Atletico Surprisingly Flat in Champions League Final Defeat

As Diego Simeone sat down to his post-Champions League final press conference, he looked properly defeated - and not just in terms of the result. 

This was the Atletico Madrid manager as we’ve never seen him. There was none of the defiance we’ve come to associate with the Argentine. There was only deflation and what seemed something close to resignation, as he openly talked about considering his future. 

It probably didn’t help he was confronted with the farcical situation of some journalists asking questions about this while wearing Real Madrid jerseys, but Simeone almost seemed too downbeat to notice it. He admitted that he was struggling to explain the defeat, and just pointed to vague intangibles like “destiny”. 

“Football is destiny. And it’s clear destiny was not on our side.” The concern is that comments like that sound contrary to Simeone’s entire attitude as a manager. His approach has been about abrasively changing the whole identity of Atletico Madrid, to intensely try and ensure the club no longer believe themselves fated to be losers, or to always be in Real Madrid’s shadow. It is possible, however, that virtuous attitude has only thrown up the cruellest of ironies. 

In so supremely taking Atletico to sensational new heights, they have only suffered more psychologically severe defeats. The harshest and most unfair outcome of all might be that, far from banishing the club’s infamous neuroses, his reign might have deepened them. 

How else to recover from something like this, especially when a figure as resolute as Simeone seems beaten? Consider the situation: for all the defeats to Real that Atletico had suffered in their history, there was nothing to compare in emotional trauma like the 2014 Champions League final and Sergio Ramos’ equaliser. 

To come back from that once is wondrous, even if mentally bolstered by the 2013/14 Spanish title win. Simeone could console his side with the fact the league proved they were a better team than Real. The problem was that coming back, and reaching the Champions League final for a second time, only led to an equally traumatic defeat: the psychodrama of penalties, and that after being emotionally toyed with by another Ramos goal from a set-piece, a missed Antoine Griezmann penalty and a Yannick Carrasco equaliser. 

A further issue is that it goes deeper than those details. For all the periods of power and resistance that they had in the Milan final, this was not Atletico as we know them either. Just like with Simeone himself, there was none of the defiance, or the fire. They weren’t doing what Atletico normally do. They were just so much flatter. 

Two stats stand out. Atletico - amazingly - were beaten by Real in terms of both tackling and interceptions: 28 to 27 in tackles and 29 to 17 in interceptions. The latter - despite coming over 120 minutes - was also down on their average 19.5 per Champions League game. In other words, Atletico were just not battling in the same way. There was not the same intensity, although that could be clearly seen from how they were playing. 

They started badly, making mistakes they never usually would - especially at set-pieces. That should have been the big warning something is wrong as they are a part of the game usually drilled by Simeone to an almost impossibly demanding degree. Once they eventually equalised through Carrasco, they dominated for 12 minutes and had Real on the back foot - only to lose momentum. 

They couldn’t carry it through. They couldn’t do what they always do. They couldn’t show the relentless energy they normally do. That may have been due to the circumstances, but not just the extra 30 minutes of extra time. It may have been partially down to the psychology of playing their greatest rivals on the greatest stage again. 

This may have been the real intangible, rather than “destiny”. It sometimes feels like the mentality aspect of football can be overplayed, especially when it comes to the supposed inherited traits of a club and how history affects them - until you see games like this. There is a theory on Merseyside that, when Everton lost to Liverpool in two FA Cup finals in the 1980s, much of it was because the height of the stage made them remember they had been the city’s second club. 

They became all too conscious of the stakes. There were elements of that in the 2016 Champions League final that were no doubt emphasised because of what happened two years beforehand. Now, it’s hard to know what will happen next. Will Simeone have the desire to carry on? Can he re-invigorate this team again - or did this defeat lead to a depressing realisation? 

It would certainly be some feat if he fired them to a Champions League final one more time. “We had the chance to become champions, we didn't take that chance,” Simeone said. “We need to continue working, I have to think things out on my part. That's what I'm doing now. What is clear to me is that nobody remembers the losers. Losing two finals is a failure. We have to get over this and heal our wounds.” 

The wonder is how deep those wounds now are. They may be tougher to heal than ever.

What did you make of Atletico Madrid's performance in their Champions League final defeat? Let us know in the comments below