The European champions arrived at the goddess in an open bus after their visit to the City Hall
Martínez-Almeida: “Real Madrid is the icon of this city”
MADRID, 2 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Real Madrid completed its triumphant walk through the streets of the capital this Sunday with its traditional visit to Cibeles, after completing the institutional events at City Hall, where thousands of people entertained the brand new European champion.
With the sun already setting, the architects of the fifteenth Champions League, achieved on Saturday at Wembley against Borussia Dortmund, made an appearance in a square that was packed, like all its adjacent streets, for several hours before. From the City Hall, which followed the visit to the Community of Madrid, they left in an open bus that increased the festive feeling.
The white team could feel the warmth of the people crowded along some of the main arteries of the capital, through Alfonso XII, Alcalá, Colón and Recoletos until reaching Cibeles. The Real Madrid coach, Carlo Ancelotti, repeated the photo of him with the cigar and sunglasses, as he had promised, and around 9:30 p.m., somewhat late than scheduled, the expedition arrived in Cibeles.
The club’s anthem and the ‘champions, champions’ was the welcome, until the protagonists took the walkway raised at the fountain. The captain, Nacho Fernández, was the first to speak. “Thank you very much for the welcome. It has been a spectacular season, seeing everyone’s happiness is the best thing that can happen to us. This Madrid is incredible because it achieves incredible things, we never tire of winning,” he said.
Afterwards, the microphone went from hand to hand, although for the most part, Dani Carvajal, Lucas Vázquez or Vinícius, for whom they asked for the Ballon d’Or, went to sing songs that the fans followed. Again, as on the balcony of the Community in Sol, Toni Kroos was among the most acclaimed, in his farewell to the club after ten seasons and 23 titles, supported by his teammates.
The German, in addition to thanking “the love of ten unforgettable years”, pointed to Fede Valverde as his successor at number 8 and the Uruguayan did not hesitate to reciprocate. Luka Modric also dedicated himself to singing and Ancelotti ‘pushed’ Arda Güler to say the four words that he knew in Spanish. The coach was also brief: “Thanks to you, 90 minutes at the Bernabéu are ‘molto longo’.”
After chanting ‘Hey Jude’ by the Englishman Bellingham and, surely, seeing the delay in the programming pending arriving at the Santiago Bernabéu for the final fireworks, the show began to come to an end. Nacho climbed to the top of the Cibeles to wear a flag and a scarf, and lift the ‘Champions’ trophy, later accompanied by Modric, Carvajal and Kroos.
The players gave a lap of honor to the goddess, thanking the affection of the people who packed the area with many hours of waiting. The laughter, photos and jokes continued on the bus, once again on the way to the Bernabéu, with the ‘We are the Champions’ that had greeted them at the City Hall headquarters.
Before going to visit the goddess, the European champions made their last institutional stop there. The president of the club, Florentino Pérez, and the captain, Nacho, delivered a replica of the ‘Orejona’ and two shirts, one of them dedicated by the entire squad, to the mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida, who corresponded with the figure of a menina.
Martínez-Almeida, who suffered jokes from several players for his red and white Atlético de Madrid colors, presented Nacho, Carvajal, Kroos and Modric, the four active players with six European Cups, with a book titled ‘Madrid in white’ .
After the broadcast of a video with moments from the final against Dortmund, Martínez-Almeida spoke. “What you have achieved in the last ten years is heroic and a feat. You bring us the fifteenth European Cup with the most successful president in the club’s history. Thank you for astonishing the world,” said the mayor.
“Real Madrid is a family and that is one of the keys to your success. One of the brothers-in-law took us to London and the other has allowed us to win this cup. It is as amazing to win 6 European Cups in ten years as the naturalness with which you win. Real Madrid is the icon of this city,” he added.
Afterwards, it was Florentino Pérez’s turn to speak who highlighted the “values” of the white team. “The response to what Real Madrid does has to do with values such as work, sacrifice, the desire to improve or solidarity. We came here just a few weeks ago with Liga 36 and we promised that this team was going to try all their strength to win the fifteenth European Cup,” he said.
“We offer this new Champions League to all Real Madrid fans and also to all Madrid residents. When you ask how what Real Madrid does is possible, the answer is obtained in these values that have to do with work, sacrifice, desire. of self-improvement, humility, respect or solidarity,” he added.
The last to speak was Captain Nacho. “We are here again, mayor, and we are very happy. We promised and what we promise, we keep. Families, like this great club, achieve their dreams and we are here to fulfill them,” he stated, with the closing of the event in a family photo before leaving for Cibeles.