With 15 titles to their name, Real Madrid have been crowned European champions more than twice as many times as any other club. The Spanish giants have become synonymous with the biggest competition in club football and it’s almost impossible to imagine one without the other.
However, Real Madrid’s success on the European stage has often come in short stints of utter dominance, rather than sustained success. Having won the first five editions of what was then the European Cup, Los Blancos went 32 years without winning the competition following their sixth title in 1966.
Champions League triumphs in 1998, 2000 and 2002 were then followed by a drought of more than a decade with Real Madrid frequently failing to even make the quarter-finals.
Such a scenario is almost unthinkable today, with the current Spanish champions always among the favourites in the betting markets at the start of any season. This campaign in the newly expanded UEFA Champions League is certainly no exception. The latest odds suggest that Carlo Ancelotti’s side have around a 20% chance of defending the trophy they won again last season.
Should they succeed, that would be Ancelotti’s sixth title overall and fourth with Real Madrid, cementing his legacy even further as one of the all-time managerial greats.
The Tenth
It was Ancelotti that started this current era of Real Madrid domination by guiding the club to the 2013/14 Champion League to end a 12-year wait for the trophy Madridistas crave the most.
Their 10th title overall, it was dubbed “la decima” by the club’s fans and media. Even a decade on from a glorious night in Lisbon, it’s still perhaps the most cherished of the 15 European Cups that Real Madrid has won. That’s partly because of the wait that preceded it, as well as the sheer numerical feat of becoming the first team to reach double figures.
Up against city rivals Atletico, who had just been crowned Spanish champions, Real were trailing heading into second half stoppage time, only for the iconic Sergio Ramos to pop up with a trademark late rescue act to force extra time. Ramos’ goal is perhaps the most important in Real Madrid’s illustrious history and it sparked a late rally as Los Blancos struck three times in extra time to win 4-1.
While there would be no success the following season which ended with Ancelotti’s departure, the spine of the side that triumphed in 2014 would remain to conquer Europe several more times before the end of the decade.
Zidane’s three-peat extends record
Following Ancelotti’s exit, Real Madrid struggled during the first half of the 2015/16 season with a 4-0 home defeat against eternal rivals Barcelona being among the factors that ultimately led to the sacking of Rafa Benitez in early January 2016.
This led to club legend Zinedine Zidane stumbling into the job almost by accident, despite a largely unimpressive stint as the club’s B team boss.
Many doubted Zidane’s tactical skills and ability to lead a squad that was not only short on quality, but also not short on egos. As it turned out though, the Frenchman commanded the respect of the dressing room on day one and his appointment proved to be the unlikely catalyst for the first European Cup three-peat since Bayern Munich achieved the feat in the early 1970’s.
In his first months in the job, Zidane guided Real Madrid past Roma, Wolfsburg and Manchester City to the final where they again came up against city rivals Atletico. The outcome was a repeat of two years earlier, although this time penalties were needed to split the two Madrid clubs in Milan.
Real defeated Atletico in the Champions League again enroute to the 2017 final in Cardiff where they would prove much too strong for Juventus. A 4-1 victory, with Isco shining for Los Blancos, and Cristiano Ronaldo scoring twice to end on 12 goals in the competition that season, was a fitting finale to arguably the most impressive and deserved of Real Madrid’s recent Champions League titles.
Zidane’s Madrid certainly rode their luck at times the following season though, with narrow victories over Juventus and Bayern Munich sending them through to face Liverpool in Kyiv where some charitable goalkeeping from the unfortunate Loris Kariusas well as a wonder goal from forgotten man Gareth Bale were key factors in a 3-1 victory.
Ancelotti returns to continue era of domination
While Zidane would walk out after Kyiv, only to return for a second less successful spell between 2019 and 2021, Real Madrid fans would need to wait for the return of Ancelotti who took over again at the start of the 2021/22 season to taste that winning feeling in the Champions League again.
As was the case during his first spell, Ancelotti won the trophy at the first time of asking, guiding Los Blancos through a miraculous run of comeback victories that at times defied all rational explanation.
A second leg hat-trick from Karim Benzema saw Real come from two down to defeat PSG in the round-of-16. Two more late goals decided the quarter-final against Chelsea before Rodrygo’s 90th and 91st minute strikes rescued Los Blancos from what seemed certain defeat against Man City in the last four.
By comparison, the final was a less eventful affair, but Real Madrid triumphed against Liverpool again with Vinicius Junior scoring the only goal in Paris.
Ancelotti’s second season back was less successful, but he and his team more than made up for it during a dominant 2023/24 campaign. Aside from a couple of defeats in derbies at the Estadio Metropolitano, Los Blancos were not beaten in any competition, although their knockout fixtures in the Champions League were all tight.
Penalties were needed for Real Madrid to edge out fellow heavyweights and defending champions City at the Etihad Stadium in the last eight. Meanwhile, it was another late, late show as Joselu struck 88th and 91st minute goals to send Bayern Munich packing in the second leg of the semi-final at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Real Madrid also survived several scares in the final, before ultimately powering past Borussia Dortmund to be crowned European champions for the 15th time.
With Kylian Mbappe on board and quality across the pitch, in theory, Real Madrid should be every bit as strong this season as they bid to tackle a competition that has undergone a slight revamp with a new league phase.
They have every chance of extending what, in the Champions League era at least, is an unprecedented period of domination.
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