?
A Ferrari is blisteringly quick and can often blow away its competition in a drag race, similar to how Real Madrid typically wipe the floor with La Liga minnows, beating them 5,6,7 even 10-0. However, La Liga is not a short drag race, with perfect conditions which are often a pre-requisite for a Ferrari take the road.
This has been the issue with the swashbuckling Real Madrid of the past few years, which is the ability to thrash lower tier opponents with disdain, but coming up short in the tough away games on uneven pitches, El Clasicos and high octane derbies, which have proved too bumpy for the Ferrari-like Real Madrid sides of the past. This shortcoming is accurately reflected in the glaringly dismal stat of one La Liga title in the past eight years.
In a long and gruelling campaign competing in what is now arguably the toughest league in the world, longevity, hardiness and resilience are the order of the day, with an increasing need to succeed in the tougher challenges and road bumps. This brings us back to the example of the Range Rover comparison. While it lacks top speed and acceleration of a Ferrari, it makes up with longevity, robustness and the ability to withstand just about any terrain
Rising to the occasion
This is truly an area in which the current Real Madrid excel over their counterparts of the past. As opposed to the previous years, the current crop’s record in tough matches, make for truly impressive reading. 3-0 winners against Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon, 3-0 winners against Sevilla, a well-earned draw in the Clasico at the Nou Camp, beating Atletic Bilbao away from home, the draws against Dortmund, and the ability to withstand the storm in Naples to come away with a 6-2 aggregate win.
All these results give us a great indication that this team is a winning machine and is prepared to deliver when it matters. It is also worth noting that the truly great teams, are not necessarily renowned for being what we call in Cricket as ‘flat track bullies’, but by their ability to rise up to the big occasion.
This is in stark comparison to the Real Madrid of Carlo Ancelotti’s era, where they lost both legs to Atletico Madrid, lost to Valencia as well as Barcelona. These results contributed to being a key factor for their trophyless season and the subsequent sacking of the Italian.
Will this year make the difference?
While there is definite call by the fans of Real Madrid to control games better and kill off games earlier, it must be acknowledged that there is truly an element of determination, resilience and purpose in the Real Madrid Machine of 2016/17, with a will to overcome even the harshest of tests put out in front of them, just like the characteristics of a Range Rover.
This could prove to be the pivotal factor in helping them finally secure that elusive 33rd La Liga title that Madrid fans have been waiting for, as was the case with their obsession with achieving La Decima in 2014.
The ultimate test is here, with Real Madrid due to play Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich and Barcelona in the space of two weeks. It is an inevitable feeling that despite looking unconvincing in a majority of games this season, that the Real Madrid juggernaut will rise to the occasion. The Range Rover now hits a river. Whether the river is successfully crossed remains to be seen, and we cannot wait to find out.
