Bright future: Is Real Madrid now causing “laboredom” in LaLiga?

CommentReal Madrid is celebrating the 36th championship in the club’s history, the third in the last five years, and Spanish football may be on the verge of an era of dominance for the Whites. Despite a period of unique injury misery, Los Blancos marched inexorably to the LaLiga throne and will be even stronger from the summer onwards, while their arch-rivals from Barcelona are facing troubled times in many respects – the next LaLiga title will almost be a must next season. Will Real soon cause “la boredom” in the Primera División?

REAL TOTAL editor Edin Soso can imagine royal dominance like in the 80s – Foto: getty images

Confident title despite some “rump team”

When those responsible left Joselu as a backup after Karim Benzema’s sudden departure, there was great skepticism in Real Madrid’s environment before the 2023/24 season. And after Thibaut Courtois and Éder Militão each tore a cruciate ligament within a few days and only a replacement was brought in for the goalkeeper, the skepticism turned into serious concerns. At the latest after second central defender David Alaba tore his cruciate ligament in December, many in Madridismo were sure that Florentino Pérez and Co. would sign a replacement for the center of defense, but the club trusted in the strength that was still available. The same applies to the offensive, where there were various failures over the course of the season, for example top scorer Vinícius Júnior and Jude Bellingham had to sit out for weeks at the beginning and in the middle of the season.

What reads like a razor’s edge ride are the circumstances surrounding what has already been a fantastic season for Real Madrid. The Royals have officially been Spanish champions for the 36th time since Saturday, but the preliminary decision in the title fight was practically made on February 11th, when they outclassed their closest rivals to date, FC Girona, 4-0 at the Bernabéu – with Daniel Carvajal and Aurélien Tchouaméni as the team Central defender. With the Supercopa de España won in January, this battered squad has already won two titles and is still two games away from winning its 15th Champions League trophy. Carlo Ancelotti has – once again – formed a close-knit group where everyone fights until they drop for each other, where no one is above helping out even in unpopular positions. If Vinícius, Bellingham or Rodrygo weren’t there or didn’t score, Brahim Díaz, Lucas Vázquez and Joselu stepped in as scorers. When in some games it seemed as if nothing was happening up front, 38-year-old Luka Modrić scored the winner shortly before the end – the champions have 13 different goal scorers in LaLiga with only 19 professional outfield players used. Real is not only the best offensive in the league, but also the best defensivethe club record of 19 clean sheets in one season is just one clean sheet away.

Real Madrid’s last title defense took place in the 2007/08 season. Photo: PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU/AFP via Getty Images

Defending the title in 2024/25 is mandatory

This squad, which is on the edge in some positions but has a high quality in terms of sport and interpersonal skills, will be given a major tune-up next summer. It has long been buzzing that a certain French international will finally announce his move to Concha Espina after the current season. With Kylian Mbappé there is (probably) an absolute game changer in the already very potent, but not always efficient, attack of the Royals. The move of the Brazilian super talent Endrick to Madrid has long been 100 percent certain, and he more than just hinted at his potential in the Brazilian national team jersey at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in March. Together with the two young superstars Bellingham and Vinícius, Rodrygo and Brahim Díaz, who consistently perform at a high level, and the hungry and highly gifted Arda Güler, we are talking about an offensive ensemble that will hardly be able to be stopped by any defense in the long run.

2024: Real Madrid
2023: FC Barcelona
2022: Real Madrid
2021: Atletico Madrid
2020: Real Madrid

In the Merengues’ midfield, players like Federico Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga and Aurélien Tchouaméni, who not long ago were seen as promises for the future, have long since matured into absolute top performers. It can also be assumed that at least one of the two veterans Toni Kroos and Luka Modrić, both of whom still embody absolute world class, in the case of Kroos even more than ever, will stay on for another year. In defense, two world-class players, Thibaut Courtois and Éder Militão, are already back on the pitch. David Alaba should be available by the start of pre-season preparation at the latest, and France’s defensive talent Leny Yoro could also be added. Even without any further commitments, these two parts of the team can be classified at a very high level, both at the top and at the top. With this squad, which will be strengthened rather than weakened, defending the title next season is not only the big goal, but almost an absolute obligation. The complex problems of the great opponents of the Royals from Catalonia – sporting, financial, structural and so on – will increase rather than decrease in the near future, and FC Girona is unlikely to have a season like this again, as it is already stumbling in the second half of the season. City rivals Atlético, Athletic Club and Real Sociedad have already proven several times that they don’t have the breath to stay in the title fight in the long term, especially not when they are represented in several competitions, and that won’t change any time soon. If you also consider that the last national title defense of the Spanish record champions was more than a decade and a half ago – in 2006/07 and 2007/08 Los Blancos were last able to win two LaLiga titles in a row – the goal for the coming season can only be to defend the title be. At least!

The additional income from the rebuilt Bernabéu will allow the Royals to get even further ahead of the competition – Photo: Florence Tan Jun/Getty Images

Like “Quinta del Buitre”? White era is coming

The gap between Real Madrid and the national competition could only grow in the coming years. With the completed Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, the capital city club, which is already doing brilliantly economically, has another game changer up its sleeve, with which the financial lead over Barça, Atlético and Co. will hardly be achievable in the long term. The sporting development will go hand in hand with this, so that not only can we expect the Royals to defend their title for the first time since 2008, but we can also speak of a long era of dominance on the horizon. Similarly in the second half of the 80s, when Real dominated Spanish football at will with the famous “Quinta del Buitre”, which won the Primera División five times in a row (no club managed to dominate for a longer period of time). We currently have three championships in five years. In contrast to back then, when there were no major international successes, this time the Royals have long been among the absolute top at European level twelve semi-final appearances and five titles in the last 14 years, and that is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future. The much-quoted “change” has long since been achieved; there was already a smooth transition from Pepe to Varane or Alonso to Kroos, stars like Marcelo, Benzema, Isco and even Ramos and Ronaldo were replaced almost seamlessly, young stars early on integrated. Real Madrid have the future in midfield and attack, why should things look bleaker in defense and in goal?

Rosy prospects for madridismo and dark clouds for the competition wherever you look. Will LaLiga become “LaLoredom” in the next few years thanks to a series champion like in Germany or Italy? In any case, the prediction that seasons in which Real Madrid do not become Spanish champions will have to be viewed as accidents in the coming years is not too bold due to the rapidly growing structural, financial and sporting lead over its competitors. Barcelona, Atlético and others will have to take a back seat for a while when it comes to winning the title in Spain.

…and SO legendary! A comment on the LaLiga title. Continue reading

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