Tonight, Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund see the faces in the quarterfinals of the New Club World Cup that is played in the United States. Although the context has changed and the names also, every time both teams face, the memory of a tie that was recorded over fire in white memory returns strongly. This is that 2013 Champions semifinal, when the Bernabéu roared like never before, but it was not enough.
It was April 2013. Real Madrid, then directed by José Mourinho, obsessively pursued 'the tenth'. He had more than a decade without winning the Champions League, and that edition seemed conducive. The team was consolidated, with Cristiano Ronaldo at his best, a brilliant Özil, an unbalanced Di María and a center of the iron field with Xabi Alonso and Khedira. But along the way a Borussia Dortmund young, rebellious and explosive, led by one Jürgen Klopp that was redefining German football.
Lewanodwski.
The first leg, played at Signal Iduna Park, was an earthquake. Madrid was beaten as never before. The absolute protagonist was Robert Lewandowski, who signed one of the most impressive individual performances in the history of the Champions Semifinals: four goals against a stunned Diego López, who had taken the relief of Casillas under the sticks by Mourinho's decision.
The 4-1 left the Madrid knocked out. The only respite was the goal of Cristiano Ronaldo, who seemed to give life to the return. But the Germans had been a whirlwind. Each transition from Dortmund was a knife. Gündogan dominated the medium, Reus and Götze sowed chaos, and Lewandowski did not forgive. Madrid, surpassed in intensity, precision and mentality, went home with a mountain to climb.
An almost comeback
A week later, on April 30, Santiago Bernabéu lived one of those nights of electrical voltage. 80,000 souls pushing, dreaming of a comeback that seemed impossible. Madrid needed three goals to force the extension. And for 82 minutes, the score did not move.
But the game was another story. The white team, unlike the first leg, came out with the soul. From the initial beep overturned over the Weidenfeller area, which began to multiply under sticks. Higuaín had a very clear one, Özil failed a hand to hand, Cristiano was also close. The Dortmund resisted. Every minute that passed it seemed one more brick on the wall.
.
Time was exhausted, until in the 83rd minute Benzema appeared. The Frenchman, who had entered from the bench, pushed an assistance from Özil to the network after a great collective play. The 1-0 unleashed the frenzy in the Bernabéu. Only three minutes later, in 88 ', Sergio Ramos scored 2-0. The stadium trembled. There were five minutes (plus the discount) and a single goal separated Madrid from the feat. But it did not arrive. The Dortmund knew how to resist the last siege.
Madrid fell with honor, but also with a frustration that left its mark. Mourinho would leave weeks later, the tenth would have to wait one more yearand that group, which seemed destined for everything, stayed at the gates of their consecration.
Today, twelve years later, Madrid and Dortmund meet in American lands. There are no longer Lewandowski or Christian, neither Klopp nor Mourinhobut the historical weight of that tie still floats in the environment. Real Madrid, now with Mbappé, Vinicius and Bellingham as leaders of a new era, re -measured the team that left it without end.
