Liverpool is a big threat to Real Madrid’s Champions League throne

Real Madrid’s special connection with the Champions League

There is something about this Madrid team which make them such an unbeatable force in the Champions League. People attribute this to multiple factors:

• Experience at the biggest stage
• Sheer arrogance, stemming from their glorious history
• A self-belief, second to none
• Refusal to admit defeat at any point in the match (Refer to La Decima if you don’t know what I mean)
• Ability to dig deep and win ugly as well
• Superstar phenomenon, where individual performances bail them out
• Desire for the Champions League, which doesn’t diminish even with increasing titles

Point 4 deserves special mention. Many current and former Barcelona players point out that for them to win, they need to ace their style and be at the top of their game. But Madrid can win even if they don’t play well.

People say it like it is a bad thing, but I beg to differ. I think this is an amazing quality which Madrid possess. After all, not every day can be your day in football. There will be days when you can’t get the rhythm going, but the ability to fight out a positive result is the mark of a true Champion.

And it is this trait which makes them so tricky for their opponents. Real Madrid can have an average performance for 85 minutes, but they can take the game away from you in the remaining 5 minutes. They look so likely to concede all the time; it seems that if not this match, then the next match will prove to be their undoing. But they live to fight another day. They always find a way.

Despite the above, however, there is a palpable sense of anxiety around the Madrid fans for this final. They realize that Liverpool are a major threat to their throne. And they are not wrong in feeling so.