Despondent and helpless, the Atletico Madrid bench could barely look on the field to see their city rivals celebrate a 92nd minute equalizer in the Champions League final. A shattered Thibaut Courtois picked up the ball from his own net, low on confidence and spirit, probably knowing that the game’s dynamics have shifted towards Real Madrid.
Atletico’s players had chased and worked hard to match their rich counterparts in all departments but the perennial underdogs failed to write a fairytale story that night. The spontaneous applause from the travelling Atleti supporters as Cristiano Ronaldo scored from the spot kick could barely hide their heartache, knowing that this was probably the closest they will come to a European glory in recent years.
Surrounded by debt and financial controversy, Diego Simeone has seen his nurtured players shine elsewhere all too frequently now. Diego Costa, Courtois and even Filipe Luis for a year jumped the ship to join Chelsea. ArdaTuran became the other big name in recent years to seek a move to greener pastures of Barcelona.
But such has been the story of the Colchoneros that time and again their commitment to invest in the right players, and stick by Simeone’s brand of football has seen the ‘second’ club in Madrid rise above all obstacles to break the hegemony of the two Spanish giants. Now once again they have the opportunity to rise to the very summit of European football.
Too often in the business that the sport has become, sustainability has become a big question for the financially distressed club. While Leicester City’s incredible rise to the top of the Premier League saw them earn a lot of plaudits, the bigger question now is whether the Foxes can maintain their stay especially while competing against the riches of the two Manchester clubs, and the London giants Chelsea and Arsenal.
Fairytale stories in the game haven’t had a very prolonged run. There have been instances for a season or two, but none have quite written the history books the way Atletico have under Simeone. Too often they have been underplayed but despite all the questions raised, they have time and again cleared off any air surrounding their status in European football.
The run in this season’s Champions League has probably been the toughest of all the participating clubs, but the team dressed in ‘Red and White’ has risen to the occasion to give even the likes of Barcelona and Bayern Munich much to ponder upon.
Such has been the nature of the club, that heading into the final at Milan, the majority consider Simeone’s side as the
front-runners for the title. Separated by a few miles and 10 European Cups, Atletico have been living under the shadows of their city rivals, but the time is right for them to be considered in the same bracket as that of Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Ahead of the game, Gareth Bale had mentioned how Real’s bigger stars hold the key coming into this game. While Atletico lack a poster boy in their side, what they certainly do not lack is a cohesive and strong group. The transformation of players over the years has been evident from the club’s recent success and one does not need to look beyond the success story of club legend Fernando Torres to seek inspiration.
“Wanted: A decent opponent as a derby rival” was the banner unfurled by the Real supporters a few years back, but times have changed and Atletico have converted themselves from mere pushovers to the noisy neighbors.
With seven wins in three years, they are Real’s serious rivals now. With the Europa League, La Liga, Copa del Rey, European Super Cup all bagged, the only trophy that now eludes the Argentine manager is the club’s first Champions League.
Real’s famous celebration spot the- Cibeles fountain, where the club has paraded ten European cups is a 15-minute walk away from the Neptune fountain- the home of the Atletico Madrid supporters, that still dreams of nights their neighbours have enjoyed. But Sunday evening could see an entire new story written not just in the history books of the Madrid derby but that of the European folklore as well.
This is a story of a side that has spent generations plotting moves to come out of the shadows of Real Madrid. They have fought the financial limitations and now are looking to fulfill the dream that evaded them in Lisbon few years ago.
Comments
0 comment