Real Madrid looking for change in fortunes at San Siro

Real Madrid will be hoping that some of Gareth Bale’s magic at Giuseppe Meazza stadium will rub off on the rest of the team when they face Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final at the stadium tomorrow.

A victory would be the club’s first-ever win in Milan after 14 previous attempts. 11 of those were Champions League matches, eight of which Real lost and three of which they drew.

When Bale played for Tottenham, Inter Milan beat the London club 4-3 in a 2010 Champions League match. But he remembers that visit fondly – he scored all three Spurs goals.

“I don’t know about Real Madrid’s history at the San Siro, but it’s not important, the club’s history in that stadium, as it’s in the past,” Bale said to Marca newspaper. “I have fond memories of the San Siro. It’s a good one for me.”

It was at San Siro that Real suffered their worst defeat in the Champions League’s European Cup competition – a 5-0 loss against Arrigo Sacchi’s AC Milan on April 19, 1989.

No Real player has played as part of a visiting side and won at the San Siro. Luka Modric was on the bench when his former club, Tottenham, won 1-0 at AC Milan in the Champions League in February 2011. Injury kept Bale from featuring in that game. But Real captain, Sergio Ramos, is confident his team will give the club the San Siro victory that has proved so elusive.