La Décima Victory 2014

Lore & Background

After a slow start to the season, Real Madrid went on a record-breaking 22-match winning streak, which included wins against Barcelona and Liverpool, surpassing the previous Spanish record of 18 successive wins set by Frank Rijkaard's Barça in the 2005–06 season. In late December, Real Madrid won their first Club World Cup, defeating San Lorenzo 2–0 in the final. The winning streak came to an end in their opening match of 2015 with a loss to Valencia, leaving the club two short of equalling the world record of 24 consecutive wins. Madrid was in contention for both the La Liga title and the UEFA Champions League until the very end but ultimately came up short, finishing with 92 points in the league, two behind treble-winning Barcelona and losing their Champions League crown to Juventus 2–3 on aggregate in the Champions League semi-finals. Cristiano Ronaldo finished the season scoring 48 league goals, winning his fourth European Golden Shoe, and 61 goals in all competitions, breaking his record from 2011–12. Overall, despite playing an attractive attacking football and being the highest scoring team in Europe with 118 league goals, several heartbreaking defeats meant that Real finished the season with two trophies out of six possible, which contributed to the dismissal of Carlo Ancelotti. Ancelotti would return to coach the team in 2021.

In Their Own Story

The air in Lisbon was thick with humidity and the crushing weight of history. At halftime, the tunnel felt like a tomb; the silence from the Madrid bench was deafening as the scoreboard read 4-1 to Atlético. Then, the clock ticked past 90 minutes. A corner came in, a scramble ensued, and Sergio Ramos leaped into the ether. The ball struck his forehead with a sound that echoed through the stadium, and suddenly, the impossible felt possible. The roar from the away section was not just noise; it was a release of twelve years of tension. When Bale scored in extra time, the celebration was primal, a raw eruption of joy that washed over the Estádio da Luz, turning a night of potential heartbreak into the greatest comeback in Champions League history.

Reader's Guide

It only mentions that Real Madrid won La Decima in the 2013–14 season and that the 2014–15 season began after that victory.

Did You Know?

• Real Madrid won the Club World Cup in December 2014, defeating San Lorenzo 2–0 in the final. However, the club had previously won the Intercontinental Cup in 1960, 1998, and 2002, which FIFA considers part of the same li
• Cristiano Ronaldo scored 61 goals in all competitions during the 2014–15 season, breaking his own record from 2011–12.
• Real Madrid scored 118 league goals in the 2014–15 season, the highest in Europe.
• The club's 22-match winning streak in 2014–15 surpassed the previous Spanish record of 18 successive wins set by Barcelona in 2005–06.