Emotion Grips the Bernabéu at the End of an Era

Yesterday, the Santiago Bernabéu not only bid farewell to a lacklustre season for Real Madrid but also symbolically closed a golden era. Carlo Ancelotti, the most successful coach in the club's history, and Luka Modric, the player with the most trophies at Chamartín, said goodbye to a stadium that has seen some of the greatest managers and players, yet none more victorious than them.

At the Paseo de la Castellana coliseum, two illustrious final days overlapped. Neither Carletto will sit on the home bench again, nor will Luka captain on the pitch. It was a spring afternoon for memories and nostalgia, as denoted by the two tifos displayed at the start. One in the north end featuring Ancelotti with the inscription 'Thank you Carletto'; another in the south end with an image of Modric and the words 'Thank you Legend'.

In the centre of the field, a shirt with the number '10', the number that has further elevated the Croatian midfielder in recent years. And in the stands, standing for an epic ovation, countless banners, shirts, and scarves referencing two symbols of Madridismo, on the bench and on the pitch, saying goodbye to what has been their home for so many footballing days.

Carletto, who had already announced in his last press conference at Valdebebas his predisposition to tears, held his composure on the bench alongside his assistant and son Davide, who begins his solo adventure. At that moment, Modric sighed on the green. It was just before the minute of silence in memory of the recently deceased Rafa Rullán, who also captained, but in the basketball section in the seventies and eighties. The Croatian avoided tears before the match amid the emotion of family and friends in the box. However, he knew it was not just another of his 591 matches with Madrid, a record that makes the Balkan the foreigner with the most matches in the club's history.

The genius from Zadar let loose the moment the ball started rolling. His forte was always ball handling. As so often during his thirteen seasons at Chamartín, the '10' took the helm of a balanced duel.

Every time he appeared in the corner to take a corner kick, like that in Lisbon in 2014 which served Sergio Ramos the header that changed the fate of the Champions final, he was lauded by the Madrid fans. The crowd even asked him to take the penalty with which Mbappé, on the second attempt, climbed to the Golden Boot, but Modric, a born competitor, did not even consider disputing the penalty with the Frenchman, who had an important individual goal in mind.

"Modric, Modric," chanted the Bernabéu every time the ball touched Modric's boots. The match was consumed between Madrid's dominance and Marrero's saves, which kept Real in the game. "Carletto, Carlettó," echoed the stands, which also reserved a great dose of applause for Lucas Vázquez, very emotional when being substituted by Jacobo, likely closing a chapter that has lasted ten seasons.

The match was heading towards its climax when Mbappé further solidified his candidacy for the Golden Boot. With the game over, it was time to bid farewell to Modric. The match paused, and the other 21 players on the pitch formed a guard of honour through which the Croatian walked into history. At the end of the path were his wife, his three children, and a surprise, the presence of another Real Madrid legend, Toni Kroos, who walked the same path a year ago. The embrace with the German was the symbol of the end of an era. The best possible epilogue to a golden cycle.

An emotional and well-deserved tribute to a man who throughout his career has earned the respect of his own for his play, but also from the rest of football for his poise.