Seeing Real Madrid lift the Champions League for a record 12th time reminded me of the days I spent religiously watching their every move.
As a kid, I marveled at the ability of David Beckham. I loved his passion and performances for England and Manchester United. Whenever United were on TV – despite not being a fan of the Red Devils – I’d make sure I was watching so I could see Beckham’s latest showing. His surprise move to Real Madrid in 2003, fortunately for me, came at a time when Sky Sports were starting to show a real interest in Spanish football.
That only grew with Beckham’s high-profile move. Every Real Madrid match would be showed on English television – and so began my fascination with the famous white shirts. It was the era of Madrid’s Galacticos – Zidane, Carlos, Figo, (the original) Ronaldo and Raul - joined of course by Beckham.
It was thrill a minute – and Beckham seemed to fit in perfectly. At the time, he was England captain – and even more surprisingly he was soon joined by the Three Lions’ vice-captain, too.
Michael Owen - who watched on in Cardiff as a pundit to see Madrid defeated Juventus at the weekend – made the switch from Liverpool to Madrid a year after Beckham’s move. He was at the peak of his powers as England’s leading striker and one of Liverpool’s greatest ever Youth graduates with more than 150 goals to his name.
Unfortunately for Owen, the move to Madrid didn’t quite work out. But it’s far too easy to write him off as being a failure in the Spanish capital – and very easy to forget just how it went for him.
Despite all of the big name stars, it was a lean spell for the Bernabeu club with no trophies for four years from Beckham’s arrival. Owen lasted a single trophyless season, but personally it is harsh to criticise his own contribution.
For me, having Owen to watch every week (or not as it turned out) as well as Beckham, only heightened my obsession with Madrid. Owen’s one season at the club ended with 16 goals in 45 games. Forgetting the modern standards set by the likes of the Portuguese Ronaldo and his great rival Lionel Messi, it’s not a bad return of a one goal in less than every three games. But when you consider how many starts Owen made, it’s an even more impressive return.
Politics played a frustrating part in Owen’s time at Madrid. Raul was the captain and darling of the terraces and could never be dropped, while Ronaldo was the game’s superstar at the time – despite being past his best. With Madrid utilising a 4-2-3-1 formation, Owen’s chances of starting were limited.
But, after a slow start, he did his best to force the hands of whoever was actually making the selection choices. Although it took him until October to score his first goal, after that Owen hit seven in 11 games. When Ronaldo lost form, allied with the fact Raul never seemed to truly find his, Owen was still not given a run of starts.
Fittingly, his final game for Madrid ended with a goal, and he finished the season with the best goals to minutes ratio of any La Liga player. But Madrid chose to sign Robinho and Julio Baptista, and strangely Owen became unwanted. Mystifying really when his pace and finishing prowess frightened the life out of many of La Liga’s defences – check out his memorable goal, brilliantly linking up with Beckham, in a 4-2 El Clasico success against Barcelona.
In La Liga, Owen scored 13 times. He started just 20 games, with 15 substitute appearances. Sure, with Figo, Zidane and Beckham in the side, chances weren’t hard to come by – but it’s a goals return easily forgotten. It helped him get the notoriously difficult Spanish press, and hard-to-please Madrid fans on his side. So much so that his departure after just one year – another surprise when he pitched up at Newcastle United – was met with dismay by both fans and press.
That tells its own story. Owen’s later career was blighted by injuries robbing him of what seemed a clear run at breaking Sir Bobby Charlton’s long-standing England goals record long before Wayne Rooney took his place as England’s number one goalscorer. It has made it easy, in particular for the modern fan, to forget just how good a player the one-time teenage sensation was. And even easier to forget the impact he made in the famous all-white strip.
