The five minutes of injury time in Saint-Denis were the longest 300 seconds in the modern life of Real Madrid. On the bench, Nacho, Marcelo, Modric and Lucas did not stop throwing bottles on the ground, possessed by nerves due to an extension and an agonizing outcome of the final. By far, the Champions League and the toughest final of the eight in color for the white team, which exploded when Turpin put the whistle in his mouth. Casemiro and Kroos fell to the ground, as happy as they were exhausted. Ancelotti raised his arms to the sky. Carvajal went like a man possessed to the area of the stands where his relatives were and with him, Ceballos and Rodrygo. Surely, together with Lisbon, the most heartfelt celebration.
Ancelotti had a dance with Camavinga, Vinicius, Valverde and Rodrygo, as if the forty years difference with all of them were a simple number. Alaba lifted the chair of a ‘steward’. Vinicius had a moment of glory alone with the fans, who threw a giant flag at him from the stands. Only Bale, half a smile, arms crossed and walking slowly, was in another world. He didn’t care.
Raúl took the cup to the lectern, and began a protocol of delivery of medals honored by both teams and stained by Liverpool fans, who had already left their fund empty. Ugly gesture of the network fans and precious that of the Madrid side, who applauded the Liverpool players while they collected their medals. Only Alexander-Arnold took it off his chest.
In Madrid, obviously, nobody took the medal off. The King, also present at the award ceremony, was very affectionate and playful with Marcelo, and also with Courtois, MVP of the final and hero with nine stops, five of them of maximum difficulty that are now forever in the history of the Fourteenth: «Today we have shown who is the King of Europe. No one could take away my desire to win the Champions League. For my dead I was going to win one. It’s incredible, after so many years and so much work. I had to go look for Salah’s far away. It was crazy. I feel sorry for my brother, who is getting married tomorrow and I can’t be there, but on Monday there is another civil wedding and I’ll be there,” details the Belgian.
Thibaut has suffered this season, in which he has long been the best goalkeeper, shameful none, especially from the United Kingdom. Last night he took particular revenge on him: «I needed to win a final in my career, to put some respect on my behalf, because I don’t think they respect me enough. Especially in England.”
Who does respect him are his teammates and coach. And myths of Real Madrid, such as Casillas: “It had been a long time since I remembered such a decisive goalkeeper in a Champions League final,” the white exporter, who was present in Paris, wrote on his Twitter account, as did Zidane with his wife and Rafa Nadal, who today plays his round of 16 match at Roland Garros.
Ancelotti, euphoric, also remembered Courtois: “Have you ever seen a performance like Courtois’s?”, they asked him on the pitch. “Yes Yes. It was also from Courtois », replied the Italian sarcastically, who revealed a confidence: « I told Courtois that he was going to win the final, and he has won the final ».
Ancelotti recognized that this has been the toughest Champions League out of the four he has won, the same thing that has happened to Madrid: “From the round of 16 to the final we suffered a lot, but it is easier to win the Champions League with Madrid than with another team. Ici, c’est Real Madrid and point”, the white coach was honest. Florentino was as happy as Carletto was: «It’s a team that gets along very well and we have a coach who has done very well. There has also been a great unity between the fans and the players. Our satisfaction is that everyone is happy and that there is that communion ».
They were the first public words of the president after the failed signing of Mbappé, and Florentino avoided giving prominence to those who did not deserve it at the time. The protagonist was Real Madrid: «Now we have a very good forward. Vinicius, Rodrygo, Benzema… Today there is no Mbappé. Today is the party of Madrid and its players.
