Maybe it's because of the club's financial difficulties or maybe it's because its traditional youth division philosophy is very clear. The truth is that Hansi Flick has once again put Carlo Ancelotti to shame.
These are Flick's powers...
Ancelotti's dissatisfaction with Real Madrid's youth division is as well known as the Barça manager's willingness to let in the youngsters from home.
As many as 12 players eligible by Luis De la Fuente for La Roja were put into play by Hansi Flick at Mendizorroza, nine of them as starters and only two foreigners: Raphinha and Lewandowski in the starting eleven.
And of the 12 eligible, 8 were from the youth division. This is the reality, even if sociological Madrid fans insist on classifying the white youth academy as the best in the world.
These are the players that Hansi Flick used in Vitoria against Alavés:
Iñaki Peña; Fort (Koundé, min. 67), Cubarsí, Iñigo Martínez (De Jong, min. 81), Balde (Gerard Martín, min. 81); Pedri, Casadó; Lamine Yamal (Ansu Fati, min. 67), Ferran Torres (Eric García, min. 6), Raphinha; and Lewandowski.
...And These are Ancelotti's
And what about Real Madrid? How did Ancelotti compete against Villarreal at home to stay within three points away from Barça?
One Ukrainian, two Spaniards, four French, one German, three Brazilians, one Uruguayan, one Croatian, one Englishman and one Turk. And only one Spaniard in the starting eleven.
This is how Real Madrid played against Villarreal:
Lunin; Carvajal, Tchoauméni, Rüdiger, Mendy; Camavinga (Militao, min. 71), Valverde, Modric (Lucas Vázquez, min. 90), Bellingham; Vinícius (Güler, min. 80) and Mbappé (Rodrygo, min. 71).
The Best Team in Europe, without Players from the European Champions
To top it all, Carvajal's injury leaves Real Madrid without representation in the Spanish national team. De la Fuente has no one to summon.
And the curious paradox is that the European champion team does'nt have a single player from the European champion team.
Flick has opened Ancelotti's and Florentino Pérez's eyes. They can lead La Liga by three points with eight local kids. And they can play the same role in Europe as the current champion.
The excuse that you have to sign the best to win, wherever they are from, no longer works.
Having a sticker album is not the same as having a team, even if it's made up of kids who want to conquer the world.
And now we will hear the saying "this team is not ours and does not represent us."