How To Lose: 21 November 2023

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Getting ready for the pain. Real Madrid will have to suffer in order to remain competitive until they recover some of the injured starters.

In this edition we look at some of the worst or most painful defeats

Real Madrid do well as underdogs and whenever it looks like there’s no way back, Real Madrid have the power to surprise. Right now things look to be on the verge of going to pieces due to the untimely accumulation of injuries.

v Bayern Munich UCL Semifinal 2nd Leg (2012)

Real Madrid seemed on the verge of reaching their first Champions League final since 2002 but an unexpected collapse during the penalty shootout marked the end of that dream.

Real Madrid would go on to make a 4th straight Champions League semifinal in 2014, beating Bayern Munich before going on to win the Copa del Rey and the Champions League.

v Barcelona La Liga November (2010)

A 5-0 humiliation at the Nou Camp followed after an exciting summer of recruitment with Jose Mourinho taking charge of the Blancos and bringing the likes of Ozil, Khedira and Angel Di Maria to bolster the squad.

Real Madrid would end their season with an invaluable win in the Copa del Rey final. While the club had struggled to win the copa in seasons gone by, this one was made special because the Blancos had finally usurped Guardiola’s behemoth. Real Madrid would go on to win La Liga with a record 100 points the following season.

v Ajax UCL R16 (2019)

One of the worst weeks in recent memory saw the club crash out of all three competitions with the loss to Ajax being the most painful. Real Madrid had lost Zidane and their talisman of 9 years, in Cristiano Ronaldo. Vinicius Jr and Karim Benzema tried to keep things together but Vini’s injury brought the curtain down on Real Madrid’s season.

Zidane would make a return before the end of the season and go on to win La Liga the following season. Zidane would take the team back to the Champions League semifinals in 2021, losing out to eventual, winners, Chelsea.

v Barcelona March (2022)

Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid was given little chance of winning any silverware at the start of the season. Cruising to the liga title, Real Madrid were rocked at home by the Blaugrana in a shock 4-0 mauling which almost put Ancelotti’s job in peril.

Real Madrid would end the season with a La Liga and Champions league double. The Champions League campaign being one of the greatest football stories of all time. From the Round of 16 all the way to the final, Real Madrid faced the four best teams in the competition and with the exception of the final won every single tie in spectacular remontada fashion.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

The title of the thread, “How to lose” is meant as a reminder that Real Madrid is a club that knows how to get through the lows. Even the Calderon Era which I mostly disliked was still a Real Madrid which knew how to lose.. Champions league horrors aside.

This is not to say that fans must celebrate the mediocre return of La Liga titles since the departure of Quinta del Buitre. It is definitely an embarrassing La Liga and Copa record for a club of the stature of Real Madrid. Ultimately, when things look bleak, Real Madrid will find the energy to succeed.

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