It doesn't require much mental capacity to put oneself in the Norwegian's shoes in 2015. The label was already stuck on him as a football prodigy. The big clubs were chasing his signature. Real Madrid won that fight. The club that can unhesitantly call itself the world's largest, at least in terms of the number of fans worldwide and won titles (15) in the Champions League.
In the foreign – and probably intimidating – environment, the teenager was placed together with enormous expectations.
It was unreal. I was not old enough to drive a car, so my dad had to drive me to training sessions with Isco, (Cristiano) Ronaldo, (Sergio) Ramos, (Luka) Modric, (Gareth) Bale and (Karim) Benzema, as if he was dropping me off at school, said Ødegaard in an interview from 2023 that AFP reproduces.
Too much pressure
The development he and the club had hoped for did not come. He did not exceed eight league matches with Real.
I put too much pressure on myself and stopped playing with the spark that my game is built on. I worried more about not making mistakes. My game has always been about making a difference, trying to make the difficult pass.
After several loans from Real to other clubs, Arsenal bought him out in 2021. Now he has been the team's captain for a long time – and the one who leads the players in Wednesday evening's quarterfinal return in the Champions League at Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid.
Arsenal has 3–0 from last week's first leg to lean on, but will it be enough?
"Has everything required"
The statistics speak for it. Only four times before has a team managed to turn around a deficit of three goals or more.
But for Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid is not facing anything impossible.
Madrid has everything required for a comeback. We have the quality, the determination, the experience, the supporters. The resources are there. I don't know if we succeed in getting the result we need, but I am completely convinced that we will do everything to try, says Real Madrid's manager at Tuesday's press conference.
