Marcelo thinks that his Real Madrid career is far from done, but even if it is, he will be remembered as one of the club's legends.
Marcelo has a tattoo on his left leg, right above the knee and hidden until he ties his shorts. His skin is tattooed with a picture of the European Cup. Below are four numerals, four years, and four historical moments: 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018. There's just enough place for one more, which could come in useful when Real Madrid's captain plays his final game for the club on Saturday night, and it's yet another European Cup final. There's one more date to meet.
He's not under any kind of duress. Oh, wait, that's right, he is. When Marcelo was told on Tuesday afternoon that he's a guy who never seems to feel worried, he replied, "Eh? What? "Who told you that?" you might wonder. Then he laughed again, but this is serious, and he is serious. There are always expectations and pressures, he remarked, and the fact that he has been to four Champions League finals doesn't change that. "In a final like this, that means nothing," he insisted. "We've had to virtually die on the pitch in every final, and this will be no different." We have to put our hearts and souls out there."
That is, if he makes it onto the pitch. Marcelo started against Espanyol a fortnight ago, leading out the team that had just won LaLiga, and came on against Real Betis on the final weekend, but that was more of a reward than a requirement: a chance to say goodbye to the Santiago Bernabeu, which stood and applauded him when he was introduced and the captain's armband was slipped over his arm for the last time.
His start against Espanyol was only his seventh in LaLiga this season. In the Champions League, he has only played 99 minutes in three appearances as a substitute. It's not just this season: he's appeared in the league 15 times, 16 times, and 12 times in the last three seasons. Isco wished Marcelo a happy birthday on social media when he turned 34 in May, along with a snapshot of the two of them on the pitch together. Isco remarked that it was difficult to find a picture of us playing.
Santi Solari, Zinedine Zidane, and Carlo Ancelotti were all of the opinion that Marcelo was no longer the top choice, if not even the second. Sergio Reguilon, Miguel Gutierrez, and Ferland Mendy have all been given a shot ahead of him at left-back for some time now. When he was unavailable, others were deployed in his place: David Alaba, Nacho, and even Eduardo Camavinga. Marcelo's participation has dwindled, as has trust in him.
It's been easy, to be honest, to forget that Marcelo was still there, and even to wonder how he was still there. There has been a weakness with him there, as evidenced by the stats. He won't be for long. He could have left sooner, but his career comes to a close here, in another final.
Does it, or does it not? Because, while everyone else believes the end has arrived, Marcelo refuses to believe it. It hasn't always been simple to handle Marcelo's decline: despite Ancelotti's claims that he hasn't had any dressing room issues this season, Marcelo has come as close as anyone to having one. He mainly accepts his role, despite his desire for more, but assimilation has been difficult, and he opposes requests for extra time. One of his Champions League outings was against Chelsea, which is worth highlighting. He came on with Madrid 3-0 down and out, and the game ended 3-2, with Madrid winning.
His contract is nearing to an end, and he has had no offer to extend it, but he would prefer to stay: even if it meant a lower pay, a minor role, perhaps even partially pastoral, despite his desire to play. He was talking this week about sitting on his couch at home one day in the future, watching these youngsters play and thinking to himself, "They're good." He's also considering his part in getting them there.
But not just yet. He has postponed, or attempted to postpone, his departure. He's had the impression that the club is drawing to a conclusion his time with them when he's not willing to leave, and he's not happy about it. There was a wonderful moment during the Betis game when Joaquin ran at him; looking at the shot, it might have happened at any time since 2007. But there was no formal farewell after that game, not least because he doesn't believe it is a farewell at all. "Do you know what's going to happen tomorrow?" he said this week when asked what would happen next.
"No."
"Neither do I. "Thus..."
"Do you have any clue what you're looking for?"
"Yes. I'm quite sure I know what I'm doing. "I'm pretty sure I know what I'm doing."
"Are you sure you want to stay?"
"I've told you 50,000 times, but you're going to find out."
Whatever occurs, the final will take precedence. It's his fifth year.
Marcelo didn't start the first of them because Ancelotti thought Fabio Coentrao was a better option, but he came on after an hour and scored. He described it as "an eruption of delight." "I'm not sure what it is; it's difficult to explain." In five seconds, a film from your childhood plays in your thoughts. It's insane." He played every minute in the other three, scoring in a shootout in Milan in 2016. He'll be fit, but it's possible, even likely, that he won't play a minute in Paris because he didn't show up for training at the start of the week.
Which makes dedicating these sentences to him a little strange, but if this is to be the end, it is a moment worth commemorating. We're talking about Real Madrid's all-time best left-back.
At this point, some of you may be putting your foot through the screen. Some of you may scream, "No, we're not!" After all, this is the club where Roberto Carlos used to play. You might possibly be correct. But the fact that the case can be made at all proves the point. Marcelo's impact is evidenced by the fact that he is mentioned alongside Roberto Carlos, the guy he had the daunting burden of replacing and nevertheless succeeded in doing so. Returning to his leg:
Four European Cups have been won.
That surpasses Roberto Carlos. Marcelo has also played 546 games to Roberto Carlos' 527. Karim Benzema is the only foreign-born player to have appeared in more games for Real Madrid. Marcelo is in his 16th season, and you don't get those every year. (Even if his critics might have felt that way at times over the last couple of seasons.) "I live in the moment," he says, "and this is one of them: to have spent so many years at the best club on the planet." There have been 38 goals, 103 assists, and numerous medals awarded.
If Paco Gento wins on Saturday, he will become the only player in the world to have won more European Cups. Marcelo had already passed Gento in major prizes — there was a wonderful moment not long ago, a peek of Marcelo's pride, when he and a radio interviewer fought about whether the two were genuinely level or if he was in ahead. Unlike others, the club and the radio reporter had included The Small Club World Cup from 1956. Marcelo's frustration revealed how much he values history and his legacy.
If you win on Saturday, there will be no more dispute. In any case, he has 24 trophies to his name, including six league championships and four European Cups. No one has ever had more in Madrid's history. If this is to be the final chapter, it is a milestone that should be commemorated.
It's not only the numbers that define a legacy, though they do help to establish a case. It's all about his style of play. The method, as well as the temperament. The feeling that this was something to be enjoyed, despite the fact that this is a serious industry where having fun is frowned upon. It's as if you're not supposed to grin or enjoy yourself. Marcelo questioned that, he refused to conform, and that is something to be proud of. It's not like he's a traditional aggressive full-back who flies up the flanks. Coming inside, getting a touch on the ball, and being a five-a-side player were all part of his game. It was entertaining and unique.
As if attacking, being creative, is a crime, players like him are scrutinized in ways that the dependable full-back is not. The line is a liability. True, there are moments that can be simply delineated and grasped upon, written down, and used against him as evidence.
"I go, I go, I go, and sometimes I forget to come back," he said early in his career, and it's a great line. But you have to make a choice, and he was the right choice for more than a decade at the most rigorous club in the world. You don't achieve what Marcelo has if you aren't an excellent footballer, a man who consistently improves games, and if you aren't serious and competitive. If you are unable to defend yourself. Above all, if you are unable to play, Marcelo did. You don't get to games like this, the most important of all. Marcelo is getting ready to play his fifth game.
This season, Ancelotti has emphasized the importance of pessimistic defenders who expect the worst. Marcelo had always been a positive person. Take a look at the hole he made in his leg.
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