The script, as ever, should have been written by the titans—record champions Real Madrid , reigning champions Fenerbahce , the perennial blue bloods—who have long dictated the league’s rhythms, year after year.

But so far? All established wisdom has gone up in smoke.

Heavyweights Falter

Let’s begin where upheaval is most visible: the demise, at least for now, of the old order. Los Blancos, typically clinical, supremely drilled, and never far from the summit, have stumbled to 10th. Under Sergio Scariolo’s stewardship, a side built on ironclad defense and surgical execution has lost both. The ball movement stutters. The edge is dulled. A power rarely seen adrift now floats in unfamiliar waters, undone by new faces and an identity crisis that has left even their most ardent followe

See Full Page