Real Madrid and the Obsession of the 10th European Cup

 Zinedine Zidane's spectacular winner in the 2002 Champions League final provided an iconic moment for Real Madrid.

Ever since, the worldwide horde of Madrid fans have been looking forward to the day they could celebrate their landmark 10th European success. 'La Decima' ('The 10th') has never strayed far from their thoughts.  More than a decade later, they are still waiting and the yearning has grown into an obsession which makes Arsenal's recently concluded gap between trophies look like a mere mild hankering.

Therefore, ahead of Saturday's Champions League final against Atletico Madrid, Real are precariously teetering with one foot on the edge of glory and the other on the verge of immense disappointment.

In the high-pressure and extreme environment of the Bernabeu, at the most glamorous and hype-ridden club in the world, there is no middle ground.

Win, and the current Los Blancos crop will be hailed as milestone-marking legends; lose, and they will be castigated as inexcusable failures.

Win, and their poor finish to the league campaign - where they finished third behind Atletico and Barcelona - will be retrospectively excused as a period of physical and mental preparation for an even bigger prize; lose, and it will be condemned as the ill-fated onset of careless sloppiness.

Saturday 24th May 2014 - 19:45 - The Winner will emerge!!!