Real Madrid, the most successful side in the history of the European Cup, finally claimed La Decima after a 12-year gap, at the expense of rivals Atletico Madrid, in 2013-14.
Madrid won 4-1 after extra-time with Sergio Ramos equalising dramatically in regulation time before Gareth Bale, Marcelo, and Cristiano Ronaldo each netted to break Atleti’s resolve.
CHANGES
There were some major coaching changes from some of Europe’s biggest clubs in the off season. Gerardo Martino took over at Barcelona and Carlo Ancelotti replaced Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid, with the Portuguese subsequently moving back to Chelsea. Pep Guardiola ended his sabbatical to take the helm at Bayern Munich, having the enviable task of replacing the departing Jupp Heynckes, who had won the treble with the Germans in the previous campaign. Manchester United appointed David Moyes to replace the legendary Alex Ferguson – it would be the first season of the Champions League in which the Scot had not managed.
With a new head coach in place with Ancelotti, Los Blancos also flexed their financial muscle by bringing in Gareth Bale from Tottenham for a world record fee of £95m. There was also massive moves for Neymar, who joined Barcelona from Santos, and Mesut Ozil, who left Real Madrid to join Arsenal.
SUMMARY
Barcelona and Real Madrid spent heavily in the summer of 2013, and this could be attributed to their respective eliminations from the previous season’s Champions League. Barca, in particular, were humbled 7-0 over two legs by Bayern Munich, while Madrid lost out to Borussia Dortmund. Germany had claimed the ascendency and Spain looked to hit back.
Defending champions Bayern started in comfortable fashion, defeating CSKA Moscow 3-0 at the Allianz Arena with the hero of the 2013 final, Arjen Robben, netting along with David Alaba and Mario Mandzukic. The group also featured Viktoria Plzen and Manchester City, with the big two reaching the knockout stages.
Real Madrid were almost flawless,…
Source link : https://www.footballcritic.com/season-reviews/real-madrid-finally-clinch-la-decima-the-2013-14-champions-league/32
Author : editors@footballcritic.com (Martin Macdonald)
Publish date : 2024-07-20 08:00:00
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