Twenty-four years have passed since the new century, and it is close to a quarter. During this period, the landscape of European football has undergone very big changes and ups and downs. Among them, Real Madrid, as a representative team of Europe's top giants, has experienced several highs and lows, which is difficult to describe. In fact, 2000 was a milestone year for Real Madrid, after Florentino came to power, he focused on building a galaxy battleship, and Real Madrid has since become synonymous with luxury.
It can be said that since Figo came to the Bernabeu, Real Madrid's stardom has hardly been broken. Of course, this is not to say that Real Madrid did not have superstars before 2000, but that the superstars are not the same, which will be emphasized later. Since 2000, Real Madrid's results have been high and low, both experiencing the gloom of the Champions League and the glory of the Champions League three times in a row. So, in the past 24 years, when was the darkest period of Real Madrid's stardom?
Is it the era of the Champions League? Although Real Madrid's results were mediocre at that time and the players' state was unstable, to be honest, in the first half of Sixteen Lang, Real Madrid still had the framework of the Galaxy Battleship, and Zidane and Da Luo were in the team. So, Zidane and Da Luo, what kind of standard can be used to summarize their superstar quality?
European Footballer of the Year.
As mentioned earlier, a superstar is not the same as a superstar, you could say that Hugo Sanchez was a superstar back then, but he was not European Footballer of the Year after all. Of course, at that time, the European Ballon d'Or was not open to non-European players, but even if it did, it would be difficult for Hugo Sanchez to compete with the likes of the Dutch Three Musketeers and Mateus. So, European Footballer of the Year, you can verify the quality of the superstar. From this point of view, in the past 24 years, the period when Real Madrid's star has been the darkest, there is an answer.
The second half of 2018.
Let's start in 2000 and look back. In 2000, Figo moved to the Bernabeu and became European Footballer of the Year at the end of the year. Therefore, since the end of 2000, Real Madrid finally has another European Ballon d'Or player after more than 30 years. Next, the Galaxy Battleship continued to expand its scale and specifications, Zidane, Ronaldo, Owen and other Ballon d'Or players came one after another, Real Madrid didn't care about the results at that time, the lineup was absolutely against the sky.
The first knot, appeared in 2006. After the 06 World Cup, Zidane retired, and Real Madrid's superstar color was greatly reduced. Of course, Real Madrid still has Da Luo at this time, although Da Luo's form has declined seriously. And the real continuation of Real Madrid's European Ballon d'Or bonus is Cannavaro, who came to the Bernabeu after the 06 World Cup. Of course, Cannavaro was not European Footballer of the Year when he arrived, but at the end of the year. However, because there was Da Luo in the formation at that time, it was not broken.
Cannavaro played until the summer of 2009 and left. At that time, Da Luo had already gone to Milan. This is the second juncture, just when Real Madrid is facing the absence of the European Ballon d'Or, Kaka's Cristiano Ronaldo and the two gods are airborne at the Bernabeu. Unlike Figo and Cannavaro who came for half a year to win the award, Kaka and Ronaldo came directly with the halo of the Golden Globe Award. Although Kaka left after not playing for a few years, because Ronaldo has been with Real Madrid for ten years, during this period, Real Madrid's Ballon d'Or has been provided by Ronaldo. As long as he is there, Real Madrid will have European Footballer of the Year.
Well, let's look at the most crucial part, after the 17-18 season, Ronaldo went to Juventus. It was also from the summer of 2018 that Real Madrid finally ushered in the break of the European Footballer of the Year. Yes, at the beginning of the 18-19 season, by the end of 2018, there was no European Ballon d'Or in the Real Madrid team.
At the end of 2018, Modric won the European Ballon d'Or, and this tradition of Real Madrid has been interrupted for half a year and has been continued again. After that, Benzema also won the award. Although Benzema is gone, it doesn't matter, as long as Modric is still there, this tradition of Real Madrid will not be lost.
To sum up, in the 24 years of the new century, the second half of 2018 is the only period when Real Madrid has not had a European footballer in the team, that is, the period when the stars are the darkest.
However, in the next few years, Real Madrid will usher in the break of the Ballon d'Or, and the duration is unknown. Luka Modric will leave sooner or later, and it is difficult to say which young player will win the Ballon d'Or after the Mero era. Perhaps, if Real Madrid wants to continue this tradition, it can rely on Bellingham and Mbappe, who is about to come.