Losers aren’t remembered, no matter what the story.
Had Atletico Madrid won their first Champions League trophy in Lisbon last night, everyone would remember them and the incredible season they have had, how they could have won the double; La Liga and the Champions League. But no, they will go down as La Liga Champions and nothing more; there is no prize or recognition for effort in football.
What makes the defeat much worse for Los Rojiblancos isn’t just that it was to their city rivals Real Madrid, but that the 4-1 scoreline does them no justice at all.
That they were leading until the 93rd minute of normal time, and still level with just 10 minutes of extra time remaining tells the story of a team with a desire to hang on and win, to snatch victory in the most unlikely of circumstances. Hope from very little.
It is very much the story of Madridstas; the wealth of Real against the hard-working, more down-to-earth Atletico, who by even reaching the final and winning La Liga have exceeded expectations, and manager Diego Simeone said at the celebration of his side’s La Liga title;
“This triumph tells us something much more important. If you believe in something, if you work for it… Si, se puede.”
That translates as “yes, you can”.
At the start of the match fans will have been discussing how their side were potentially 90 minutes away from being Champions of Spain and Europe, and they would have been correct. But what so often happens is that teams forget there is always more than 90 minutes. Perhaps that is also something Simeone forgot when deciding to take the gamble on starting Diego Costa.
In the world of ‘ifs’, ‘buts’ and ‘maybes’, if Costa had not started and not had to be replaced early on, leaving Simeone with another substitution to make to see the game out, might his side have had that final bit of strength and fitness to prevent Sergio Ramos from powering home that header?
Down at the wire is where reality comes into the game, and no matter how much belief and inspiration a manager like Simeone can give you, it is the wealth that can buy you the quality that wins matches like this, the top facilities to accompany that, and the best staff to support it all.
From the start, even if the quality of Los Galacticos’ stars wasn’t on show, their fitness levels were. Despite still having an outside chance of winning the title, it was obvious Carlo Ancelotti had this match as a priority once he and beaten Munich in the semi-finals, so over the last few weeks he could afford to rest players he felt necessary and they certainly looked the fresher.
In stark contrast, a trip to Barcelona on the last day in a ‘winner-takes-all’ showdown saw Atletico take all, including key injuries to Costa and Arda Turan.
The adrenaline may have carried them so far last night, but ultimately it was the physical superiority that won out as Real finally hit fifth gear just in time, and that quality emerged just when it was needed after numerous fruitless attempts.
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| Simeone's firey personality translates to his team |
With so much at stake to add to what is already a fierce rivalry, it was no surprise to see 12 yellow cards given out by referee Björn Kuipers - who I thought had an excellent match - however Simeone’s behaviour after Real’s 4th goal, the Ronaldo penalty, may have been passionate, yes, but unnecessary, and he is likely to face disciplinary action by UEFA.
Not even drama like that will make people remember Atleti come 10 years’ time, unless of course they reach another final, or there is an updated DVD of “Football’s 100 craziest moments”, which leaves me to conclude by saying,
“No, Diego, no se puede."
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