How Carlo Ancelotti ended Real Madrid’s 12-year wait for La Decima

Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane waved goodbye to Real Madrid as three of the most decorated and successful signings in the club’s illustrious history.

But they were not preordained to lift European trophy after European trophy. There was a time, in the not too distant past, when there were serious questions to be asked of Florentino Perez’s second Galacticos project.

In the summer of 2009, Perez returned for a second stint as president after three years away.

Under Ramon Calderon, Los Blancos won back-to-back league titles (the first and only time they’ve done so since the legendary Quinta del Buitre side of the 80s won five in a row) in 2006-07 and 2007-08, reasserting their domestic dominance at a time when Barcelona were European champions and Sevilla were a serious force to contend with.

Madrid were back on top in Spain, but still some way off regaining the European crown that defines the club. After winning three Champions League titles in five years between 1998 and 2002, there was a sharp and stark decline; a semi-final exit, then a quarter-final exit, then, unthinkably, six successive eliminations at the first knockout hurdle.

The 2008-09 campaign – Pep Guardiola’s first in charge of Barcelona, ending with the first treble in the history of Spanish football – saw Juande Ramos’ Madrid humiliated by Rafael Benitez’s Liverpool at the Round of 16, with a 1-0 home defeat followed by a 4-0 mauling at Anfield.

Midway through that season to forget, Calderon resigned after a controversial and deeply unpopular reign, defined by his failure to deliver top targets like Ronaldo and Kaka. The presentation of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar in January 2009 – 12 days before Calderon’s resignation – was met by chants of