About 50,000 Real Madrid fans packed the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Sunday to celebrate their club’s record 10th European Cup after Real beat city rival Atletico Madrid 4-1 after extra time inSaturday’s UEFA Champions League final.
The celebration started with the team’s open-top bus cruising into Cibeles Square, where team captains Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramosdraped a club flag around the statue in the center of the fountain as Real does after every trophy win. The party continued later Sunday night at the Bernabeu, where a laser show and the chants ofthousands of fans honored Madrid’s players and coaching staff in a rock concert atmosphere.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti also led the crowd in singing a celebratory song that was recordedespecially for the occasion. Madrid had already recorded the song before ending its obsessive 12-year wait for “La Decima” with Saturday’s victory in Lisbon. Madrid’s players were then introduced oneby one.
“Thanks for waiting,” Casillas told the crowd amid chants of his name, before Cristiano Ronaldo took the microphone to lead a chant of “Hala Madrid,” a traditional rallying cryfor the club.