The Sheriff's players celebrate the victory before the astonished gaze of real Madrid fans and footballers at the Santiago Bernabéu (Credit: JAVIER SORIANO / AFP via Getty Images)
(CNN Spanish) -
A "Sheriffazo", said some media.
"Historic surprise", others.
"Shotshot", they headlined in the Catalan press.
The mighty Real Madrid was defeated 1-2 in the Champions League at home to the Sheriff, a team unknown to much of the football world and which arguably represents the antipode of Real Madrid in European football, although it is dominant in its local tournament.
The surprise victory in Madrid
The Sheriff took the lead in the 25th minute with a goal from Djasur Yakhshibaev.
Karim Benzema drew a penalty after 65 minutes of play (which became the first player to score in 17 consecutive seasons of the Champions League and with that score he surpassed Raúl to be the fourth all-time scorer of that tournament).
But Sebastian Thill left everyone speechless at minute 90 when he scored the winning goal, assisted by Adama Traoré (not to be confused with the Spaniard of the same name who plays for Wolverhampton).
Yakhshibaev is Uzbek and Thill is Luxembourgish, two countries with little football weight.
Sheriff Tiraspol beat Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu with this pearl from Thill.
Barcelona rests.
pic.twitter.com/FIhFcLCSB0
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- Teo Coquet (@TeoCoquet) September 28, 2021
Where is the Sheriff from?
The Sheriff is a team from Tiraspol, the second largest city within the official borders of Moldova (a landlocked Eastern European country, in the middle of Romania and Ukraine) but in a disputed territory: the city remains in Transnistria, a state that is not recognized by any sovereign nation.
For reference, it is only slightly larger than Rhode Island, the smallest state in the United States.
In 1990, Transnistria declared its independence from Moldova, a former Soviet republic, after a two-year war after the fall of the Soviet Union, supported by Russia, which however never recognized them as an independent state.
This is a young team: it was officially founded in 1997, according to its website.
He plays in the Moldovan national league (the National Division) and currently ranks third in the table.
It is the current champion of the National Division and is the team with the most championships: 19. It has six consecutive titles.
It currently has six Latin Americans on its squad: Colombians Danilo Arboleda and Frank Castañeda (the captain), Brazilians Cristiano, Fernando and Bruno, and Peruvian Gustavo Dulanto.
The technical director is the Ukrainian Yuriy Vernydub, who has lifted trophies with Shakhtyor Soligorsk in Belarus and with the Sheriff last season.
It is the first time that the Sheriff has qualified for a group stage of the Champions League (it is the first Moldovan team to do so).
The main sponsor gives the name to the team: Sheriff is a Transnistrian corporation that has companies in different economic sectors.
The comparison with Real Madrid
In contrast, Real Madrid is the team with the most titles in Europe, it is in the process of a millionaire remodeling of its historic stadium (the merengue team returned to that venue in the Champions League this Tuesday after a year and seven months, and with the fans there after pandemic restrictions) and is currently the seventh most valuable computer in the world, with a market value of 793.5 million euros, about US $ 926 million, according to Transfermarkt data.
It features some of the most expensive players in the world, such as Casemiro, David Alaba, Eden Hazard, Benzema, Vinicius Jr., Federico Valverde, Thibaut Courtois, and Eduardo Camavinga.
Its technical director is Carlo Ancelotti, winner of the Champions League with Milan (twice) and Real Madrid and a local multi-champion in several countries.
With information from Chiara Diomede
Real Madrid