Diego Simeone is admired by players for his motivational skills above anything else, but it’s hard to know what he can say to Atletico Madrid before they step out onto the Metropolitano pitch. You’d forgive him for thinking about a moment from the same fixture when he couldn’t say anything at all.
That was the minutes after Atletico’s first meeting with Real Madrid in the modern Champions League, which was of course the 2014 final in Lisbon. There was only silence from the coach. The actions had said enough, about both clubs. Of course, when it came right down to it, mere seconds from Atleti’s first ever Champions League trophy, Real Madrid scored a 93rd-minute equaliser. It had to be like that, the richer neighbour always going one better. Madrid won 4-1 in extra-time. “It was a lovely thing we had in our grasp,” Simeone eventually said in the post-game press conference.
.png?w=600)
