Champions League final: Just how is Real Madrid so consistently good?

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Real Madrid will again vie for European club soccer's biggest prize, and it has 'happened so many times it cannot be coincidence.





From left, Luka Modric, head coach Carlo Ancelotti and Toni Kroos of Real Madrid stand together during a training session ahead of the Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund. Ian Walton/Associated Press

LONDON — Whatever you call it, just don’t call it luck.

Real Madrid has dominated European club soccer’s biggest prize like no other. Coach Carlo Ancelotti was asked on the eve of the Champions League final if he could explain it.

“There is something special in this club. It is important to study this,” Ancelotti said on Friday. “It is something special. For what reason I don’t know. History, conditions, quality of the players, character … it happened so many times it cannot be coincidence.”

Borussia Dortmund will face in Saturday’s final at Wembley Stadium a club that never seems to read the clock, that never seems to say die, and repeatedly defies the odds to pull off improbable comebacks in a competition it prizes above all others.

The most recent was substitute Joselu’s two-goal cameo in the dying stages of the semifinal against Bayern Munich when the 14-time European champion was minutes away from elimination.

Two years ago, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City were undone by some of Madrid’s most memorable fightbacks. Madrid went on to win the trophy in 2022 having trailed in every round from the round of 16 through to the semifinals.

“We would prefer to start (the match) winning,” captain Nacho said. “We also suffer on the pitch when we are losing.”

The message is clear; Dortmund will not only be battling Madrid’s team of stars on the field, but the weight of history as well. And Madrid’s players are all too happy to feed the legend.

“Everyone that likes football knows Real Madrid is a special team in this competition,” Nacho said. “We haven’t invented that. When the (Champions League) anthem sounds, we feel a special feeling. It is something special to win so many trophies, but also big responsibility.

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