It’s not just about their system suiting the players, either, but about them finally tapping into being one of the most recognisable clubs in world football.
Real have the ability of leaning on their name when it comes to strengthening their squad. Indeed, summer signing Caroline Weir has spoken about idolising Zinedine Zidane when she was younger, as well as her very first kit being a Real one when she was still in primary school. The Madrid team is littered with stars that supported the club when they were growing up, drawn in by the prospect of playing for a team they couldn’t turn down, an intangible that translates to the club being able to sign players many can not.
Indeed, that ability to sign some of the better players on the continent has seen them leapfrog most of the sides in Spain, not just those rivals outside of Liga F, weakening their competition in the process. However, while some signings like Weir and the inspirational Athenea del Castillo have been canny, Real have been guilty of just trying to sign good players without the bigger picture of how they fit together in mind. (If you follow the men’s team, that was also the issue with their long-heralded “Galacticos” policy.)
For example, anyone who’s been following Real Sociedad for the past five years could tell you that Nahikari García was a key part of their team and has attacking ability in spades, yet in a team that had also just signed Esther González, who scored 30 league goals the previous year, the two are struggling to gel. The good news for Madridistas is that, in time, the squad has continued to take a clear shape and the signings made over the summer make sense within what Toril is trying to do. It means they’re taking to the pitch with more and more competence as well as ability (and sauce).
Unlike this time last year, there is no need for Real to fear PSG, and although part of that is due to what’s happened in Paris, their own growth can’t be overlooked in their quest for European glory. So, while Las Blancas haven’t qualified for the latter rounds of the Champions League just yet, their rapid growth — combined with Florentino Pérez’s determination to have a women’s selection that is as competitive as the highly successful men’s side — suggests it’s only a matter of time before the women’s team have their own Champions League trophy outside the Alfredo di Stéfano as well.
