The old Theater of Dreams

Old in English means old, as an old acquaintance is the prestigious Manchester United for Real, who will return to Old Trafford for the third time in the last nine years. The elegant stadium of the Red Devils, which is not weak, despite the fact that in England they say they are “depressed”, is known as the Theater of Dreams. A magnificent setting to fulfill them. The txuri urdin family knows the sacred corners where football was invented. The draw for the Europa League has left a mystical flavor, always linked to a massive institution like United, the main obstacle, for now, in the six-game phase that starts on September 8.

La Real was also framed with Sheriff Tiraspol and Omonia Nicosia. They complete, along with the mighty United, a group that generally seems accessible for those Imanol Sheriff seal their third consecutive classification at sixteen. That round in which, precisely, Real was defeated by Manchester two years ago, and in which it was kicked out by Leipzig in the last edition.

This is, in theory, the most affordable group that a European draw has brought to Real in the past three years. Difficulties can come with the calendar method. The celebration of the World Cup in the fall forces the roadmap even more than before. The six days of this group stage have to be played over two months, so that everything can be seen for judgment before the World Cup. The continental qualifiers between the clubs will be resolved after the teams share the glory and pain in Qatar.

United to Manchester

The people of Real unite in Manchester in this decade. Two previous visits to a city that was distinctly British in color had nothing to do with it. Gray looking at the sky, industrial at the edges, wet if the view is directed to the ground. From the landing of 6,000 or so people in October 2013, to the pandemic silence of 2020, in an empty Old Trafford. Qualifying for that was a nightmare, in an empty Theater of Dreams. Real lost zero out of four against United in exile in Turin.

Real does not trust the crisis that United is going through, in the first steps of Erik ten Haag, a bad-coffee-faced coach who doesn’t admit to bullshit. A Cristiano Ronaldo he does not like the atmosphere that is breathing and wants to leave, a relief for Real. They have signed Casemiro already Eriksento join the cast of stars the Bruno Fernandes, Jadon Sancho, McTominay either Rashford. A top-flight win over Liverpool deflected some of the criticism after two opening defeats.

A Sheriff and a ‘Cinderella’

Real’s rival from Pot 3 is Sheriff Tiraspol. Young Transnistria is represented, as usual, by this team that had the idea to attack the Bernabéu in the Champions League last year. Perhaps the best-looking country, unilaterally declared independent from Moldova in the 1990s. That victory against Real Madrid will live on in the memory, because in the short term it was a chimera to bring it up again. The squad was decapitalized and Sheriff had to play in the Europa League in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, where Real would travel.

The adventure will have another station in Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus, where Real will start as favorites against Omonia, the Cup champion is less and assumed sweet experts.

The schedule for the group stage will be announced on match day today.