The magic is in the details! What rituals have helped Real Madrid to three Champions League wins in a row?

What does it take to win the club’s most prestigious trophy? Quality of players, belief, good health, great tactics and last but not least luck. Several factors are needed to win the Champions League, but you can help yourself with superstition, like Real Madrid did.

In Czech football, Prague Slavia is famous for its superstition, especially its management team. Jindřich Trpišovský, together with Zdeněk Houštěcký and Jaroslav Köstl, follow a few rituals that they do not change in the event of a victory.

However, a similar obsession is nothing unusual, as it is quite common even at the highest level. When Real Madrid scored a hat-trick in the Champions League in 2016-2018, they totally rewrote football history, as no team had ever managed to even defend this competition, let alone twice in a row.

The Los Blancos players have helped themselves to this with their rituals, which they believed in and brought them luck. That’s why they followed the same things in Milan 2016, Cardiff 2017 and Kiev 2018.

Before we move to the booth, let’s take a look at the first team ritual. Real Madrid entered the finals in 2017 and 2018 with an absolutely identical line-up. And not just the formation on the pitch, the players completely formed the same formation for the team photo.

They even took their obsession with rituals to such perfection that their hands were in exactly the same places. Both Modric and Isco have their left hand on their left knee, their right hand on their partner’s right arm. Carvajal has both hands on his teammates, Marcelo in turn has both hands on his teammates’ thighs. Casemiro has both his hands on his legs.

Cristiano Ronaldo is again interesting to watch in the top row. He puts his hands to Benzema and Modric in both photos, but neither time touches them and leaves them in the air. Real Madrid got lucky with this team photo shoot against Juventus in Cardiff, so they repeated it a year later against Liverpool. And it was lucky again.

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But there were many more rituals. Behind the curtain of the preparations, Real Madrid took their fans behind the curtain in the documentary “En el corazón de la décima,” translated:: in the heart of la décima, the club’s tenth Champions League title. Los Blancos then released the same documentary three more times, only with the titles “Undécima, duodécima a décimotercera.”

And it was in these documentaries that fans could notice Real’s players’ obsession with their rituals. One of the most superstitious players would be Sergio Ramos, who allowed club cameramen a glimpse into his preparation room on match day.

Ramos’ rituals start with the music. “Before I leave the room, I always put on something to get me moving and then some flamenco. I also play this great song by my friend Marc Anthony, which motivates me a lot,” says Ramos.

Then he moves on to putting on his suit and his jewellery. “I always put all my things on in the same order. It ‘s my ritual, ” explains the Real Madrid captain. “All the necklaces are gifts from my mother. La Mano de Fatima, the cross, my initials, the Caravaca cross and the lucky eye. That’s the amulet I always have with me. I hope it will bring me luck like in the other final matches,” Ramos recalls the unchanging strategy in the final fights.

When the cameraman mentions that Ramos did not have breakfast in the morning, the Spanish stopper reveals another ritual. “No, I never go downstairs on match day. I like to be in my room with my stuff, concentrate and stuff like that.” But the list of rituals doesn’t end there. “I always sleep on the left side of the bed. Always. I’ve been doing it for many years,” Ramos says.

As the royal club icon prepares to leave, he makes sure to mention one more time an extremely important factor for success. “This is my Real Madrid headset that has brought us so much happiness, so we are ready,” adds Ramos.

But other Real Madrid players are also keeping their rituals. Álvaro Arbeloa, for example, revealed in a documentary that he doesn’t even eat breakfast at all on match day. Toni Kroos, on the other hand, has to keep his kicks himself, none of the custodians even touch them.

Source:: Real Madrid, Facebook | Madridista