The 14-time European champions to put their retractable roof to good use even though rain isn’t forecast in the capital.
Real Madrid plan to show off their new retractable roof to close up the Bernabéu in this evening’s Champions League quarter final first leg against Manchester City. After a particularly wet and miserable Easter weekend, temperatures have risen - it’s a beautiful, glorious sunny day with clear blue skies in the Spanish capital with zero possibility of rain. So why have Madrid decided to seal their stadium?
Containing and amplifying the noise
Madrid have tried out their retractable roof on a number of occasions this season - in the league games against Atlético, Villarreal and Getafe. Firstly, to ensure that the mechanical system is in good working order and secondly, as a means of trapping the noise within all four walls and creating a more vibrant, louder atmosphere.
While there is no denying that it is an imposing stadium to play at, in terms of actual match atmosphere, the Bernabéu has always struggled to get the whole crowd rocking. Yes, it gets loud - especially after the club turned the Fondo Sur into a Grada de Animación in 2013, but nowhere near as boisterous as San Mamés, the Metropolitano or even the old Calderón. It’s improved, but sometimes, the atmosphere can be a little flat.
By closing the roof, the noise generated inside the stadium by the 80,000 home fans (and the 3840 City fans in the away end) will be amplified - lifting the home team and creating an intimidating ambiance for the visitors.
While Real Madrid are allowed to wind their roof back and forth as much as they want and whenever they like in the league, in European competition, the matchday rules are much stricter. The club first must be granted permission in writing from UEFA as most matchday organization, logistics and procedures are handled, or overseen, by the competition organizer’s own match delegate and their team of officials. The first time Madrid played under cover in the Champions League was in the last round against RB Leipzig.
In LaLiga and for domestic Cup games, the decision to open or close the roof is left with the club although they stress that games must start and end in the same conditions - ie. if the game kicks off with the roof closed, it must remain closed until the final whistle.
Closed roofs must stay closed
UEFA’s competition regulations state in Article 32. 01-02: “Before the match, the UEFA match delegate, in consultation with the referee, decides whether a stadium’s retractable roof will be open or closed during the match. This decision must be announced at the match organisational meeting, although it may subsequently be altered at any time prior to kick-off if the weather changes, again in consultation with the referee.
“If the match starts with the roof closed, it must remain closed until half-time or for the entire match. If the match starts with the roof open, only the referee has the authority to order its closure during the match, subject to any applicable laws issued by a competent state authority. Such a decision may only be taken if the weather seriously deteriorates. If the referee does order the roof to be closed during the match, it must remain closed until half-time or the final whistle”.
ESPN reported that Madrid sought permission from UEFA to play tonight’s first leg under a closed roof and received a positive response from the organization. With the go-ahead, Madrid were able to raise the roof, metaphorically and literally, against Guardiola’s City.