Among football fans, there’s a phenomenon that can only be described as football heritage and if there’s a football club that best describes this, its Spanish super club Real Madrid.
Back in 2018, then Manchester United manager, Jose Mourinho uttered the phrase ‘football heritage’ for the first time. However, the context around his statement was very different from what Real Madrid are. At the time, Manchester United had just been shockingly knocked out of the Champions League by Sevilla and in a bid to maybe save face or calm the noise around himself and the club down, Jose said “In seven years with four different managers, [United] once not qualify for Europe, twice out in the group phase and the best was the quarter-final. This is football heritage.”
Basically, what the eccentric manager was trying to say was that Manchester United as a club and its fans over those 7 years he described should be used to failing in Europe. He went on to say the club required stability and patience. According to him, it was going to be a gradual process.
However, since then that phrase has been used in so many other ways. It’s been used to describe failures and successes by football fans across the world. Now, what is Heritage? well I understand it as aspects of culture which are inherited to the present and which will be preserved for the future. So in football, what club is so used to success that the past, present and future generations all seem to understand the culture of winning. That club is Real Madrid.
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Coming into this game, the discussion was all about a revenge game for Liverpool following their defeat to the Spanish giants in 2018. Football media wondered if the magic that got Real Madrid through PSG, Chelsea and Manchester City enroute to the final would work against Jurgen Klopp’s heavy metal reds. Liverpool’s Egyptian talisman, Mohammed Salah when asked who he would like to meet in the final said Real Madrid, a sentiment shared by most of his teammates.
Thibaut Courtois saves a shot from Mohammed Salah
However, it wasn’t to be for the English club as a man of the match performance from Real Madrid’s Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois kept them out of goal long enough for Brazilian starlet, Vinicius Junior to hit them with the sucker punch in the 59th minute.
The nine saves from Thibaut Courtois marked the most saves in a Champions League final on record since the 2003-04 Final.
With famous Galacticos like Raul, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo De Lima watching on, Real Madrid held on to their solitary goal to win the game. Their 14th Champions League title in 17 finals, both of which is a record.
This is football heritage.
