THE VITALS:

Team: Real Madrid

Brand: Adidas

Era: 2022-23 (Used for the 2022-23 La Liga season, 2022 UEFA Super Cup match, 2022 FIFA Club World Cup Final, 2022 Supercopa de Espana Final and the 2023 Copa del Rey Final)

Name/Number: -

CONDITION: EXCELLENT (BRAND NEW WITH TAGS)

This shirt is brand new with the tags applied, bearing no sign of whatsoever.

DIMENSIONS:

Size: Medium

Pit to Pit Measurement: 20.5 inches

Shirt Length: 29.5 inches 

Made by Adidas in their ‘AeroReady’ range of shirts which they introduced in 2022; the dimensions of this shirt may also be suitable for someone who wears a size large and likes a more snug fit.

DESCRIPTION:

Adidas reprised their original purple and white colour combination for their 24^th presentation of Real Madrid’s home shirt albeit with a hitherto used lavender shade after the deeper indigo and violet used in the 1998-00, 2000-01 and 2007-08 iterations. This home shirt would also see the return of the classic polo collar for the first time since the 2016-17 season and the shirt would also feature perforations on the underarms and the club crest subtly embossed into the main body. It was yet another marquee season for Real Madrid as the club won the Copa del Rey, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, whilst finishing as runners up in and La Liga and the Supercopa de Espana mini-tournament and came within just one game of being able to defend the Champions League title they won in 2022. This would be the last Real Madrid home shirt to worn by club legends – Casemiro and Karim Benzema who ended his decorated stay with the club after 14 seasons, meanwhile, Eden Hazard also retired from the sport at the end of the 2022-23 season and Marco Asensio also departed the club in the summer of 2023.

THE SEASON:

In his return to the Real Madrid dugout after six years - Carlo Ancelotti would surpass the feat of his legendary first season in charge of his first stint back in 2013-14 by winning La Liga, the Supercopa de Espana and delivering Real Madrid’s 14^th UEFA Champions League title when they defeated Liverpool in the Paris finale!

After the departures of Cristiano Ronaldo, Keylor Navas, James Rodriguez, Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos in recent years; the transition away from the all-conquering Real Madrid teams from the 2010’s continued as the trio of: Isco, Gareth Bale and Marcelo left the club after their contracts had expired in July 2022; meanwhile, Casemiro was also sold to Manchester United on 19^th August 2022. The arrivals conversely were strictly to bolster the defence as Antonio Rudiger arrived on a free transfer from Chelsea and Aurelien Tchouameni was signed for a reported €80 million from AS Monaco.

Real Madrid began the defence of their La Liga crown on 14^th August 2022 with a come from behind win away against Almeria in what was Casemiro’s final appearance for the club. Despite opening the season with three away games in a row; the triumvirate of – Almeria, Celta Vigo and Espanyol were beaten comfortably before home wins over Real Betis and Real Mallorca had Real Madrid leading the way with a 100% record after 5 games ahead of the Madrid Derby against Atletico on 18^th September 2022. Real Madrid would avenge their defeat at the Metropolitano last season by winning 2-1 to go points ahead of their city rivals. Although Real dropped their first points of the season in the 1-1 draw against Osasuna, they would reel off another 4 wins – including an impressive 3-1 win over FC Barcelona on 16^th October 2022 at the Santiago Bernabeu in yet another revenge victory from the previous season over one of their heated rivals! More importantly, the win would move them 3 points clear of Barca at the end of the winning streak against when they defeated Sevilla 3-1 on 22^nd October 2022. The last three games before the 2022 FIFA World Cup kicked off however would signal a run of 1 win, 1 draw and their first defeat of the season when they were stunned 3-2 away against Rayo Vallecano.

La Liga action resumed for Real Madrid on 30^th December 2022 and after defeating Valladolid 2-0; ‘Los Blancos’ would enter 2023 level on points with Barcelona, however, their first outing of the year would see them defeated 2-1 by Villarreal. The late winter was not kind to the champions as more points were dropped against – Real Sociedad, Real Mallorca, Atletico Madrid and Real Betis and at the conclusion of Match-Day 25 – Real Madrid were now 9 points behind Barcelona with the Camp Nou ‘El Clasico’ to be played next where anything less than a win would likely spell the end of their title defence. Although Real Madrid would take an early lead; the hosts would rally to win the game 2-1 in stoppage time. After a defeat to Villarreal at home on 8^th April 2023; Real had to worry more about Atletico Madrid chasing them for 2^nd place with Atleti now just 2 points behind them. Fortunately, their neighbours form was just as erratic as their own during the final quarter of the campaign. In the end, Real Madrid would finish in 2^nd place with a margin of just a point after Karim Benzema’s final goal for the club in his last appearance in a Real Madrid shirt helped secure a 1-1 draw on the final day of the season against Athletic Club.

The tone for 2023 would be set further after the defeat to Villarreal on 7^th January in the Supercopa de Espana. After edging past Valencia on penalties, Real would surrender the Supercopa title to Barcelona in the final on 15^th January when they were beaten 3-1 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The Copa del Rey however, would be the clubs high-point of the 2023 portion of the season as they ended a 9 year wait to lift to the Kings Cup! Cacereno were eliminated in the Round of 32, before Villarreal were beaten 3-2 after falling 2-0 down. A typically intense ‘Madrid Derby’ would go to extra-time on 26^th January, where Carlo Ancelotti’s side prevailed 3-1.

The semi-final would yield the 4^th and 5^th ‘El Clasico’s of the season, with Barcelona winning the 1^st Leg 1-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu. In his final ‘El Clasico’ Karim Benzema would deliver a performance for the ages as he netted a hat-trick in a stunning 4-0 win to set up a final against Osasuna on 6^th May. Rodrygo would prove to be the hero in the final as his brace helped ‘Los Blancos’ to a 2-1 win and become Spanish Cup champions for the 20^th time.

Real Madrid’s 2022-23 season would in-fact begin on 10^th August 2022 in the UEFA Super Cup when they met the winners of the 2021/22 Europa League – Eintracht Frankfurt. Goals from David Alaba and Karim Benzema would bring home their first piece of silverware for the season. With their 5^th Super Cup win, they tied Barcelona as having won the spectacle for the most times.

The FIFA Club World Cup was pushed back until February 2023 and Real Madrid won their 5^th Club World Cup title after comprehensive victories against Al Ahly of Egypt and Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia.

Finally, the UEFA Champions League defence began in Group F where they were drawn alongside – RB Leipzig, Shakhtar Donetsk and Celtic. The champions began with straight wins, and although their last three outings would yield a draw, a win and a loss; they would still achieve their target of winning the group.

Their opponents in the Last 16 would be none other than Liverpool – the side they defeated in the final less than a year earlier. The 1^st Leg would see Liverpool take an early 2-0 lead, before Real Madrid blitzed the hosts to win 5-2 at Anfield! The 2^nd Leg, three weeks later in Madrid would end 1-0 in favour of the hosts. Incredibly, their opponents in the quarter final would be Chelsea, whom they had also played in each of the previous two seasons. Unlike the dramatic heroics that were required to dethrone ‘the Blues’ in 2022; ‘Los Blancos’ would win 2-0 in each leg to reach the semi-final.

For the third time in four seasons, Real Madrid would meet Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. A 1-1 draw in the 1^st Leg in Spain left the 2^nd Leg hanging in the balance however, the Etihad Stadium would prove to be one miracle repeat too far as City won 4-0 to take their place in the final in Istanbul on 10^th June.

The notable players that season were:

Vinicius Junior, Mariano Diaz, Karim Benzema, Luka Jovic, Marco Asensio, Rodrygo, Eden Hazard, Lucas Vasquez, Aurelien Tchouameni, Luka Modric, Federico Valverde, Danny Ceballos, Toni Kroos, Casemiro, Dani Carvajal, Alvaro Odriozola, Jesus Vallejo, Eder Militao, Nacho, Eduardo Camavinga, David Alaba, Antonio Rudiger, Ferland Mendy, Thibaut Courtois, Andriy Lunin