Every Christmas, Real Madrid's management invited the players, coaches, and staff from the football and basketball departments to gather together for a Christmas banquet, adjusting the date according to the fixture schedule.
Because Real Madrid had to travel to Morocco this year for the FIFA Club World Cup, the club's Christmas luncheon was scheduled for noon the day after the Champions League Group Stage match. The venue was the Hall of Honors at the Bernabéu Stadium.
The trophies that had originally been displayed were put away, and the display cases were moved aside. The enormous Hall of Honors was set up for the banquet.
Whenever people mentioned Real Madrid, they often thought only of football. In reality, Real Madrid's basketball team was quite strong as well, but in terms of influence around the world, football was clearly far ahead of basketball.
Every year at the Christmas luncheon, Real Madrid invited a renowned Spanish chef to take charge. Chefs from Spain and even across Europe considered it an honor to accept Real Madrid's invitation, while Juan's Home Barbecue Restaurant was the chef Real Madrid invited to every banquet.
Besides the players, coaching staff, and employees, members of management and the Board of Directors were also present. Everyone gathered joyfully, and the atmosphere throughout the banquet was extremely lively.
Real Madrid's results this season were plain for all to see. They had staged a comeback to take the lead in La Liga, topping the table by two points. Barcelona sat in second, Atletico Madrid had fallen to third, while Sevilla and Valencia had repeatedly dropped points after November began and had long since lost their momentum.
That was also a serious problem for mid- and lower-table teams: they lacked staying power.
Put simply, their benches lacked depth, and their squads were too