Sergio
Ramos lifts the trophy above his jubilant Real Madrid team-mates after
their penalty shootout victory over Atlético Madrid in the Champions
League final at San Siro.
Photograph: Stefano Rellandini/Reuters
It was another epic encounter between these old rivals, featuring
some of the best and worst traits of Spanish football, and when
everything was done Cristiano Ronaldo’s top was off, his muscles were
flexed and the European Cup was back in the hands of the club that likes
to think of this trophy as their own possession.
Real Madrid
have won it 11 times now and a club with their haughty self-regard will
no doubt like the fact Barcelona, Manchester United and Juventus have
not even managed that amount altogether. Gareth Bale played a
considerable part, just as he did at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon two
years ago, and Zinedine Zidane can be added to the small, distinguished
list to have won Europe’s most cherished club competition as a player
and coach, alongside Miguel Muñoz, Giovanni Trapattoni, Johan Cruyff,
Carlo Ancelotti, Frank Rijkaard and Pep Guardiola.
At the same time, only the flint-hearted would not sympathise with
Atlético Madrid
after the effort they put in before the game’s brutal climax. Diego
Simeone’s team showed it is possible to excel and to lose. They ended up
on their knees, distraught and beaten, but it was spontaneous applause
at the end from the loud, boisterous supporters on Curva Sud where,
before kick-off, a giant banner was unfurled with the message:
“Tus Valores Nos Hacen Creer.” It translated as “Your Values Make us Believe”
‚
and those are the values every football club should want: the desire to
stretch every sinew, a refusal to bend for anybody and an exceptional
form of togetherness.
They will not want the tag of gallant losers but the players in red
and white gave everything, as they always do, before the agonies of a
penalty shoot-out when Lucas Vázquez, Marcelo, Bale, Sergio Ramos and,
finally, Ronaldo all scored for Real in the same corner. Antoine
Griezmann, Gabi and Saúl Ñíguez converted the first three for Atlético
but Juanfran’s shot came back off the post and, ultimately, it did not
matter that Ronaldo had been on the game’s edges for most of the night.
He had the chance to deliver the winning kick, show off that chiselled
torso and reiterate his heroic status – and that is just the way he
likes it.
The
deja vu will stab at Atlético when they also reflect on Griezmann
firing a penalty against the crossbar early in a second half when
Yannick Carrasco changed the match with his pace, trickery and
directness. Carrasco, a half-time substitute, menaced Real’s defenders
and scored the goal that took the game to extra time, celebrating it by
running to the front row and – a first for the European Cup – smooching
with his girlfriend.
At that stage, Atlético looked the more likely winners. They ran a
staggering 9.5km more than their opponents during normal time and, as
the game went into extra time, there had to be questions about Zidane’s
decision to use up all his substitutions by the 77-minute mark. At one
point a simple pass rolled Ronaldo’s way and he let it go under his foot
and out for a throw-in. Luka Modric could be seen pulling out of a
50-50 with Gabi. Carrasco looked in the mood for some more romancing
and, though Real ultimately took the glory, it has to be said that some
of their players tarnished the event with their behaviour.
The biggest night of Mark Clattenburg’s refereeing career was
certainly a challenge, to say the least, and it is just a pity that
neither Real nor Uefa will probably think it necessary to punish Pepe
for his various bouts of faux agony. There were two occasions when Pepe
tried to get opponents sent off with shameless play-acting – first
Juanfran and then Carrasco – and Clattenburg really ought to have sent
off the Real defender. The referee looked down at Pepe rolling on the
floor at one point and shook his head disdainfully.
Otherwise, Clattenburg can reflect on a reasonably competent night in
difficult circumstances even if his assistant, Simon Beck, ought to
have raised his flag to disallow Ramos’s 15th-minute goal. Ramos, who
also strayed dangerously close to a red card, was offside when he turned
in Bale’s flick-on, from a Toni Kroos free-kick, but it was not
punished and it took a while for Simeone’s players to shake their heads
clear from the early setback.
Bale, in particular, looked determined from the start to leave a
favourable impression on the final. Modric was outstanding in the first
half and, however strong the suspicion that Ronaldo might not be at the
maximum point of fitness, Zidane must have been encouraged by the way
his team stretched their opponents in that part of the game.
Yet Carrasco’s introduction gave Atlético new impetus and, however
galling it was for them to see Griezmann’s penalty go to waste, at least
it reminded them that the lead was only fragile. Pepe’s challenge on
Fernando Torres might have turned the match in Atlético’s favour but it
was a wild effort from Griezmann, in stark contrast to the composure he
showed during the shoot-out.
The equaliser arrived in the 79th minute when the inspirational Gabi
dinked a delicate little up-and-under into Juanfran’s path. The cross
was delivered beautifully, volleyed across the six-yard area, and
Carrasco was the quickest to react, rifling his shot high into the net.
After that, both teams had chances to win, neither settling for
penalties. Juanfran, who had been one of the
outstanding
players, was a few inches out with his kick and, with Ronaldo next in
line, that mistake was always likely to be fatal.
