THE VITALS:

Team: Real Madrid

Brand: Adidas

Era: 2011-12

Name/Number: Ronaldo #7

CONDITION: VERY GOOD

This shirt comes to you in very good condition, however, its ten plus years of age are showing by way of the wear to the sponsor and the greying to plastic crest; the shirt material and name numbering however remain excellent!

DIMENSIONS:

Size: Medium

Pit to Pit Measurement: 20.5 inches

Shirt Length: 28.5 inches 

Made by Adidas in their ‘ClimaCool’ range of shirts which they introduced in 2011; this dimensions of this shirt (as per the fits of the time), suggest that this shirt may be better for someone who normally wears a size large; especially across the chest.

DESCRIPTION:

While the home strip was draped in Spanish royalty following the glorious white and gold ensemble that was crafted by Adidas for the 2011-12 season; the away strip – the black and gold alternative was almost devilish as a crew neck collar was used instead of the polo neck used for home shirt in what was the ideal successor to the third kit used during the 2009-10 season. This fantastic shirt would be worn in Real Madrid’s opening game of the 2011-12 season as they thwarted Real Zaragoza 6-0 away from home in a sign of what was to come for team in a legendary campaign where they would set La Liga records such as the most amount of goals scored (121) and the most superior goal difference ever recorded (+89) – racking up 100 points in the process as they ended Barcelona’s three seasons as Spanish champions! This shirt would remain undefeated when worn following its appearances against: Zaragoza, Racing, Espanyol, Malaga, Real Sociedad, Granada and Ajax. The 2011-12 campaign would also see future club legend – Raphael Varane join the club from Lens, while some of Europe’s brightest talents in the form of: Nuri Sahin, Fabio Coentrao, Jose Callejon also arrived while Hamit Altintop was also secured on a free transfer from Bayern Munich!

THE SEASON:

Jose Mourinho’s debut season in the Real Madrid hot-seat saw Los Blancos fall just short in the quest for La Liga as 92 points were still not enough to unseat Barcelona, meanwhile their arch-rivals also denied them a place in the final of the Champions League. They wouldn’t end the season empty handed however, as they would get a small measure of revenge against Barcelona when they defeated them in the final of the Copa del Rey to win the Spanish Cup for the first time since 1993!

Although the first eleven as mostly settled; Fabio Coentrao was signed for €30 million from Benfica, while the race for the highly touted Raphael Varane was won by Real Madrid as he arrived from Lens. There was also the astounding capture of Borussia Dortmund’s title winning captain – Nuri Sahin on a free transfer, while his compatriot - Hamit Altintop was also signed on a free transfer from Bayern Munich, while Jose Callejon was also signed from Espanyol. Making way would be: Ezequiel Garay, Pedro Leon, Sergio Canales, Fernando Gago and Roysten Drenth.

Coming into the 2011-12 season on a four match winning streak from the end of the previous season; the La Liga season started from Match-Day 2 and Real Madrid travelled to La Romareda on 28^th August 2011 and defeated Real Zaragoza 6-0 with Cristiano Ronaldo netting a hat-trick to set the marker for the season ahead! Although they would see off Getafe 4-2 in their next out, they would be upset against Levante and then held to a goalless draw by Real Sociedad on 21^st September. This would set the stage for a monumental run of ten wins in La Liga with an aggregate score of 41-7! After securing that tenth victory when they defeated Sporting Gijon on 3^rd December; they opened a six point advantage over Barcelona ahead of the first Clasico of the season and a win at home over Barcelona would have likely seen the title won before the New Year! The 10^th December clash at the Santiago Bernabeu would see Karim Benzema open the scoring before the visitors pulled out a stunning 3-1 win! Still, it would not perturb Jose Mourinho’s side as they ended 2011 by defeating 6-2 away!

This would begin another eleven match winning of what formed part of an unbeaten second half of the season for ‘Los Blancos’! After Real Madrid defeated Real Betis 3-2 on 10^th March 2012; they were now ten points clear at the summit of the division with that 32^nd La Liga title seemed just a matter of when, rather than if. In a stunning turn of events however, Real Madrid would draw three of their next five outings, and on the eve of the El Clasico in Barcelona on 21^st April – the gap was reduced to four points with the winner of this showdown likely going on to win to the title! Jose Mourinho would secure his first ever victory at the Camp Nou when his Real Madrid side won 2-1 in their most impressive showing of the season! This win over ‘Los Cules’ would also be their first Clasico victory in La Liga since 2008! The champions elect would remain flawless in their remaining four games to win their first La Liga title since 2007-08! Moreover, they would also set a La Liga points total record of 100, and the most amount of goals scored ub a La Liga season - 121 and also record the most superior goal difference ever recorded +89!

Before their La Liga triumph; Real Madrid would engage in the season’s curtain raiser – a legendary pair of matches against FC Barcelona in mid-August 2011. The 1^st Leg at the Santiago Bernabeu ended 2-2, which set the stage for a wild 2^nd Leg that ended 3-2 in favour of Barcelona with David Villa, Mesut Ozil and Marcelo all getting sent off!

During their Copa del Rey defence; Real Madrid would make easy work of lower league - Ponferradina when they won 7-1 on aggregate before seeing off Malaga 4-2 to set up a quarter-final against Barcelona! The fourth and fifth El Clasico’s of the season would see Barcelona prevail 2-1 at the Bernabeu and then Real Madrid would come from 2-0 down to earn a 2-2 draw in the 2^nd Leg; however, it wasn’t enough as they bowed out to eventual tournament winners in the quarter final.

After a first appearance in the UEFA Champions League semi-final since 2003; Real’s quest to go one better began in Group D where they were drawn against familiar foes from the 2010-11 season – Ajax and Olympique Lyonnais and Dinamo Zagreb. Real Madrid would become the first team since Barcelona did in the 2002-03 season to win all six of their Group Stage meetings to win the group by 10 points!

They would be drawn against CSKA Moscow in the Round of 16 and after a 1-1 draw in the harsh cold of the Russian capital in the 1^st Leg – Real would well and truly put their Last 16 curse away for good by winning the 2^nd Leg at home 4-1. After APOEL’s stunning elimination of Lyon in the Last 16 – they would be drawn against Real Madrid with a place in the semi-final at stake. Real Madrid would win 8-2 on aggregate to set up a European Super-Clasico against Bayern Munich!

This would be their first meeting since the 2006-07 season and the added incentive was the 1^st Leg taking place at the sight of the final four weeks later – the Allianz Arena. Bayern would 2-1 thanks to a 90^th minute goal from Mario Gomez, however, Mesut Ozil’s away goal gave Real Madrid more than a chance to overturn the deficit in the 2^nd Leg. An explosive first 27 minutes at the Bernabeu saw Real Madrid lead 2-1 and the aggregate score would remain dead-locked until after extra time with penalties needed to decide who would take their place in the final! Astonishingly, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Sergio Ramos would all miss their spot-kicks as Bayern won 3-1 in the shootout!

The notable players that season were:

Karim Benzema, Gonzalo Higuain, Cristiano Ronaldo, Alvaro Morata, Jose Callejon, Jese, Mesut Ozil, Angel di Maria, Kaka, Xabi Alonso, Lassana Diarra, Nuri Sahin, Sami Khedira, Esteban Granero, Fabio Coentrao, Marcelo, Raul Albiol, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Ricardo Carvalho, Alvaro Arbeloa, Raphael Varane, Iker Casillas