They called him Big Boots, too big for anyone else to fill. “Atlético Madrid are my life,” Luis Aragonés once said, and he was theirs too: the man that Fernando Torres, their favourite son, said “represents everything Atlético is”, and whose statue stands outside the Metropolitano. The coach that led them to the first division title in 1977 and, when they needed him most, to the second division title 25 years later, he managed them four times over four different decades, starting with an Intercontinental Cup triumph, aged 36. He was also a midfielder with a lolloping stride who won three leagues, two cups and appeared to have won the European Cup when his extra time free-kick beat Sepp Maier in the 1974 final. That was virtually the last of his 173 goals for the club, more than anyone else, ever.
Until now. Just before 11pm on Tuesday, 49 years later, Atlético got a penalty against Getafe. Álvaro Morata picked the ball up, but no one doubted who was going to take it. Antoine Griezmann had known this was coming and so had everyone else, if not exactly how. This way, he had time to think about the moment he had been waiting for, maybe even to fear it, but he knew where he was going – he had studied David Soria’s movements with Pablo Vercellone, the goalkeeper coach – and he also had support. “Luis Aragonés went to take it with him,” Diego Simeone said.
