Real Madrid’s UCL hero Dani Carvajal eyes passing legendary Paco Gento: ‘Why not dream of getting another?’

LONDON – Dani Carvajal may have carved out a place for himself in European Cup history on Saturday, but just over an hour after the final whistle at Wembley, Real Madrid’s winning goal was already thinking about clearing Paco Gento’s legendary mark.

Carvajal was one of four Real Madrid players to win a sixth Champions League title on Saturday night, with the veteran right-back’s second-half header putting the Spanish champions on course for a 15th victory overall. Six of them have occurred in the last decade, all of which ended with Carvajal, Luka Modric and Nacho claiming winners’ medals. Toni Kroos added five to his wins at Bayern Munich in 2013, and his career at the club ended with the highest of records with a 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund.

This record of success puts this iteration of Real Madrid greats ahead of those who established such a formidable history for this club by winning the first five European Cups from 1955 onwards. Gento, who passed away in 2022, was present in all of these triumphs, in addition to the victory over Partizan in 1966.

The medals of its six winners seemed, for a long time, to be beyond the reach of anyone, even those who implacably believed in Real Madrid that, whatever the circumstances, they would win. Now Carvajal dreams of adding a seventh.

“I am very happy to join this select club,” he said. “Every time we get a [more] It’s going to be increasingly complicated to take the registration away from us. We know how difficult it is. I’m very happy to play all six in the club’s first XI of my life.

“If I could talk to Paco Gento I would say that it seemed impossible to join this club. Of course, why not dream of getting another one? Whatever the future holds, we’ll see.”

Carvajal may not be the most ornate name in Real Madrid’s dominance of this tournament, but both Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane have come to rely on his veteran intelligence. Whether that makes him a legend is perhaps not a question he should address after the greatest moment of two decades with Real Madrid. The 32-year-old, however, offered a suggestion on how his legacy could be cemented. “Maybe I should give up like Toni did,” he said.

“People who know me know that I work every day… When the majority of the team tells you that you deserve it, you end up believing it. You see what that means, when you are aware of hard work you get that reward. It’s a lot good .”

Carvajal’s goal, his second in the Champions League, proved to be the decisive moment in a hard-fought game. Borussia Dortmund had the better of the first half, but the Real Madrid right-back had a chance to turn the game in his team’s favor, heading close to the post, over Gregor Kobel’s crossbar.

He made no mistakes when another opportunity arose, making the most of Nacho’s block to get ahead of Niklas Fullkrug and respond to Kroos’s free-kick with a powerful header. His manic energy betrayed his inexperience as a goal celebrator, but it was that same energy that meant a 5ft 7in right-back could tower above everyone else to score the winning header.

“I just ran to celebrate. Inside I was very angry, saying I’m here. It’s not just about height. You need to be there, jump to catch the ball, show determination and sometimes shorter players can also score from head.”