This Saturday will see the 61stEuropean Cup Final contested in Milan’s San Siro stadium, and for the second time in three seasons it will be played between the two Madrid clubs. Fans of “Los Rojiblancos” hope it will be Atlético’s third time lucky, to capture the only trophy that has so far evaded them, having failed to win their two previous finals. On both occasions, they were stung by a last minute equaliser which ultimately spurred on their opponents to victory. For Real Madrid, it is an opportunity to stick the knife further into their city rivals, and claim an unprecedented 11th victory at their expense.
1974 – Heysel Stadium, Brussells.
Following Real Madrid’s halcyon days of the 1950’s and 60’s, Atlético fans thought their time was coming after winning two La Liga titles in 1970 and 1973. In those days, only the champions of each country got to have a crack at the European Cup and Atlético dispatched Galatasaray, Dinamo București, Red Star Belgrade and Celtic on their way to the final. Bavarian giants Bayern Munich, also appearing in their first final, awaited them in the showpiece in Belgium.
After a goalless 90 minutes, Atlético took the lead through their inspirational captain Luis Aragonés (a club legend as player and later four-time manager) in what he thought would be his crowning glory before his impending retirement. But Bayern had other ideas and with less than ten seconds of extra time remaining, defender Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck hit a long range effort. Atlético goalkeeper Miguel Reina (father of former Liverpool star Pepe) inexplicably let the ball slip through his fingers, much to the chagrin of his manager Juan Carlos Lorenzo.
It would be a further ten years before a European Cup Final would be decided by penalties, so a replay took place in the same venue just two days later. Schwarzenbeck’s goal seemed to sap all of the strength out of Atlético, whilst at the same time invigorating their opponents. Two goals apiece from Gerd Müller and Uli Hoeneß saw Bayern sweep to a 4 – 0 victory. Even though the Germans were only one up at half-time, Atlético never looked like coming back. It would be another forty years before they got the chance again.
Despite missing out on the European Cup, Atlético remain the only club to have been crowned World Club Champions despite not being champions of Europe. The Intercontinental Cup (replaced in 2005 by the FIFA Club World Cup) was founded in 1960, as a two-legged match between the respective champions of both Europe and South America to decide the best club in world football.
During the 1970’s several European champions, such as Ajax, Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, declined to enter due to the violence they would face in the away leg. This was particularly highlighted by Argentinian side Estudiantes de La Plata, whose brutal antics had been felt by Manchester United and AC Milan in 1968 and 1969 respectively.
As a result, many of the European Cup runners-up took their place, and Panathinaikos, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Juventus and Malmo all had unsuccessful attempts at winning the trophy. In 1975 and 1978, the trophy was not contested at all.
When Bayern Munich declined the opportunity to enter following their victory, Atlético took their place and won 2 – 1 on aggregate. This makes them the only club to be officially recognised as World Champions despite not being champions of their own continent.
2014 – Estádio da Luz, Lisbon.
For the first time in its history, the final of Europe’s top competition was played out between two clubs from the same city. Atlético, and their coach Diego Simeone, had already won many admirers throughout the season. They had knocked out three previous winners of the trophy—Milan, Barcelona and Chelsea—on the way to the final. They had also secured their first La Liga title since 1996 the weekend prior to the final, with a 1-1 draw at the Nou Camp.
Real Madrid, with their attack featuring names such as Ronaldo, Bale, Benzema and Di Maria were strongly fancied by many to bring home La Decima (their tenth European Cup). This belief intensified when Arda Turan was ruled out through an injury picked up against Barcelona, to add to the hamstring injury striker Diego Costa suffered in the same game. These doubts were justified as Costa lasted just nine minutes of the final before having to be substituted.
Despite the loss of their star striker, Atlético took the lead when centre back Diego Godín caught Iker Casillas off his line with a looping header after 36 minutes. Real were shocked, having seen Bale fire wide just five minutes earlier when he should have done better, and went into the break a goal down in what had been a fairly evenly matched first half.
Real came out for the second half fired up, determined not to be beaten by their city rivals, and peppered shots at their goal. Ronaldo went close with a couple of headers and a fierce free kick. Bale spurned another two glorious chances to pull his side level. It looked like it was Atlético’s day, but sometimes lightning does strike twice.
When Sergio Ramos forced a corner in the third minute of stoppage time, this had to be Real Madrid’s last chance; and take it they did. Luka Modrić swung in the corner, and Ramos rose above all comers to head home the last gasp equaliser past Thibaut Courtois. Atlético were shattered, physically and emotionally, having spent the last 45 minutes defending their lead.
Everyone knew what would happen next, although it took Real until the second period of extra time, this time Bale made no mistake when presented with an open net following a rebound from Di Maria’s shot. Shortly after Atlético had gone close, substitute Marcelo found himself with plenty of space in the final third to advance and hit a 20 yard shot that squirmed under the body of Courtois. In the final minute Ronaldo won a penalty, which he duly converted to add insult to injury.
2016 – San Siro, Milan.
It seems quite amazing that a club as huge as Atlético Madrid have never won the competition. They won the double of La Liga and Copa Del Rey in 1996, but were relegated four years later to the Segunda Division, where they would spend two seasons.
In recent seasons, they have been able to boast the likes of Fernando Torres, Radamel Falcao, Diego Costa, Sergio Agüero and Diego Forlán among the strikers who have led their attack. Despite being champions of Spain ten times, they have only participated in Europe’s premier club competition on nine occasions, and the last three seasons make up a third of this.
There are a few subtle differences in the respective squads of course, which is only to be expected. For Atlético, Thibaut Courtois and Diego Costa are now at Chelsea with David Villa having moved to the MLS. Midfielder Raúl García and centre-back Miranda have also moved on, to Athletic Bilbao and Inter respectively. Arda Turan was injured for the final two years ago, but has now moved on to Barcelona.
Filling their places in the squad are Slovenian goalkeeper Jan Oblak, defender José Gimenez, French forward Antoine Griezman and youth team graduate Saúl. The latter two in particular have been attracting a lot of interest across Europe. Legendary striker Fernando Torres has also returned on loan from Milan, and despite not being as prolific as in his prime, he did score the opening goal against Barcelona in the quarter-final.
Real Madrid have also made a few changes in personnel, with Iker Casillas being replaced in goal by Costa Rican stopper Keylor Navas. Ángel Di María was man of the match in the 2014 final, but was shipped out to Manchester United in order to make room for James Rodríguez. Sami Khedira and Xabi Alonso (suspended two years ago) have also departed. Further additions since then have included midfielders Toni Kroos and Mateo Kovačić, as well as full back Danilo.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti was sacked a year after winning the Champions League, and replaced by Rafael Benítez. He was sacked after less than six months and replaced by Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane, who has guided them to the final in his first managerial role.
Diego Simeone had two spells at the Vicente Calderón in his playing days, and is already regarded by some as their greatest manager. No matter which players he loses, he keeps the squad ticking in the same way. If he is victorious on Saturday, and it is to be Atlético’s third time lucky, it’s fairly certain this legendary status will be assured. It would, however, make it even harder for the club to hold on to him, as he would have little else left to achieve there.
It’s practically impossible to predict what will happen in Champions League finals at the best of times, but when two sides are so evenly matched the task becomes even more difficult. What is certain, however, is that many millions of viewers from around the world will be glued to their screens for a game that has all the makings of a classic.
