A Real Madrid of race
Laurie Cunningham was the first black player to wear the England shirt. He also played for Real Madrid between 1979 and 1983. A few years and many injuries that left a great taste in his mouth because he was able to leave the Camp Nou with a standing ovation after a 0-2 victory and in which he played a superb match. His life was a regrettable one from the day his two daughters and his sister-in-law were murdered in London. The black pearl, as she was nicknamed at the Bernabéu, never recovered and began to roll from one team to another until she died in a car accident in Madrid at the age of 33.
Before Cunningham it was Waldir Pereira, Didi, the first black player to sign for the team presided over by Santiago Bernabeu. In 1958 he arrived at Madrid, but the shirt weighed too heavily on him and he eventually faded away until he returned to Brazil.
The history of black players dressed as whites includes Anelka, Baptista or Drenthe, Congo or Freddy Rincón... all of them ended up contributing something to the white team during a brief period. They all added up, but separately. Never before has such a group of players pushed Real Madrid to the top of the table.
So far in the 2021-2022 season, Real Madrid is in the hands of a backbone of undisputed black players and others who happen to be the future of those who are. The physical strength of this type of athlete is commonplace. In basketball or athletics, the blacks outperform the rest, while in other sports, such as swimming, they are not so outstanding. Studies say that it may be their genetic predisposition that makes them better at some sports than others.
The fact is that Ancelotti's Real Madrid have Alaba, Vinicius, Mendy and Camavinga as their pivotal players. Without getting into deeper issues about genetics and skin colour, we can also highlight Militao, Rodrygo or Casemiro as teammates of this Real Madrid team that leads the standings without showing the signs of fatigue of other seasons. And in the middle of all of them are Marcelo and Mariano to complete a group of different players.
The numbers don't deceive. The data says that Militao, Alaba and Vinicius have played the most minutes in La Liga behind Courtois. Casemiro is also in that group with 20 games played, but with more substitutions.
The goal at Real Madrid belongs to Karim Benzema, but when the Frenchman is not on target, it is Vinicius who is the main driving force with 12 goals. Further behind are Alaba and Rodrygo with two goals and Camavinga and Mendy with one goal each.
Real Madrid have not suffered any sending offs this season. Their defence starts in a midfield with a lot of muscle where yellow cards are handed out cautiously to avoid red cards. Casemiro (6), Camavinga (4), Mendy (3) and Vinicius (3) are at the top of this list of cautions.
Other curious facts highlight Militao as the player who wins the most duels from a height and the Brazilian is the second tallest player with 186 centimetres to Courtois' 199. Alaba and Mendy are the players with the highest percentage of successful passes, with over 90% success rate.
It is chance, talent and the ability to invest in young players that have made it possible for this group of black players to perform at such a high choral level under Carlo Ancelotti. In Spanish competition, there are not so many teams with black players in their ranks. Barça and Getafe stand out with five and Alavés, Rayo Vallecano and Valencia with four.