top 10 moments of La Décima (III)

Xabi Alonso’s celebration of Gareth Bale’s goal – he jumped down from the stands, and sprinted onto the field and straight towards the scrum of celebrating players – was epic, legendary and really worth it, for the importance of that goal.  But it also cost him.

top 10 moments of La Décima (IV)

There were lots of great moments in Lisbon, including the presence of several of our legends, who also happen to be previous Champions League winners.  Fernando Hierro (3), Raúl (3), Pedja Mijatović (1), Paco Gento (a record 6) and Amancio Amaro (1) made the trip to support the club, while Zinedine Zidane (1) was there as the assistant coach, and Manolo Sanchís (2) and Fernando Morientes (3) (among others) were there as commentators.

top 10 moments of La Décima (V)

This is another adorable moment from the conquest of La Décima.  Carlo Ancelotti was calmly speaking to the media at the postgame press conference, when a group of players – Marcelo, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Isco, MFC Álvaro Borja Morata Martín (sob), Luka Modrić and Sami Khedira burst into the room, singing “Cómo no te voy a querer” and spraying champagne and water.  The expression on Carletto’s face when he spotted them is priceless!

Their enthusiasm and joy were so contagious that Carlo began singing with them.  I love the relationship between our coach and his players!  Before filing out (while still singing), Sergio made sure to kiss Carlo on the top of his head, while Pepe got his cheek.

top 10 moments of La Décima (VI)

Several of our boys unashamedly burst into tears at the conclusion of the game.  Dani Carvajal, a canterano and true madridista, started crying as soon as the whistle blew, and continued crying throughout most of the celebration.  Meanwhile, Marcelo had tears in his eyes as he hugged Zizou, who told him that he was a “monster.”

top 10 moments of La Décima (VII)

What’s a collection of posts without The Xabi Alonso pose section™?

Due to the fact that he was suspended for the final in Lisbon, we got many glimpses of Xabi in a suit throughout the afternoon and night, and of course he looked as elegant and stylish as ever, even when doing the most mundane things, such as talking on the phone…

top 10 moments of La Décima (VIII)

We continue our look back at La Décima with Sergio Ramos’ celebrations.  Sergio dedicated his goal and the victory to his loved ones, and also dusted off his capote, much to the delight of his teammates.

top 10 moments of La Décima (IX)

Next up, we have Xabi Alonso.  As you remember, Mr. Alonso was suspended for the final.  As such, he was forced to watch the match in the stands with those players who had not made the final list, those suffering from injuries and those who had taken part in the competition in the earlier rounds.

Xabi – looking very dapper in his suit – suffered with the rest of us, lamenting missed opportunities and taking out his frustrations on whatever happened to be nearby.

top 10 moments of La Décima (X)

More than two months have passed since Real Madrid won La Décima in Lisbon, in a game that was equal parts agonizing and exhilarating.  At times, I still have trouble believing that La Décima is finally ours, after having waited 12 long years.

And now, with just several days to go before the Supercopa, where we’ll take on Sevilla, the 2014 Europa League winners, I just wanted to share some of my favorite moments from the final.  I’m sure you will remember all of them, but it’s always nice to take a look back and relive that excitement and joy once again as we prepare to cheer on our team and start the new season.

Although the moments aren’t in any particular order, I wanted to start with the goals because they are what brought us the title.  Atleti scored late in the first half, and it took us until the third minute of injury time in the second half to tie the game, courtesy of a header from Sergio Ramos, who continued his scoring streak in the CL.