Real Madrid has already won its fifth Super Cup and is now on a par with Milan and Barcelona at the top of the list of winners. Because the white team does not play finals, it wins them: 19 out of 21 since its second golden age began in 2014 and 23 out of 31 in its European history. In Helsinki, as in Paris, the white victory began to be built from their area, from a majestic Courtois to whom to score a goal you have to do before a doctorate.
A goalkeeper from another galaxy
Thibaut Courtois is something from another world. Desperate for his opponents; a load of linden tea for his teammates. The season ended with a recital of saves by the Belgian against Liverpool in Saint-Denis; and the season started with Thibaut saving a one-on-one from Kamada, one of those in which the striker has everything in his favor. The luminaries who kept him away from all the awards must be tucked under the bed not to see the mess they made. Nobody can doubt that he is one of the best signings in the history of Madrid. And neither that he is the best goalkeeper in the world.
The chair dance
Music is sacred in the Alaba household. Since he was a child, he and his sister have adored it thanks to their mother. David is making his first steps. He took piano lessons, plays the guitar and regularly operates a mixing desk to escape the stress of soccer. And since his arrival he has been rocking and rolling at Real Madrid. The chair dance would be the name of his album in white, in which in Helsinki he recorded the best hit with the goal that opened the scoring, a goal with the stellar collaboration of Casemiro and the intelligence made footballer.
Lesson after lesson from Kroos
Watching Kroos play is one of those delights for exquisite palates. He is a player to enjoy, to understand everything that a midfielder should bring to his team. There are those who say that his physique no longer gives him, but his head gives him so much that with his game he extinguishes all those physical doubts. It is one lesson after another. There are times when it seems that he is not there, but his teammates know that Toni is always where he should be and that when there are problems there is no one better to give him the ball. If you have to assemble a team, do it around Kroos. Modric is a genius, Casmiro is a wonder, but the 8 is an encyclopedia.
At a different speed, Madrid and Benzema
Real Madrid’s performance in the finals is something out of this world. A fireball, a spaceship that goes at a speed that no one can approach. Every time it appears in one it is to end up with the cup on a trip to Madrid. That’s 19 out of 21 since 2014, only with the two defeats against Atltico de Madrid; and 23 out of 31 in its history for European competitions. A true savagery. Klopp said in Paris that the day will come when Madrid will lose a final. Helsinki will not be like that moment. And at the helm of that ship continues a Benzema who returned to score, to make history and to enlarge his wonderful history with Real Madrid.
Keep an eye on Luis Enrique
Eintracht did not look like the team that Bayern crushed. Perhaps because Kamada was in their eleven. The Japanese, Spain’s rival at the World Cup in Qatar, is a tireless player who breaks lines like a fly swatting. It is true that he had the 0-1 and ran into Courtois, but he never stopped running. Surely in Las Rozas they have taken good note of the Japanese. His team was too big for Madrid, but Kamada showed heart and legs.
Ancelotti is an old fox
The Italian coach’s handling of the Super Cup was perfect. The Paris eleven and the first two changes for the most important players in the comeback: Rodrygo and Camavinga. And with the 2-0, minutes for the new players, two players called to be very important this year: Tchouamni and Rdiger. Textbook. Hard times will come, but Madrid must value what they have on their bench.