You may already know that Real Madrid have won the seven European finals they played in the Champions League. It includes consecutive UEFA Cup victories in the mid-1980s and is nine again.
If these matches were coin tosses – and have included matches against Juventus, Atletico Madrid and Liverpool – the odds of winning so many in a row are more than 500 to one. It is not uncommon for them to say that Real Madrid do not play finals, they win them.
But there is another characteristic of Real Madrid that Liverpool have to overcome if they want to lift the trophy in Paris on Saturday evening and that is the comeback: the comeback. There have been many for Real Madrid on their way to this Champions League final.
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Real Madrid are welcomed by fans at the airport before their flight to Paris for the final against Liverpool
Two goals down by half an hour before Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16, they were also 10 minutes away from elimination against Chelsea in the round of 16. Against Manchester City in the semi-finals, they were two down in the 89th minute and won.
Fans refer to him as the spirit of Juanito, the former player around whom the mythology of Madrid’s comeback has been built. It was he, in one of those UEFA Cup draws mentioned, who entered the folklore talking about his inevitability against Inter.
After being defeated in the first leg of the semi-final, Juanito told any opponent to listen to him – in Italian – that 90 minutes is a long time at the Bernabeu. He proved it, and he has continued to do so for many of his opponents in Europe to this day.
That’s how Madrid wins. That’s how Madrid wins, that’s how singing goes.
This belief in destiny, the winning mindset that convinces players and fans that anything is possible no matter how unlikely it may seem, is a common thread that runs through the club. Do we need two goals against Manchester City with the clock? Still possible.
Rodrygo, the scorer of both goals in that extraordinary semifinal, thanked the divine. Thibaut Courtois, whose goalkeeper Jack Grealish had stopped a few moments earlier had made it easier for him to follow, urged people not to even try to explain it.
But maybe there is an explanation.
Matt Shaw is a performance psychologist who has worked with many sports figures in his role on InnerDrive. Visualization is a key part of his work. “On an individual level, being able to see what you want to happen is really important,” Shaw tells Sky Sports.
But could it also work for entire teams? “As long as the whole team shares the vision and everyone is aware of what it’s like to behave according to that vision and what they’re focusing on. If everyone has a similar picture, it can be very important.”
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Kaka predicts an incredible Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid
When plans go wrong, some teams may deviate from the plan, forgetting what leads to success. Panic sets in. Manchester City moved away from their natural game when they fell behind at the Bernabeu, but Real Madrid amplified theirs. When they were desperate, they stayed cool.
“When under pressure in these situations, they look more comfortable. If you look at these recent comebacks, what they do really well is that they’re quite flexible. They can adapt when they need to. It looks like the team is full of good learners. of problems.
“They also seem to be good at preparing. You hear a lot of managers talk about enduring a period of high pressure, overcoming it and then implementing their game plan. If that’s a shared goal and they can see it, it’s becoming self-fulfilling. .
“It makes it more manageable if they need to recover. They could feel like they were aware that it would happen, so it has that reinforcing effect. They know they have to put up with the pressure, so when they put up with the pressure it’s not. Too unknown.”
Image: Karim Benzema celebrates Real Madrid’s goal in their victory from behind against Chelsea
This idea of the self-fulfilling prophecy of the Madrid comeback can become very powerful. “If we think something is going to happen, we’re probably behaving in a way that aligns more with that and makes it more likely to happen for it to keep happening,” Shaw says.
Even more so when it is shared by the opposition.
Despite all their exploits this season and in so many two-legged matches in Europe over the years, Madrid have only lagged behind in one of the seven Champions League finals of the season. That was in Lisbon in 2014 when they were left behind until the 93rd minute.
The rivals were Atletico Madrid, rivals of the city with an inferiority complex built into their psyche. The club had never won the European Cup and have not yet won it. Even in stoppage time, there was a feeling that Real Madrid is never defeated until it is defeated.
It couldn’t happen, could it? He didn’t.
Instead, Real Madrid won La Decima. A 10th title.
As they saw it, their destiny.
Perhaps it is significant that Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City – two more clubs that have never won the European Cup – have been victims of Madrid mythology this season. When it went wrong, they saw it as the end. Madrid sees it as the beginning.
“The key part of this – and I think Real Madrid has shown that, which makes it more powerful – is that their behavior is clearly in line with this self-fulfilling idea that we can recover if we need it. they need to bounce back, they act accordingly.
“They may increase in intensity. They may reflect on the fact that they have what it takes when they need it most, they do have the resources to meet the demands of the task. This part is self-fulfilling: they believe in the behavior they show.
“Combine that with the confidence of the previous rounds and the fact that these comebacks are their most recent experiences in the competition, I really think it’s a brilliant way to make sure they have a great belief. It will probably become more lasting. .
“It would be very rare to have to motivate players for a Champions League final, but if you had to motivate players, that would be a brilliant source of motivation.”
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Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher look to the Champions League final
Of course, Liverpool, which is pursuing a seventh European Cup, is a football club with its own mythology. They do not share the emotional blockages that Real Madrid have been able to exploit in some of their previous rivals in this competition.
Carlo Ancelotti, the Madrid coach, was even on the receiving end of perhaps the most famous comeback of all when his AC Milan team lost a three-goal lead to Liverpool in the final. the 2005 Champions League. Their belief will not fade if they go back either.
“Overall, what I find fascinating about this is that you have two high-performance teams and they both look like really tough environments. What you need for a resilient environment is a big challenge and a lot of support and I think you see that. on both teams.
“Whatever team has had to come from behind, it’s much easier to do that when you have the big challenge of pushing yourself there and the high support to know that you can take risks or that if things go bad, okay. “
Expect anything when these two teams meet on Saturday. Don’t expect the first goal to be the end of the story.