Real Madrid legend Fernando Hierro believes the club’s search for a tenth UEFA Champions League title has become a “small obsession”.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side face city rivals Atletico Madrid in Lisbon on Saturday, a win over this years La Liga champions would earn them a tenth winners medal – also known as the La Decima.
Hierra was the last Los Blancos skipper to lift the trophy, it came in the 2002 final when they overcame Bayer Leverkusen 2-1.
“It could be that a small obsession exists now,” Hierro told Marca.
“12 years have passed now without winning one, and for Real Madrid 12 years is a long time.
“I think the true obsession existed in 1998, when we had gone 32 years without winning it.”
The 46-year-old acknowledges the weight of pressure now placed upon the side and hopes Saturday’s final could see them bring an end to the long wait.
“Generations of players and fans didn’t know what it was to win the European Cup. But then we won it and it was like being freed” he said.
“Because of this we also then won the eighth and ninth titles. Hopefully the same can happen again.
“I hope they can win La Decima and overcome this small issue.”
