A former Real Madrid player took over as coach this season. Bernd Schuster had a brilliant campaign with Getafe and was the man chosen by President Ramon Calderon to renew the league title. New signings included Robben, Metzelder, Sneijder, Saviola, Pepe, Heinze, Drenthe and Dudek.
2007/08: First back-to-back titles in 18 years
27 May 2009
- David R. Anchuelo
Juan Jose Lopez Soto / Translation by Manuel Arcedillo
A former Real Madrid player took over as coach this season. Bernd Schuster had a brilliant campaign with Getafe and was the man chosen by President Ramon Calderon to renew the league title. New signings included Robben, Metzelder, Sneijder, Saviola, Pepe, Heinze, Drenthe and Dudek.
Real Madrid proved their quality right from the beginning of a tournament which some considered to be weaker than in past editions. The derby against Atletico came in Week 1 and the Madridistas won 2-1. They then grabbed a 5-0 away victory against Villareal and jumped to the second spot of the table. Espanyol was the first team to beat the Whites in Week 8, but the latter recovered and thrashed Valencia at Mestalla. On Matchday 17, half-way through the season, came the key encounter at Camp Nou. If Barcelona defeated Real Madrid they would narrow the gap to one point. The Catalans were feeling confident they could win and put pressure on the Madridistas, but Schuster’s men played one of the most serious games of the campaign and won 1-0.
From then on, Real Madrid kept leaving their pursuers behind and in Week 33 they were ten points ahead of Villareal and eleven ahead of Barcelona. No one doubted who was to become champion and the only question left was when it would happen. The first chance came on Matchday 34. Real Madrid defeated Athletic Bilbao but Villarreal won their game against Sevilla too. The next week, the Whites visited Pamplona to face Osasuna. A victory would give them the title. After half-time things started to go wrong; Cannavaro saw a red card and Osasuna scored the opening goal after netting the penalty. It seemed like Real Madrid would have to wait until the following week’s clash with Barcelona to claim the title, but first Robben and then Higuain turned the score around in just three minutes, giving Real Madrid their 31st league title.
SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Casillas, Codina, Dudek.
Defenders: Salgado, Pepe, Ramos, Cannavaro, Marcelo, Torres, Heinze, Metzelder, Drenthe.
Midfielders: Diarra, Gago, Guti , Baptista, Sneijder, Balboa.
Forwards: Raul, Soldado, Robben, Saviola, Robinho, Van Nistelrooy, Higuain.
Coach: Bernd Schuster.
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