For the greater good

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/05/2016 (3645 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After the rumble of the crowd becomes a roar and the thunder of the timpani provides Andrea Bocelli’s cue, and after they align for the whistle and see Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo looking back at them, Atletico Madrid will face the same question they’ve been asked at each stage of this season’s UEFA Champions League.

To quote Alicia Keys, “Do you want to be great, or do you want to be good?”

Not long before the first ball is kicked at Milan’s San Siro, Keys will deliver a short concert for the in-stadium and television audiences anxious to witness the 2016 Champions League Final. She will be the first performer to do so, and in a short, UEFA-produced video promoting the event she describes the sacrifices, the introspection, required to achieve greatness.

“In order to be great,” she explains, “you have to be brave enough to be so vulnerable, be so honest, be so truthful that you’re just like, ‘Here’s everything I am — everything. I’m not leaving anything inside.’ ”

It might as well be Atletico’s rallying cry.

Beaten at this stage two years ago by city rivals Real Madrid, who they’ll face again today, Atletico have returned to the biggest match in club football because they continue to espouse the same values Keys prescribes: bravery, vulnerability and honesty.

In the second leg of their semi-final tie with Bayern Munich, Atletico, who nicked the crucial away-goal in the 53rd minute when Antoine Griezmann completed a nine-second counter-attack, blocked an incredible 22 shots — six of them inside their own 18-yard box.

They didn’t hesitate to throw themselves in front of the ball. And, just as bravely, they also executed 47 clearances.

That the 2014 Primera Division winners didn’t naively set out to attack Bayern, or Barcelona and PSV Eindhoven in earlier rounds, demonstrated a realistic estimation of their own vulnerability.

This is a team entirely at ease with its own shortcomings, and by adopting a deep-lying, intensity-driven set-up instead of the intricate, possession-oriented approaches of their adversaries they have repeatedly given themselves chances to overcome more highly-skilled opposition.

Atletico, by virtue of the sweat —and sometimes blood — they leave on the pitch, are as honest as they come.

Manager Diego Simeone’s men never stop moving, never stop battling, and, unlike so many athletes in so many sports, give a true account of themselves for their fans, for their gaffer and, most importantly, for each other.

“To me,” says Keys in the video, “passion is love plus desire.”

Atletico are a group that knows the worth of the collective. They’ve enjoyed the benefits of it, and the aspirations they’ve shared within it have already resulted in a league title and Copa del Rey over the past three seasons.

They’ve been good. They’ve been very good. But winning the Champions League would make them great.

They may not have the Galactico star power of their foes, but Atletico are brave enough to beat Real Madrid; they’re vulnerable enough to do it; they’re honest enough to reveal everything they are, and not leave anything inside.

❚ Key to victory for Atletico Madrid: Don’t change anything. Continue to sit deep, counter-attacking only when it favours you. Real Madrid’s defenders can be turned, meaning Antoine Griezmann and Fernando Torres will get their chances.

❚ Key to victory for Real Madrid: Don’t be intimidated by Atletico Madrid’s physicality. Give as good as you get. And move the ball quickly. Slow build-up play from Bayern Munich and Barcelona allowed the capable Rojiblanco defenders to get themselves set.

❚ Atletico Madrid needs a performance from: Saul Niguez. The all-action midfielder will look to both harass the Real Madrid attackers and move the ball forward, either on the dribble or through a break-out pass. He scored in the first leg against Bayern and blocked three shots in the second.

❚ Real Madrid need a performance from: Luka Modric. He’s the smartest footballer in the contest and will need to keep Atletico Madrid guessing by moving the ball quickly and spaciously. Also, the more he commits himself to a tackle, the better.

❚ Atletico Madrid projected XI: Oblak; Juanfran, Gimenez, Godin, F.Luis; Koke, Gabi, Fernandez, Niguez; Griezmann, Torres.

❚ Real Madrid projected XI: Navas; Carvajal, S.Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Bale, Benzema, Ronaldo.

jerradpeters@gmail.comTwitter @JerradPeters