Real Madrid: Are the vikings really back?

Real Madrid have a glorious past, superstar footballers and an overflowing bank account but one thing they are currently missing is the Holy Grail, the UEFA Champions League trophy. However, after a series of continuous attempts by the club they could be closer than ever to La Decima this season. The wait can now, finally, be over. They have spent a huge amount of money to bring in the best of talent there is in Europe and have something no other club has, the hunger to be crowned European champions. They won their last Champions League back in the 2001-02 season, which was written in the history books because of the remarkable Zinedine Zidane volley against Bayer Leverkusen. Since then, the Madridistas have been waiting for over a decade but this might just be the end of the prolonged wait.

The end of last season marked the end of the Mourinho era and another season to forget for Los Merengues. There was much speculation as to who would succeed ‘The Special One’ at the Bernabeu with Carlo Ancelotti, finally, securing the place on the Madrid bench. It also marked former Galactico Zinedine Zidane being chosen to assist the former Paris Saint-Germain manager. And as far as the transfers are concerned, it was the time for one more Galactico to come home.

Madrid needed to win the Champions League. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)

Real Madrid spent lightly at the beginning of the transfer window bringing in former Castilla player Daniel Carvajal back from Bayer Leverkusen and Casemiro from Sao Paulo who was on loan at Madrid the previous season. They made their first major signing of the summer by bringing in Spanish starlet Isco from Malaga for a fee of 27 million euros. They turned many heads by bringing in Spanish U-21 international Asier Illaramendi for a fee of 32.2 million euros. But these fees still weren’t enough to be compared with Cristiano Ronaldo’s fee of 85 million euros.

That was the time for some lavish spending. There had been a lot of speculation about the potential arrival of Gareth Bale. It was time to get a Galactico. After a lot of rumours, the final day of the transfer window came knocking on the door. Finally, Bale was officially announced as a Madrid player. His dream had come true and it had lit up the hopes of millions.

What do you expect from a team that has two of the world’s most expensive players of all time? Obviously, a lot of goals, amazing football and a few trophies every season. That’s something that will happen, more or less, once Bale gets properly accustomed to life at the Bernabeu. One of the major reasons behind Ronaldo’s spectacular form this season is Bale. Both of them are pushing each other to the limit which is resulting in better performances and results. Most Madridistas are hoping that together these two will be able to bring that Champions League trophy to the Bernabeu.

They have plenty of resources and experience to finally find themselves at the top of European football. It’s now just a matter of whether they have the nerves of steel and the luck which they need to reach cloud nine. Once the lion is injured, it comes back even stronger and this might just be the time for Madrid to show their capability and what they can do.

After 11 years, many Galacticos, many heart-breaking exits and way too many expectations and speculation, this is the perfect time for the Vikings to rise from the well of defeat and frustration and rise above everyone else in the sky. The only question is, will they be able to ?