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Let's be real right now: things aren't looking good for Real Madrid. Starting central midfielder Luka Modric is likely out for the season, attackers Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale are both hurt and will miss varying degrees of time and creative dynamo Marcelo is suspended. To top it off, the biggest game of the season is in sight against inner city rivals Atletico Madrid while other rivals Barcelona are two points ahead in the standings with an almost clean bill of health. It's pretty easy to see why some view Madrid's title chances as grim, to say the least.
Knowing this, the club and some of its fans have decided to call for more fan support in this critical time in two ways. First, the club is calling for fans to take to the streets to greet the team bus on the way to the Santiago Bernabeu. The idea is for the crowds to gather near the Plaza de los Sagrados Corazones as the team drives by to show their support for the players. Secondly, there will be an a capella version of the Decima hymn sung prior to kickoff. The first verse will by played over the PA system and will then drop out for the fans to sing it without accompaniment.
Ideally, this show of fan support will give the players the boost needed to overcome a very difficult hurdle in Atletico Madrid and the remaining games left on the schedule. While I'm not someone who's big on the impact of these kinds of activities, or at least social media ones such as the remontada hashtags prior to the second leg against Atleti in the Copa del Rey, I am big on fans being actually vocal during games and making the Bernabeu a pressure cooker. Hopefully, we'll see the Madrid faithful show up in full voice to show Atleti's players that their home crowd isn't the only one to fear in La Liga, especially if Madrid jumps on their rivals with an early goal.
