Dean Workman

Who needs to win the UCL more?

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The Uefa Champions League trophy

With both Liverpool and Real Madrid failing to pick up any domestic silverware, winning the Uefa Champions League (UCL) remains their only chance of glory, but who needs it more? DEAN WORKMAN explores.

The contrasting success of the two clubs in the modern era is stark to say the least. Since the inception of the Premier League in England in 1992, Liverpool have failed to match their famous success from the 1970s and 1980s.

In this time, the Reds have won two FA Cups, four League Cups, one Uefa Super Cup and one Champions League, but have famously not won a league title since the 1989-90 season. When looking at more recent times, Liverpool’s last trophy was the League Cup back in 2012.

Real Madrid, however, are the most successful side in European history. They have won a historic 12 Champions League titles, winning the competition three out of the last four seasons. They also became the first side to defend a European crown since AC Milan (1989-90) and the first side to do so in the Champions League era.

Los Blancos now stand on the verge of an unprecedented third consecutive UCL title, with only the Merseyside club standing in their way.

But who needs the trophy more?

Liverpool’s desire and need for a trophy is apparent. For a club of Liverpool’s size, waiting this long for success is just not good enough.

They are undeniably one of the biggest clubs in the world with a passionate supporter base spread across the globe. A win in the Champions League this weekend would go a long way to remind those fans of the glory days gone by, while also offering hope that they could be returning.

At the start of the season, it would have taken a brave fan to predict that Jurgen Klopp’s men would be heading to this weekend’s final, but now that they are here, they have an opportunity to write another chapter in their club’s famous history.

This opportunity will not be lost on the Liverpool players, who will undoubtedly feel the pressure of playing for club football’s biggest prize.

Madrid, on the other hand, face a very different type of pressure.

The mandate for any manager at the helm at the Santiago Bernabeu is simple: win. Unfortunately for Zinedine Zidane, this season has not gone according to plan on the domestic front. Real simply did not perform well enough in La Liga and their rivals Barcelona dethroned them, winning the title at a canter.

This failure, however, has largely been overlooked because of the side’s successes in the Champions League. Whenever it looked like a poor run in the league would threaten Zidane’s job, a good result in the UCL would calm the waters.

But what if Liverpool are victorious on Saturday evening? Would this see Zidane’s role at the club come under scrutiny? It seems implausible considering his success over the last few seasons, but this is Real Madrid and we have seen countless managers sacked even after winning a trophy.

The answer is simple: they both need to be triumphant on Saturday. Liverpool, however, have already passed expectations by being in the final, while Madrid are favourites to win the title and failure on Saturday may just prove to be the end of Zidane at the Bernabeu.

Liverpool and Real Madrid will do battle in the Champions League final on Saturday at the NSC Olimpiyskiy stadium in Kiev with kick-off scheduled for 8:45pm.