After such a storied history, and just after winning the long elusive tenth European championship, "La Decima," it must be especially hard to be a Real Madrid fan for the past two seasons. Immediately after reaching the pinnacle of European soccer, they sunk back into their definition of mediocrity. It should be noted that their medicrity is finishing second in the domestic league and reaching the semifinals of the Champions League.

They've gone through a couple coaches, come up trophyless, been disqualified from their domestic cup competition and have failed to attract the big name "Galatico" signings. Things have gone so far against them that they failed to bring in Spanish international and Manchester United goal keeper David de Gea due to clerical error. This after a summer long saga where all sides knew that de Gea would be headed to the Spanish capital.

However things have reached a head this season. They have failed to win in either of their debries, against Atlético Madrid and Barcelona, dropping points over the weekend to cross-town rivals Atlético. Moreover, of the top six teams in the La Liga table, Real Madrid have failed to win against six of them, their only win a 3-1 defeat of upstart Celta Vigo.

Things reached a boiling point after their loss at the Bernabeu Saturday, with star Cristiano Ronaldo publicly criticizing his teammates talking to the press. Ronaldo quipped, "If all the rest of the guys were at my level, then we'd be top of the league right now." This coming after Ronaldo missed two shots in front of goal, one with only the goalie to beat.

Not unexpectedly, the Portuguese star has beared the brunt of heavy criticism, having since backed off his comments. Although he is not the only one feeling the heat, with Zinedine Zidane already heeding calls for his firing not even two months into his tenure. Supposedly there is interest in Athletic Bilbao's manager Ernesto Valverde, rumors which Valverde dismissed when asked. 

This on the heels of a draw against Málaga - whom they also tied with in the previous match - and an unconvincing win over Roma in Champions League match on the road. And the timing could not be worse, as they host Roma in Madrid this week for the second leg of their match up. Luckily they are up two goals, but with they way los blancos are playing, its likely they stumble again and fail to generate any momentum to see them though to the final.

Things are crumbling in the Chamartin neighborhood of Madrid, it may be best to blow the whole thing up and start from scratch. But they would concede and willingly step back, which is not the Madrid way.

Image via: https://www.flickr.com/photos/39844802@N08/13872188295/in/photolist-n8QAhg-9gaF62-btXy55-kDS3Rn-bGRYwM-nEKW7N-btXgDf-6jTaWQ-8vpEhQ-2ZZEub-6yKjt-6yQx2-7y7biM-6jNYYZ-6jNZjT-8vpAxA-bGSbkZ-btXBUb-8LvHdu-8vpAH9-bGRp4i-btWvtU-71ftqN-8LsFur-nG9wcf-3URku-7p8DGS-nh6C1c-8vmzUa-7uKBaz-nsiJHg-aTqNJ4-7UzFSq-8vmxna-8LsGsF-biAFC8-ab8R3-nwsnP2-9gdSkA-9DdqzU-yhhy7A-7UDHoa-rkYr5Z-2nkBh-9gaJ7B-rFkUG3-ehki5e-8Xszq5-8LsxWB-59R2kx - See more at: http://seattlesportsinsider.com/blogs/soccer/champions-league-starts-bac...