Madrid, ‘semis’ territory

He real Madrid did his homework at Stamford Bridge and sealed his place in the semifinals of Champions with a double from Rodrygo spoiling the re-attempt of Chelsea. With Tuesday’s qualification before the final, there have been 11 times that the white club has entered the penultimate instance of the Champions League in the last 13 editions. A regularity that no one has been able to match in recent times and that highlights Madrid’s charm in this competition.

“It’s amazing to reach eleven semifinals in thirteen seasons,” said Emilio Butragueño in the bowels of Stamford Bridge after defeating Chelsea. In the white club there is no more value than the Champions League and in Chamartín they claim that this cycle has been maintained over time despite the structural changes that the squad has undergone over the years.

Benzema, the survivor

Along the way, Madrid loses decisive players and without the conquests of one or more of the 2014, 2016, 2017 or 2018 Champions cannot be explained. This is the case of Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Varane, Pepe, Xabi Alonso, Di María, Casemiro, Keylor Navas, Isco, Gareth Bale or Cristiano Ronaldo. In fact, the only survivor of Real Madrid who reached the semifinals for the first time in 2011 was Karim Benzema, captain of a changed team where Courtois, Militao, Camavinga Alaba, Valverde, Vinicius or Rodrygo now take over. Among the veterans, Kroos, Modric, Nacho and Carvajal also stuck around.

Together with Carlo Ancelotti, he has completed his two spells on the Chamartín bench: the Italian has always made it past the quarterfinals in his four seasons, he has lifted Orejona twice (2014 and 2022) and only Juventus Turin has left the him. of the maximum continental competition, in the semifinals of the 2014/2015 campaign

only two exceptions

Since Madrid started this semifinals in the 2010/2011 season, the only time they did not reach the semifinals was in the 2018/19 and 2020/21 editions, when they were knocked out in the round of 16 by Ajax Amsterdam and the manchester city respectively

Real Madrid’s regularity in their fetish competition began in 2011 with José Mourinho on the bench. That course saw the white team fall against Guardiola’s Barça at the gates of the Wembley final but broke an unfortunate streak of six consecutive years falling in the round of 16. Between 2004 and 2010 , Real Madrid fell for the first time in the knockout round against teams like Liverpool, Roma, Arsenal and Lyon.

The Portuguese coach, before leaving the white club without being able to lift the Champions League, wanted to justify one of his most remembered phrases: “I played three semifinals of the Champions League, which personally did not will leave me satisfied. It shouldn’t be easy because 18 coaches in 21 years have made five semis and the bad Mourinho, three”.