Jorge Valdano: Real Madrid: thirst for competition | Football | Kinds of sports

Champion breed

The paths to the impossible are also endless in football’s tangle, especially with the enigmatic Madrid at the center, which has explored new contradictions in this latest chapter of its long history. From butterfly to larva to keep winning. I can play like never before, I can win worse, I can defend great as a small team. He said all this in Manchester, without diminishing his historical pride. His favorite idea is to never give up, and the last path he chose was painful, as if he had a gun pointed at his head all the time. This was also a sacrifice: the players even experienced cramps in their eyelashes. And it was, of course, heroic, with that thirst for competition that contains nobility, generosity, perseverance, solidarity… all in those excellent proportions that survival requires. This week, on another day that will last forever, he took football a little further again.

Without fears and complexes

History is built on emotions, actions and statistics. Madrid has enough in the Champions League. This time, City’s impressive performance saw them take the game to another level. This required fanatical concentration, which only artists can achieve in moments of creative trance. Between the eyebrows, the opponents are invaders, and the ball is a threat. The rest didn’t exist because City wouldn’t allow it. The fans were nothing more than background noise. Tactics, information that didn’t matter in the heat of the chase. The consequences if everything went wrong were not even considered in this state of hyperconcentration. Every City game that ended in agony felt like the team’s last remaining weapon of resistance. But as if the defense mechanism could be activated, the next attack found them all in perfect condition.

And again: faith that endures

Courtois, Militao, Alaba and Chuameni were not there. They were a proud team, aware of the magical effects of their psychological power. With a security born of history that even the gods seem to respect and protect. This time, not to redo everything in three minutes using a ball as a magic wand, but to create a miracle with a pick and shovel over the course of two long hours. City are the blessing of football that puts you to death, but Ancelotti has already said that Madrid never dies. Truth: On Wednesday, he seemed more prepared for the resurrection. Even in the penalty shootout, where Modric missed first, and we were hurt twice – for the failure and for the fact that we were Modric. Then it was Bellingham’s turn and those supporting actors who save the film: Lucas Vasquez and Nacho.

New heroes

The latest one was started by Rüdiger, a happy and expressive lion who was adopted by Real Madrid fans. People celebrated with joy proportionate to the suffering. The strange thing is that Lunin, the man most responsible for this surge, did not flinch even when reaching the top in the penalty shootout. Probably the gravedigger’s face was nothing more than another deception, since, as Carlo said, there was no death. Ignoring machine gun fire throughout the game and executions during penalties, Lunin, like no one else, contributed to lowering the pulse of the entire team. But he had more credit for slowing his own heart rate in a match that would become a turning point in his career. Tomorrow at the Classic he will receive confirmation of his new football status. We don’t rule out a smile.

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