Real Madrid Continues to Build on Their Unmatched Legacy in Europe

Real Madrid qualified for the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League by beating Manchester City 1-1 (4-3 on penalties) in the second leg of the quarterfinal against Manchester City last Wednesday. Los Blancos will face Bayern Munich in the semifinal.

Real Madrid has thus qualified for the semifinals for the 12^th time in last 14 seasons. Not to mention that they have won the Champions League title five times during the same period. That is an incredible record, even for one of the biggest club in the world.

They have 14 European Cup/Champions League titlesm with AC Milan being the next most successful club with only seven titles. This underlines Real’s dominance in Europe’s premier club competition.

Carlo Ancelotti Has Instilled a Tough Mentality in His Side

However, the current Real Madrid side does not quite have the brilliance of the ones in the 2000s and 2010s. They are not resplendent with stars like Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Roberto Carlos, Iker Casillas and Raúl like the team in the Galacticos era was or have players of the caliber of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Mesut Özil that the team in the past decade had.

Old soldiers like Toni Kroos and Luka Modrić are still there in the team, but both of them are well past their respective primes, with the latter only a year or two away from his retirement. However, Real continues to have inspiring youngsters like Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Jude Bellingham and Federico Valverde, who have tasted Champions League success themselves and are on their way to building up yet another legacy.

Still, that is not all to it. Ancelotti, who was a member of the much-vaunted Milan side in the late 1980s and early 1990s, has made sure that Real boast a particularly strong defence. The way they defended against Manchester City throughout the match in the second leg speaks volumes of their mental strength.

Antonio Rüdiger, Éder Militão, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Eduardo Camavinga are all vital components of their defensive unit, who contributed a great deal to their success. If they can stop Manchester City from securing a win at the latter’s own backyard, they can do that virtually against any team in the world.

The Semifinal Clash With Bayern Munich Will Be Colossal

Real has enjoyed a great rivalry with Bayern in the past and their semifinal clash this season will be a further addition to that legacy. The Bavarians will be hungry for European success after they were not able to win the domestic title this season.

Hence, Real Madrid’s task will not be an easy one at all. However, their supporters will take heart from the fact that they have someone like Ancelotti at the helm, who has enough experience of winning big titles.

It will not be an overstatement to say that the winner of Real’s semifinal tie with Bayern will be the favourites to win the title as well. It remains to be seen whether Real Madrid will able to win a staggering 15^th Champions League title in June at Wembley.