Photo courtesy of Football Pictures
After being dismantled in Germany last week with a score of 4-1, the reigning La Liga champions have nothing to lose in the rematch at home at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid. Real Madrid broke apart defensively and their only goal arrived after seemingly the only mistake by the Dortmund center back, Mats Hummels. After that, the game crept away from the Madridistas.
Dortmund are young, fast, quick, swift, strong, energetic, intelligent and passionate. Money and talent alone will not be able to overcome a team full of those qualities. Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Angel Di Maria, Mesut Ozil, Sami Khedira, Pepe, Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas/Diego Lopez are all players that are expected to turn this tie around right back into their favor. On paper, sure, it looks impossible. But this is real life and these players will give it their all to make something — a miracle really — happen.
Winning 4-1 will take this tie into extra time, while winning 3-0 will guarantee the Spanish side a place in the UEFA Champions League final. However, those scores seem a bit too extraordinary — especially against a side that that tore them apart only a week ago. The Germans are too strong to lose by more than 1-2 goals. The last time they played in Spain, it took a last minute Ozil free kick to salvage a 2-2 draw. If it took a last minute free kick to tie a team of this caliber, how can they beat them? Playing hard, fast, strong and never giving up or stopping when fighting for their European lives. That’s how.
Regardless of what is written here or anywhere else, this is the game of the season for Madrid up till this point. The La Liga race is virtually over, so putting on a show at home to overcome a three goal deficit to advance to Europe’s finale of its finest can earn them the respect they normally get on a silver platter. This is the semi-final, not just any, since it may very well be Jose Mourinho’s last one in charge of Madrid as he is very well on his way out after this season.
Real Madrid will play to the very best of their ability for themselves, their coach and, of course, their beloved fans. We can all expect a wonderful match-up of two teams that know how to step up when they absolutely need to.
