“Roberto Carlos floats the ball in, and Zidaaaaane! What a goal!”
Hampden Park, May 2002. Real Madrid had just won their 9th European Cup/Champions League and coach Vicente Del Bosque was all smiles, having guided his boyhood club to their second European victory under his helm. An unforgettable World Cup for a certain Brazilian ensued and he was swiftly pocketed by Florentino Perez to lead the charge for La Decima. Expectedly, Madrid won the Primera Division next season, but were denied a crack at the holy grail by a Del Piero and Nedved inspired Juventus in the semi-finals. There’s always the next year, you’d think. How long can a lineup of Carlos, Hierro, Zidane, Figo, Raul and Ronaldo go without a Champions League title anyway?
That summer, Perez proceeded to sack, inexplicably dare I say, the immensely successful coach, Del Bosque. His achievements in the four years at the club in that tenure read: 2 UEFA Champions League titles. 2 Primera Division titles, Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup (now the Club World Cup). They sold another player too. Well, what’s with Real Madrid selling a player you ask? I shall present two quotes.
The first, by Florentino Perez: