Today everything is content and football banners are no different – “Kings of Cups”, that was the reminder from the reigning European champions to their less illustrious German visitors from Dortmund with a giant banner in the stands at kick-off. The display was as much a statement of fact – with eleven European Cups to their name as a statement of intent.
They conquered Milano, they can conquer Cardiff in June as well. Those bombast words are borderline grandiloquence, but not so when it pertains the club from the Spanish capital. They feel the European Cup belongs in Madrid. They have history and last season, when Madrid struggled past Wolfsburg and Manchester City before reaching the final, to back that idea up.
Dortmund were another fine benchmark for Madrid’s European credentials – and a prelude to meeting Europe’s elite or mere sub-top in the round of sixteen, the latter stages of the competition. The German outfit play football with precision at pace. They embody all the finer aspects of the Bundesliga. They are young, vibrant and have a great tactical application. Dortmund are almost too much of a hipster club.
Thomas Tuchel’s outfit is another expression of Dortmund’s fine tradition of building teams at the edge of contemporary football sophistication. At Dortmund, the 43-year-old coach, an economics graduate and an admirer of Scandinavian furniture, is trying to emulate his illustrious predecessor, Jurgen Klopp.
‘Hipster’ Dortmund
In the first leg in Westphalen, Dortmund had been rattled by two strikes from Cristiano Ronaldo, but they regrouped, playing with much vigour, trademark virtuoso and strategic intelligence to equalise in the waning minutes through Andre Schürrle. They did so again at the Bernabeu, where Madrid demonstrated a characteristic and consummate ruthlessness.
Two goals from Karim Benzema had seemingly won the game. Real coach Zinedine Zidane had welcomed Brazilian Casemiro back into his XI and opted for a 4-3-3 setup, with James Rogriguez and Luka Modrić in the midfield as well. It was a bold, attacking selection. Tuchel went for a 4-1-4-1 formation with Ousmane Dembele in a more central role, but his Dortmund were subdued and overwhelmed in the opening half hour.
The Germans missed open chances at the start of both the first and the second half. Real Madrid and Benzema punished their visitors, but they did not score a conclusive third goal. In response, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang continued his remarkable scoring sequence with his 19th goal in as many games on the hour and substitute Marco Reus struck two minutes from time to wrest back top spot and with it, a new Champions League record of 21 goals scored in the group phase.
The enigma that is Zidane
For much of the evening though, Zidane could be seen prowling the edge of his technical area. He carried an aura of authority about him. At the same time, the novice French coach remains an enigma. His tactical choices had been astute – the galactic club is now 34 matches unbeaten, but that is the drawback about this Real Madrid – have they been fortuitous or not?
At this stage, it may be unjust to ascribe Madrid’s results, even progress, to Dame Fortuna. Against Atletico Madrid in La Liga, Zidane fielded a diamond in midfield. As a result, the regal whites of Madrid were superior to their gung-ho city rivals. Diego Simeone was outclassed, tactically.
This was the second time Zidane had triumphed against the Argentine. In Milan, Zidane had destroyed Simeone’s doctrine, drill and the notion that rigour and resilience could triumph over economic imperatives and the overall might and myth of a behemoth. Ronaldo’s penalty has been good enough to win La Undecima. But in Zidane’s last win against Atletico there was tactical nous. Madrid’s draw against Barcelona was further proof of the club’s steel.
The Frenchman is no longer the right man at the right time. He has evolved, and with him, Real Madrid, who have become unbending and unyielding in their own particular style. Against Dortmund, the Spanish were, yet again, very mundane, but they were not beaten, even though they gave up top spot in the group. For Zidane and Real, it remains a strange predicament to be in: they are not loved, if not un-enamoured, in spite of their great results.
Dortmund, in their inimitable swagger, offered enough to draw. Madrid, with the statistics on their side, have work to do.
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