They are building a statue of the man as we speak.
As Cristiano Ronaldo has left Real Madrid, football fans in the Spanish capital have been looking for a new hero to fill the void.
They might have just found their man.
SIGN UP – WIN £5k BY PLAYING DREAM TEAM WEEKENDER THIS WEEKEND
It would appear that Kostas Manolas is the toast of Madrid after his antics against Barcelona in last season’s Champions League.
The Roma defender almost single-handedly sent Los Blancos’ bitter rivals crashing out at the quarter final stage of the competition.
In arguably the most dramatic turnaround in Champions League history, Roma somehow recovered from a 4-1 defeat in the first leg.
The result almost killed the club’s Twitter admin…
When the tie had looked done and dusted for Lionel Messi and co, the Italian giants had other ideas. Manolas in particular was going down without a fight.
A historic win was sealed by the 27-year-old’s header, an effort that knocked out Barcelona on away goals.
Although Roma went onto lose against Liverpool in their semi-final, the Greek defender had already done enough to earn cult-hero status in the Italian capital, as well as the Spanish capital.
Before Julen Lopetegui’s first Champions League game in charge, the Bernabeu crowd were keen to show their appreciation for Manolas.
They greeted the defender’s name being announced with a rapturous round of applause as they mocked their La Liga rivals.
Quite funny how they boo their own players, yet cheer others…
Manolas was however unable to produce any further heroics for Roma against Real Madrid.
Roma slumped to a disappointing 3-0 defeat in the opening group game, with Gareth Bale and Isco getting on the score-sheet.
The Greek defender probably endeared himself to the Bernabeu crowd even more after his performance last night.
No doubt he’s on the Christmas card list of every Real Madrid fan.
READ MORE FROM THE WEIRD AND WONDERFUL WORLD OF DREAM TEAM:
- Remembering when Shakhtar Donetsk had the best midfield in Europe for one year only
- F91 Dudelange are the only side you need to support in the Europa League this season
- How Olivier Giroud went from Ligue 1’s top scorer to the French Emile Heskey
WATCH: Love Of The Game: Leyton Orient (Episode 1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD3s7VgLHTI