What it’s like to play at Real Madrid’s Bernabeu fortress on a Champions League night

“I remember the emotion was amazing with our fans in the stadium, very high up in the third tier of the stadium,” former Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini tells The Athletic, of the night at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu when his Juventus team eliminated Real Madrid in the 2014-15 Champions League semi-finals.

“My brother was there too, lots of people from my family, and I celebrated with them in the stand,” continues the now Los Angeles FC centre-back. “Also in the locker room afterwards with the team, we were very excited about the win. Because it does not happen every time. Usually you go back crying from the Bernabeu. But fortunately that time was different.”

That 2015 success makes Chiellini and Juventus one of the few teams to have been celebrating after a Champions League meeting with Real Madrid over the last decade.

Since Madrid ended their long wait for the ‘Decima’ European Cup in 2013-14, they have played 25 Champions League knock-out ties and gone through 21 times, often after stirring and dramatic ‘remontada’ comebacks at a noisy and heaving Bernabeu.

Within the last 16 months, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea (twice), Manchester City, Liverpool have all been eliminated by Madrid, and City are back there on Tuesday evening for a semi-final first leg.

Another with personal experience of visiting the Bernabeu on a big Champions League night is former Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Miguel Angel Moya.

“Everyone in Europe knows the worst team to draw in a Champions League tie, or especially in a final, is Real Madrid,” Moya tells The Athletic. “But, faced with this challenge, players will say, look lads, last year at the Bernabeu they knocked out PSG, City and Chelsea. And they are doing it again this year. But we have to respond, make sure that does not happen to us. City’s players know that playing Madrid will be their most difficult game possible.”

Back in 2015, Chiellini and Juve came to the Bernabeu to defend a 2-1 semi-final first-leg lead, against the Madrid side who had won the Decima the year before.

Before the game, coach Max Allegri predicted “95 long and interminable minutes”, and so it turned out. Cristiano Ronaldo scored an early penalty, but Juve rolled with the punches and Alvaro Morata’s strike kept them in control of the tie.

“I remember with pleasure the semi-final in 2015,” recalls Chiellini. “It was a beautiful game. It was tough, we suffered a lot because it is always very difficult to play against Real Madrid. I also conceded a penalty which they scored. But in the second half, Morata equalised. Over the two legs, in the end, we deserved to win. But also, when there is a game like that, you need to be lucky. Near the end, they might have scored a couple of times, it was the same for us also.”

Chiellini’s next visit was in April 2018. This time Juve had lost the first leg 3-0 in Turin, a game which featured Ronaldo’s memorable bicycle kick. In the days before the return, Allegri gave his players belief by predicting that, if they got one goal back, nerves from the crowd could help them.

Mario Mandzukic headed into the net after just 76 seconds, and by the hour mark it was 3-3 on aggregate. The game seemed set for extra time until Madrid were awarded a penalty in added time, which Ronaldo converted.

“A few days before, Allegri started to tell us to believe,” Chiellini says. “Maybe it could happen, and don’t worry. If we score, they will struggle. And everything he said happened during the game. We scored early, and managed the game. Our mistake was to think it was finished. Then a small mistake, positional mistake, doubts, and unfortunately we lose. But it was one of the greatest games I played with Juventus.”

English referee Michael Oliver whistling the debatable penalty enraged Juve on the night, with Juve goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon red-carded before the kick was converted by Ronaldo. Asked if match officials can be influenced by the Bernabeu atmosphere, Chiellini remains diplomatic.

“I think it was a 50-50 call,” says Chiellini. “But you have to think of the importance of the game. It could be a penalty in the first game of the regular season after 10 minutes, but maybe not in injury time in a Champions League quarter-final. But in the end, it’s done. (Oliver) is a very good referee. He was an assistant in the Euros (Euro 2020) and I told him I apologise for our attitude after the game. He could understand, especially with our disappointment, our sadness.”

Another team to thrive in unlikely circumstances at the Bernabeu were Bundesliga side Schalke. A member of the team who came to the Bernabeu for a 2014-15 last-16 second leg was Christian Fuchs, who would later win a Premier League title with Leicester in 2016, and is now a coach at MLS team Charlotte FC.

“After losing the first leg 2-0 at home, we were the clear underdogs,” Fuchs says. “The expectations were minimal, which gave us freedom in how we approached the game. We started on the front foot, and confidence grew over the game. We began to believe we could make something special happen.”

Fuchs himself increased that belief by cracking a shot past Madrid keeper Iker Casillas to open the scoring on the night. The former Austria international says that for many opponents the chance to play at the Bernabeu and do something special can be an extra motivation.

“The moment when the ball hit the net was very emotional,” Fuchs says. “A youth coach told my team back then that one day he wishes one of his players would play in the Bernabeu and score a goal. I called him right after the game.”

The early goal set in motion a helter-skelter game. Schalke led on the night three times, but Madrid scored when they had to through Ronaldo and Benzema to progress 5-4 on aggregate. At times the 4,000 visiting German fans were making more noise than the Madrid supporters.

“It was extraordinary,” Fuchs says. “The atmosphere was electrifying. We were able to turn the crowd on their own team. And even though we didn’t progress into the next round, we celebrated the win with our travelling fans. It’s a night I will always remember.”

Moya’s debut for Atletico was at the Bernabeu, in a Supercopa de Espana game that finished 1-1. He was also part of Los Rojiblancos squads who won there in both La Liga and the Copa del Rey, but Real always had the upper hand in the Champions League.

Diego Simeone’s side were edged out by their neighbours in the 2014 final in Lisbon and 2016 decider in Milan, while in the other two seasons the Bernabeu legs were decisive.

“I don’t believe in coincidences,” Moya says. “We always tried to make it tactically a difficult, tough game for Real Madrid, with a very organised defence, trying to take advantage of set-pieces and counter-attacks. But the personality, character and quality of Madrid’s players comes through in the Champions League. Even in Milan, Madrid had sufficient personality to know how to manage the shoot-out better than us.”

In the 2015 quarter-finals, Madrid’s Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez scored the only goal of the tie with just minutes remaining in the second leg.

“I remember those games as lots of tension, lots of emotion,” says Moya, who was on the Bernabeu bench that night. “Watching you have a lot more nerves. On the pitch, you can control the situation more, so your heartbeat is more relaxed. It is your city rival, a Champions League tie. Arda Turan’s sending off made it even more difficult, but derbies are like that.”

The 2017 ‘derbi’ first leg was not so tense, as Ronaldo headed Real in front early, then completed a hat-trick late in the second half.

“Maybe we did feel deja vu,” Moya admits. “In the end, we players are not machines. We are people, with emotions, and feelings. So when Cristiano scored, it is impossible for these things not to pass through your head. It’s happened again, it’s just not going to happen for us. But you have to fight against that feeling, and the team did not drop off.”

The story has been repeated again and again over the last 15 months, but there has been less drama this season as Ancelotti’s experienced side have comfortably managed to progress against Liverpool and Chelsea to return to the last four for the 11th time in the last 13 years.

Chiellini says that rival players are well aware of Madrid’s record in the competition, even when (as this year) they are not having a good season domestically in La Liga.

“It is special to play in the Bernabeu because Real Madrid has a particular legacy with the Champions League,” he says. “They are very able to turn a not-beautiful moment in the Spanish league into an amazing performance in the Champions League. We all remember what happened last year, they conceded in all three knockout games, were almost out, but at the end, they reached the final, and they won another trophy.

“Real Madrid have a good fanbase, but it is not always 80,000 fans with their team to the death. The atmosphere for the Champions League is different. But more than the Bernabeu fans, or the narrative, or the history, it is the players who are decisive. The very best players, like those at Real Madrid, are formed in games like these. How many of these types of games has (Toni) Kroos played, or (Luka) Modric, (Karim) Benzema, (Thibaut) Courtois, (Dani) Carvajal? Or Casemiro, Cristiano, (Sergio) Ramos when they were there? These are players who have played Champions League finals, World Cups, European Championships. Madrid have an advantage due to their players’ experience.”

It can help Madrid when rival teams decide they want to show their quality and class and look to open up and attack at the Bernabeu, Moya says.

“Chelsea this year did not have the responsibility of other seasons, they have been having a difficult season in the Premier League,” Moya says. “But if Man City or Bayern come to the Bernabeu, like PSG last year, they want to take them on as equals. (City) will have moments when they are even dominating the game and the possession. But Madrid are among the best teams in the world in knowing how to come through difficult moments. That is when their players like Modric, Kroos and Benzema do not feel any pressure. They are able to show their very best version of themselves, which is what makes Real Madrid special, in my opinion.”

Chiellini’s Juventus were one of the very few teams to deal with that pressure and turn it back on Madrid. He also says the key to coming through a big night at the Bernabeu is to be ready for those key moments in games when it seems all is going against your side.

“Teams have to defend, but it is not just defending,” says Chiellini. “You have to be prepared that everything could change in a few moments. Remember last year Paris Saint-Germain won 1-0 at home and were winning 1-0 in Madrid. They were dominating Madrid, creating a lot of chances, (Kylian) Mbappe seemed unstoppable. Then in 15 minutes it all changes. A small mistake, in this stadium, and they punish you. They have the players, they have the history, they have everything. So Manchester City, in order to win in Madrid, have to be perfect. But they can do it.”

Few opponents know as much or talk as much about Madrid’s relationship with the Champions League as City manager Pep Guardiola. As a coach, Guardiola has taken teams to the Bernabeu four times – he won 2-0 with Barcelona in the 2010-11 semi-final first leg, but lost 1-0 in the 2013-14 semi-final first leg when at Bayern Munich.

With City, his team won 2-1 at the Bernabeu in the 2019-20 last-16 first leg on the way to eliminating Madrid, and last season they brought a 4-3 advantage to Spain but were knocked out 6-5 on aggregate.

The Catalan has talked up Madrid as ‘kings of the European Cup’ before previous visits. Moya is not sure that is the best message to send to his own players ahead of a visit to the Bernabeu.

“Guardiola has a difficult job, to choose his approach, and Plan B if needed,” Moya says. “The message from Guardiola, and how his players take it on, will be crucial. City’s players are used to playing these games, but have not yet reached the record of those at Madrid. Now we will see how City handle it, whether they have learned their lesson, whether they are able to eliminate Madrid.”

Chiellini laughs when The Athletic asks if, as one of the few rival players to have success at the Bernabeu in the past, he has any advice for Pep or City.

“I cannot give advice to the best coach in the world, and also they are a very amazing team,“ he says. ”They are doing very well this season, it was not easy to overcome Arsenal and lead the Premier League. I really will enjoy this game as a football fan. Anything could happen in this game.”

(Top image: Photos: Getty Images; Design: Eamonn Dalton)