Real Madrid’s tragedy came from the yellow card of Sergio Ramos in the first leg against Ajax, which prevented the captain from playing the second leg. This happened to David Beckham.
Sergio Ramos is probably very regretful for his “remove card” trick. Above all, the yellow card the Real captain must receive in the Netherlands in the first leg of the 1/8 Champions League round has harmed the home team. No 4 in the defense in the second leg, “Los Blancos” was beaten by Ajax with a score of 4-1.
More than a decade ago, a similar scenario happened with Real. On March 24, 2004, Real beat AS Monaco 4-2 at the Bernabeu in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Minutes 90 + 1, when everything was arranged, David Beckham received a yellow card from the referee Ľuboš Micheľ.
Media information that the British star wants to participate in the Champions League semi-finals, so he uses a trick to “remove the card”. With this yellow card, Beckham cannot play the second leg on the opponent’s field on April 6. Unexpectedly, everything happened unexpectedly, the former MU star.
Raul Gonzalez Blanco opened the scoring first for Real at the Stade Louis II, but Ludovic Giuly with a brace and Fernando Morientes’ goal then helped AS Monaco win 3-1. This result caused Real to be bitterly eliminated by the law of goals on the opponent’s field, although the final score was 5-5.
That day, Real coach Carlos Queiroz used Guti and Borja Fernandez to play in the middle of the field. Many Spanish journalists believe that the absence of Beckham greatly affects the game “Los Blancos”. Borja Fernandez’s class can never be compared with the British star.
After the loss to Monaco, journalist Juan Ignacio Gallardo accused Beckham of deliberately receiving a yellow card in the first leg of harming Real. He wrote: “In the 91st minute of the first leg, Beckham deliberately received a yellow card to ‘clear cards’ when entering the semi-final series. That evidence shows that Real are very contemptuous of their opponents.”
Sergio Ramos more than a decade later forgot that lesson and paid the price. In the first leg, the Real captain played very well, having more than 3 times successfully stopped the way to attack the ball and threatened the home team’s goal. Without him, the Real defense was torn to pieces by the opponent in 90 minutes of the home team’s defeat.
Coach Santiago Solari himself admitted after the game that Real missed Sergio Ramos. Marca newspaper shared the same opinion with the poor coach, who drove quickly off the field to avoid the ridicule and boos from the waiting fans. Meanwhile, Ajax makes good use of the hole left by Sergio Ramos.
According to ESPN journalist Gabriele Marcotti , Real lost heavily to Ajax because the opponent came to the Bernabeu with a fearless spirit. They realize that the opponent is too slow, not powerful enough to intimidate others, but has too much pride.
The most blameworthy is probably Sergio Ramos with a penalty card that harms the team. Being knocked out of the Champions League by Ajax, Real is considered empty-handed this season. Worth mentioning, that disaster happened in just 7 days.
