REAL MADRID
Real Madrid’s ‘sextet’ adds more to Ancelotti debate
They have won all six titles in 475 days, the shortest period in the club’s history to do so, but the manager’s future remains in doubt.
“Hala Madrid! Hala Madrid!” shouted Carlo Ancelotti at two o’clock on Sunday morning, as he left La Cartuja. Smiling, unleashed. Savoring a night that put out the flames of a fire in which he has been living for months. It didn’t burn; rather he danced in it, to the rhythm of Ciudad Jara. Like he knew that time arranges everything - or at least a lot - in its place.
“Critics? If we win the Copa, in two years we will have won how many, in a lifetime,” he slipped in at the beginning of April. Then it sounded like a puzzle; now it fits perfectly.
Ancelotti has won a ‘virtual Sextet’ in 475 days. It’s historic: Madrid has never lifted all six trophies in a shorter period of time.
Ancelotti adds Madrid’s number six in record time
It all started on January 16, 2022: the Spanish Super Cup, a final won against Athletic (2-0). After eliminating Barça in the semifinals, Modric and Benzema added the finishing touches in Riyadh. Four months later, on April 30, the 35th league title came around, with a dominant display against Espanyol (4-0).
Next, the jackpot: the Champions League of miracles with Liverpool, won on May 28 in Saint-Denis (1-0). From there and skipping towards the summer, the remaining three arrived. On August 10, in Helsinki, Madrid snatched the European Super Cup from Eintracht (2 -0). And on February 11, the Club World Cup against Al Hilal, in an unorthodox final: 5-3.
And that left the Copa del Rey final facing Osasuna - again having disposed of their Catalan rivals in the semi-final - on Saturday, May 6, and they prevailed 2-1. Six titles, in 475 days. It will not be considered a pure ‘Sextet’, but it is certainly not something that should be ignored.
Real Madrid’s ‘6′ in 475 days
| Date | Qualification | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 16, 2022 | Spain Super Cup | Athletic | 2-0 |
| April 30, 2022 | LaLiga Santander | Spanish | 4-0 |
| May 28, 2022 | Champions League | Liverpool | 1-0 |
| August 10, 2022 | European Super Cup | Eintracht | 2-0 |
| February 11, 2023 | Club World Cup | Al Hilal | 5-3 |
| May 6, 2023 | Copa del Rey | Osasuna | 2-1 |
Is Ancelotti’s future at Madrid?
Above all this is about Ancelotti, and this adds another few chips to the table where his future is being discussed. He had been repeating for months that his intention was crystal clear: to stay at Madrid until they kicked him out. From his point of view he would stay his whole life. The problem was always that where the ink has dried, his contract expires in 2024 and with this season’s league long since lost to Barça, the buzz over a possible summer exit has intensified.
The Italian maintained: “My future is written: until 2024,” turning a deaf ear to everything else, including the siren songs that came from Brazil. Real Madrid, Real Madrid and Real Madrid. It was almost a fight and although at times he gave signs of weakness, now his opponent’s elbow is flush with the table. Because nothing was more devastating than the words of Florentino in Seville: “He has a contract for one more season and we are delighted with him.”
Ancelotti, thanks to the Copa, seems to risk his future less now against Man City in the upcoming Champions League semifinal. The situation has changed and his strength suggests that except for a debacle - an embarrassing elimination that would transform the scenario by decree - he will continue next season. A continuation at Real Madrid until 2024, staying in that future that was already written down.
“Contracts are to be fulfilled and I want that with mine,” he said at the beginning of the year. Ancelotti can now say that he has brought the six titles to the Bernabéu in 475 days. No one has ever achieved it in so little time. In fact, few survived the buzz of an announced goodbye.
With that, he is also on his way to making history.