On the day of Real Madrid’s matchup with Borussia Dortmund, in which the latter is the heavy favorite to win the Champions League and their sixth in a decade, Carlo Ancelotti referred to it as the “most dangerous” match of the season.
The Italian claimed that their campaign should be characterized as “successful whatever happens” at Wembley, disputed that the tournament was a “obsession” for the team, and acknowledged that there would be anxiety in the hours leading up to kickoff. “It’s all about trying your hardest, like we’ve done this season; sometimes things don’t work out the way you want,” he remarked.
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Thibaut Courtois will start in goal, according to Ancelotti, who is preparing for his ninth involvement in the European Cup final—six as a coach as well as two as a player. The Belgian was almost certain to be selected ahead of Andriy Lunin, even though the Ukrainian had to be kept out of the campaign due to a ruptured cruciate tendon in August, even though the Belgian had not played a minute of the competition. It is anticipated that Lunin will arrive in London early on Saturday. He’ll sit on the bench, according to Ancelotti.
Since their matchup with Liverpool in 1981, Madrid has participated in eight consecutive European Cup finals without a loss. They have never been seen as such obvious favorites in any of those.
After overcoming Bayern Munich and Manchester City along the way, they take on the unexpected winners, who were thought to be the least strong of the eight quarterfinalists in Spain. Ancelotti along with his players frequently spoke concerning the “calmness” and “confidence” that surround the squad, but they have also been careful to emphasize that they are not taking anything for granted and that anxieties are inevitable.
Joking about, Ancelotti claimed to have told striker Joselu, who won the semifinal with two spectacular late goals, “It’s your fault we’re not on holiday.” In a more sombre tone, he said, “The championship game is the most significant yet riskiest.” It’s important to enjoy your time here, but soon after, anxiety about anything going wrong sets in.
You get the feeling that you’re very, very near to the most significant aspect of football. There’s a danger it may get away. It’s a sensation shared by everybody. Reaching this point is extremely difficult, and when triumph seems imminent, dread sets in. Tonight, tomorrow morning, and tomorrow afternoon is when that will begin. An abundance of anxiety and terror. That is typical. If you overcome that fear, your happiness increases even more.
After saying, “Perfect; I’ve got nobody to add to that,” Luka Modric, who was seated next to Ancelotti, stood up to onto the Wembley pitch over Madrid’s last practice.
A record-tying six European Cup victories would be achieved by Modric, Dani Carvajal, Toni Kroos, and Madrid captain Nacho Fernández—all inside one match. Nonetheless, they followed Ancelotti’s example in stressing that they do not believe everything is complete, much alone that they are unbeatable – even if it appears that way at times in this tournament.
When Nacho inquired as to if this was their calmest moment prior to a game, they answered, “Pfff, compared to what? It is the most nerve-wracking game of the season; I can assure you of that. After all, we are just human. There is unease since it is a rare and last occasion. Anyone who enjoys football is aware of how unique Madrid is in this competition—the statistics support this; it’s not a fabrication. For this club, it’s a unique competition, but it also comes with a lot of responsibilities.
The thought that Modric and Nacho would remain composed despite the fact they were trailing within the 85th minute could have seemed absurd if the two players from Real Madrid hadn’t been seated in the forefront of the room, considering their remarkable history of making huge comebacks.
Even if it doesn’t seem like it, we struggle on the pitch, therefore we would prefer to be ahead, Nacho said.
The possibility that we could have reached [Gento] a few years ago would have seemed unimaginable, but here we are, remarked Modric. We’re having a great time doing this. As a team, perhaps we can go that additional mile. It would be wonderful to win six European Cups.
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