Real Madrid can cement their legacy with Champions League ‘three-peat’

Real Madrid can win their third successive Champions League title against Liverpool this weekend. That would cement their legacy as true greats.

Some believe Real Madrid are just lucky. They think Bayern Munich should have progressed from the semifinals, pointing out how the Bavarians spurned so many opportunities to knock out the double defending European champions. The same people tend to regret Juventus weren’t able to pull off a remarkable comeback in the quarterfinals, rueing that Gianluigi Buffon was denied one last chance at winning the Champions League.

It was claimed the referee helped Real through their round of 16 clash with Paris Saint-Germain, with club owner Nasser Al Khelaifi even joining in the protesting. “The referee has helped Madrid,” he stated after a 5-2 aggregate win for the Spaniards. And yet, here Real Madrid are, targeting their third successive Champions League title, their fourth in five years.

So why are so many reluctant to hail Real Madrid as an era-defining team? No side has dominated Europe in the Champions League age like Zinedine Zidane’s team have over the past five years, not even Pep Guardiola’s great Barcelona team. If Real Madrid beat Liverpool in Kiev on Saturday, Zidane will join Carlo Ancelotti and Bob Paisley as the manager with the most European Cup winners medals. So why does such skepticism remain?

Real Madrid are a paradox of a team. They are undeniably on the wane as a footballing force, demonstrated by the meek defense of their La Liga title this season. Their best players — Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Luka Modric, Sergio Ramos — are entering the twilight of their careers, with this team on the brink of a generational transition. There may well be a squad rebuild this summer.

What’s more, the Champions League field has been rather weak this season. Both Barcelona and Bayern Munich have been stronger in previous years, with Manchester City still not at full fruition under Pep Guardiola and Atletico Madrid out even before the knockout rounds. But on the flip side, Real Madrid could hardly have faced a trickier route to the final.

They have encountered an obstacle at every turn. Drawn with Borussia Dortmund and Spurs in the group stage, Real Madrid had to be on form from the very first matchday. Then in the last 16 they faced a PSG team which, at the time, were the tournament’s top goalscorers and among the frontrunners. Before the wheels came off, many believed this would be the year the Ligue 1 outfit finally made their Champions League breakthrough.

In Juventus, Real Madrid came up against the team they saw off in last season’s Champions League final. The Italians might be an aging outfit, but they were among the competition favorites before Real saw them off. Zidane’s side didn’t have it easy in the semifinals either, paired with a Bayern Munich team that have made the semifinals, at least, in six of the last seven seasons.

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Real Madrid have more than earned their place in this weekend’s Champions League final. They have more than proved their credentials, but still there is widespread disagreement over where this team fits into the pantheon of great European sides. It’s true Real Madrid don’t play with the swagger of many legendary continental sides that have come before them, but that shouldn’t be held against them.

Efficiency and effectiveness is the currency of this team. Zidane gets the best out of the squad he has, which has undergone very few changes since the Frenchman’s managerial appointment three years ago. He hasn’t built a team in the transfer market, as many of his predecessors at the Bernabeu have, and in that Zidane’s coaching reputation surely deserves bolstering, not cutting down.

Back in the 1950s and into the ’60s, Real Madrid lifted five European Cups in successive seasons. Ajax and Bayern Munich both won it three times in a row each over the 1970s. Those three teams defined an era of the European game, so why would it be any different in the case of another Los Merengues triumph in Saturday’s Champions League final? There’s more than just history on the line for Real Madrid in Kiev. There’s legacy.