Real Madrid’s might is evident, but success isn’t guaranteed

The last few days have added considerably to the sense of shock and awe that must be shaking rivals Real Madrid right now. On the pitch this weekend, they treated their closest La Liga opponents to an evening of pure brutality – a performance of such contempt, authority and intensity that it roared ” How to dare Are you trying to sit at our top table?”

Poor old Girona; They have given us such mischievous and daring entertainment so far this season, but Saturday's 4-0 saw them receive a fitting corrective. It was clinical in that Yann Couto, usually one of Girona's standout players, was not only presented with solid evidence of his deviation from the required elite level, but also shed tears of self-pity at the final whistle. having been torn to shreds by Vinícius Júnior on the wing.

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Míchel, Madrid's Girona coach who, despite the defeat, deserves huge plaudits for the entertainment he brought to a relatively average group, admitted: “Madrid left me with egg on my face and called back in Girona that the title race is “That's not really the battle we find ourselves in.

Yet it is here that I see that Madrid's commanding victory must be seen in a much broader context.

Four days earlier, Madrid and the NFL jointly announced that either the Miami Dolphins or the Chicago Bears would play a regular-season home game in front of 85,000 spectators at the Santiago Bernabéu next year. The Spanish capital now joins London, Munich, Frankfurt, Mexico City and Toronto in having had this immense opportunity to bask in the eyes of the world, and it is significant that Real Madrid, rather than Atlético Madrid, won the right to 'to welcome.

The competition was open between the two La Liga clubs and, on paper, the Estadio Metropolitano is modern, well located, has already successfully hosted a Champions League final and is a beautiful space capable of accommodating 70,000 people . But the NFL has been influenced by the fact that the Santiago Bernabéu is a huge, recently renovated arena that, crucially, has the ability to close its roof and become a dome. This arguably provides the ultimate big event experience: no exposure of players, fans, sponsors or media to adverse weather conditions.

It is well established that beyond the basic financial agreement between the NFL and a host club outside of North America regarding a major game, there are also a series of fantastic ancillary benefits (financial, prestige , marketing) to come – in this case. The Whites and their neighborhood. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 21-16 victory over the Seattle Seahawks at Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena in November 2022 would have brought a €70 million impact to the city; Madrid are confident they will surpass that figure.

Again, even this NFL announcement requires further context, as there are other seismic events that Real Madrid is poised to benefit from.

We know that Spain will have the privilege of hosting the FIFA Men's World Cup in six years: the 2030 tournament will belong to it, with partner matches in Morocco, Portugal, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina. What we don't do it We definitely know where the crown jewel, the final itself, will be played. But you can absolutely bet your bottom dollar — and please come back and tease me if I'm wrong — that it will be at the Santiago Bernabéu.

And even if The Whites“The president, Florentino Pérez, will find himself unable to transform his magnificent stadium into the minimum length of 3.5 km (2 miles) required for a Grand Prix racing circuit – perhaps the only feat beyond of the man who can bend everyone to his will – – it remains relevant that Madrid has also been confirmed as host of the annual Formula 1 races from 2026 for 10 seasons. This is another mega-boost for the image, the coffers and the self-confidence of the city where Real Madrid calls home; in fact, part of the circuit will take Ferrari, Red Bull and others past the club's training ground in Valdebebas.

Pérez has already negotiated a €360 million deal with Sixth Street and Legends through which the two companies will maximize the use of the stadium for live music. This is why Taylor Swift chose the Santiago Bernabéu as the only concert she will play in Spain during her 2024 world tour.

As of this writing, none of us know for sure whether Kylian Mbappé will finally add his remarkable skills and goal-scoring prowess to Madrid's already 24-carat stable of talent, but it is a real perspective. And to top off this already mouth-watering Madrid menu, we're only about a month away from Spain taking on Brazil in a prestigious friendly – where else but at the Santiago Bernabéu?

I have already spoken here about the ingenuity with which Madrid not only set out to build a young, talented and ambitious team (Viní Jr., Jude Bellingham, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Eduardo Camavingaa), but complemented this by securing the whole of them, their important footballers, to long-term agreements.

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The sum total of this panorama? Real Madrid – as a club and a brand – looks set to enter a true golden age, capable of dominating on the pitch; financially robust and earning more than their competitors; attractive to the rest of the world's most powerful brands and with an irresistible international cachet, as potential fans from other continents, many of whom don't pay attention to La Liga, will soon be attracted to Madrid's brilliance thanks to the combined effect of the NFL, Formula 1, high-end rock concerts and the FIFA World Cup.

All of this deserves our attention and admiration…and all of this also requires a reminder of the legend of Achilles. Even if you are not By the way With Greek mythology, you will know that if Achilles was the greatest of all warriors, reputed to be invulnerable over 99% of his body, his weak point was his heel. Ultimately, it was his downfall.

Everything in Real Madrid's garden is fertile… except the pitch. Is it basic? The vision, design, and technology required to rebuild a stadium so that the field is removable, can be transformed into an event arena floor, and can be reinstalled for football games are all commendable. But it is a fundamental flaw if this process leaves the football playing surface badly damaged, which it does.

We are still at the “beginning” stage of the Madrid Bernabéu project, make no mistake. It may be that what architects and builders call “snags” – when you buy a new house and there are minor defects that need to be corrected – is the way to describe things these days. But Real Madrid's pitch remains a debilitating problem that needs to be resolved.

The club were forced to completely replace the playing surface five times last season – which can cost between €150,000 and €300,000 – and manager Carlo Ancelotti has spoken out about how the pitch has become a debilitating factor for his team during these months. After beating Celta 2-0 in April, he made his feelings clear. “It's quite obvious that the works around the stadium are affecting the pitch. We have changed the surface regularly and we will continue to do so. The pitch is suffering because with construction the deterioration can be rapid.”

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There is no doubt that the Bernabéu surface looks a little better or that Madrid are treating it as a priority subject. But throughout this season, Ancelotti's players kept slipping and falling when the studs on their boots failed to find purchase in the ground.

The most recent came in Bellingham on Saturday, after his ankle had already been damaged by a horrific foul from Girona's Pablo Torre. Another example was Toni Kroos' fall when his studs slipped from his grasp during Madrid's most controversial match this season, when they conceded 1-0 in less than two minutes against Almeria at home. There is too much.

At the start of last season, Thibaut Courtois said that “the quality of the pitch does not help our style of play”, while Rayo midfielder Mario Suarez chose to tweet: sarcastically: “No one is going to complain about the state of the Santiago Bernabéu pitch??? I'm just asking!” Since then there has been angst, investment and improvement, but these problems remain.

It's been a season of horrific injuries at Madrid and while it's impossible for the layman to draw a direct correlation, it's true that footballers are a superstitious and nervous bunch. No club can allow a situation to arise where its stars suspect, with or without foundation, that their own pitch is likely to increase their risk of injury.

The extracurricular rewards that Madrid are about to start reaping because they are successful, bold and visionary should be applauded and appreciated. But they cannot come at the expense of the core product – football – and at this level there is work to be done to ensure the pitch is as magnificent as the team and coaching staff.

Madrid plays the Champions League in Leipzig this week and, who knows? Despite their horrific injury list – Courtois, Éder Militão, David Alaba and now Bellingham are out – this could even be a classic season where their burgeoning rivalry with Manchester City is put to the test once again. Let's hope so, because it promises to offer us gala entertainment.

The club is in a strong position to inspire shock and awe, there is no doubt about that. But there are one or two things at the Bernabéu that are still a bit shocking and could also be a disaster for their big plans.