Real Madrid become the kings of world football
Real Madrid arrived at the great Losail stadium in Qatar to play the final of the Intercontinental Cup against Mexican side Pachuca. And they did it without going through previous rounds or anything that could wear their players down even more. Directly to the final. That is how FIFA wanted it, and at no time did it think of discarding this trophy in the same season in which the first Club World Cup is played and in which Real Madrid could once again be crowned kings of the world.
The football business has these things and the white club is one of the great locomotives. In the iconic state where Mbappé lost the World Cup final to Messi there were 67,000 spectators. The empty stands of a venue that holds 89,000 people were noticeable, although most were cheering on Real Madrid because there were hardly any Mexican fans in attendance due to the almost 22-hour flight between the two countries.
FIFA took advantage of the run-up to the final to pay tribute to Real Madrid, and this time the Madrid club really let themselves be entertained. Vinicius and Ancelotti were the stars of The Best gala, but many other Real Madrid players were chosen in the FIFA Best 11. That certainly pleased the Casa Blanca, who decided to behave as is required of a club of their stature, whether or not they win an award, when invited to such events.
The Intercontinental started in September with Al-Ain beating Auckland City 6-2, continued in October with Al Ahly beating Al-Ain 3-0 and was rounded off in December with Pachuca beating Botafogo 0-3 and Al-Ahly 1-0 to reach the final against Real Madrid. Little sign for a historic tournament where Real Madrid won four titles and went down in history with those morning games where Raúl invented the aguanís.
There was no game against Pachuca. Vinicius made an excellent play to give away the first to Mbappé. This time, the Brazilian didn't look for controversy or send Pachuca to second place. He is another player out of Spain and that makes it clear where his future may lie if he continues in the same vein. Rodrygo scored the second with a shot from the edge of the area. Bellingham could have troubled the goalkeeper, but the VAR ruled this out and the Venezuelan referee put his basic English course into practice to announce over the loudspeaker that he did not see offside.
The third was scored by Vinicius from the penalty spot. A poor shot that the keeper was able to catch, but with enough power to go under his body. Pachuca hardly created any danger for Courtois. Rondón and Idrissi created no danger and Borja Bastón had no minutes.
Ancelotti etched his name on the Real Madrid name as the most successful coach ahead of Miguel Muñoz and Florentino Pérez can now look Santiago Bernabéu in the eye. Second title of the season out of the seven he has ahead of him for the first time in his history. In December he has the chance to win it all, although the hardest part of the first few months of the year will be the Champions League in January, with qualification still to be decided.