“Even the most casual followers of Italian football are aware of the dark history of the rivalry between the Milan clubs. The peak of the violence associated with the fixture between the two may have been a long time ago but the Inter Milan Ultras are still very much in the forefront of matters. Joseph Solomon traces the origin and history of ‘organized groups’ of the Nerazzuri.” Outside of the Boot
“Diego Simeone is not out to eat humble pie. The 44-year-old Argentinian is hell bent on retaining the league title and going one step better than last season in the Champions League. Without having Real Madrid’s and Barcelona’s payrolls, Atlético have gained success with a combination of sly tactics, strong leadership from a go-getting persona like Simeone, and a matchless spirit. And the Rojiblancos, long known as the “other team” in the Spanish capital, are a title contender in La Liga again.” Outside of the Boot
“In amongst a slew of yellow cards and all-action tackles from the likes of Lucas Orban and Nicolas Otamendi, not to mention the rampaging forward runs of wingbacks José Gaya and Antonio Barragan, you could be forgiven for viewing Enzo Perez’s Valencia debut as somewhat underwhelming. Indeed, in his first ever showing for the club, a famous 2-1 win over Real Madrid, the Argentine’s statistical output was decidedly ordinary. Playing at the base of midfield in Valencia’s 3-5-2 formation, Perez delivered only one tackle and one interception on the night, while simultaneously committing four fouls. In attack, too, his return was fairly meagre, and although he completed his passes with a solid 91% accuracy, not too many of them were overly significant.” Licence to Roam
“Like Lionel Messi, Angel di Maria and Cesar Luis Menotti, he was born in Rosario and crossed the Atlantic Ocean to earn his fortune, but Julio Libonatti’s place in football history was assured when he took advantage of his dual nationality to represent both Argentina and Italy. When the lethal Torino marksmen accepted Mussolini’s offer to become a sporting repatriate, he started a lasting trend…” TheInsideLeft (Video)
“It’s hard to accurately predict future Ballon D’Or nominees based on a players current exploits in the early part of his career. But given the propensity of usual Ballon D’Or nominees bearing rather conspicuous goal-scoring traits, you wouldn’t go too wrong in betting Memphis Depay as a potential future nominee.” Outside of the Boot
“Hakan Calhanoglu grew up in Mannheim of Germany, before moving on to Karlsruhe, Hamburg and Leverkusen while getting called up to the Turkish National team in 2013. An attacking midfielder by trade, Hakan’s style and elegance on the ball has seen him sought out by some of the world’s best. Mini-Analysis: Operating behind the striker or across the midfield, Calhanoglu’s style of play is easy on the eye. A mainstay in the Hamburg team that narrowly escaped relegation last season saw him bag 11 goals and assist 4 in 32 games.” Outside of the Boot
“In Turin, the locals spoke fretfully of a bestia nera coming to pay Juventus a visit. Those words translate in English to black beast, although bête noire might sound more familiar. The expression has its origins in medieval times, when the devil would often be represented in works of art as an animal with black fur and burning eyes. These days it is applied mostly by Italians to sporting bogey teams. No demon had troubled Juventus as greatly over the last few seasons as Sampdoria – a side they had beaten just twice in their latest six attempts. The Blucerchiati were responsible for the Old Lady’s most recent home defeat, recovering from a goal and a man down to snatch an unlikely 2-1 victory in January 2013.” Guardian
“Champions League holders and arguably Europe’s most in-form team Real Madrid were drawn against German side Schalke 04 in the last 16 of Europe’s most prestigious competition. Real, which defeated city rival Atletico Madrid 4-1 in Lisbon last year to win ‘La Decima’ — it’s 10th title — is attempting to become the first team to successfully defend the Champions League. Two of England’s three clubs face tough ties, with Chelsea drawn against Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City paired with Spanish giants Barcelona.” CNN
Rematches, Wenger reunion headline Champions League knockout draw
“After a group stage in which the main lesson was that Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are still the teams to beat in this competition, the draw for the round of 16 took place Monday. The odds on the two favorites will have shortened considerably after decent draws, and two big guns will fall by the wayside after Paris Saint-Germain was drawn against Chelsea and Manchester City against Barcelona in a pair of repeat matchups from last season. There was also a moment of sentimentality in the draw, as Arsenal was drawn against AS Monaco, where coach Gunners coach Arsene Wenger was manager from 1987-1994. Here’s a breakdown of Monday’s draw…” SI
“The final day of the Champions League group stage saw Manchester City produce probably the best Champions league performance in its history to book its place in the last 16 for only the second time. Barcelona outlasted PSG for first in their group behind goals from Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez, and Schalke 04 also secured its place in the knockout phase on a night when John Obi Mikel broke a long-standing personal drought.” SI – Jonathan Wilson
“Udinese’s scouting network has been widely documented over the past couple of season; their latest gem to shine is one that is benefiting Juventus and could continue to do. Stephen Ganavas has a look at Robert Pereyra and how he has been an important component in Massimiliano Allegri’s set-up.” Outside of the Boot
CB: Diego Godin
“2014 is nearly in the books, and with FIFPro, the world players’ union, in the midst of releasing its shortlists for the World’s Best XI, it’s time to consider which players stood out above their peers in a year to remember. An epic World Cup in Brazil saw Germany get crowned for a fourth time, while Real Madrid completed its quest for La Decima and captured a 10th European title. Bayern Munich captured another Bundesliga title, doing so in record time; Atletico Madrid was a surprise champion in Spain; Manchester City won its second title in three seasons in England; Juventus won a third straight crown in Italy and PSG went back-to-back in Ligue 1 to headline Europe’s major leagues.” SI – Jonathan Wilson
“Benoit Cauet managed just one goal for Torino. It came in February 2002, with the Granata attempting to survive in Serie A after winning promotion the previous year. Riccardo Maspero, Torino’s mercurial trequartista, collected the ball midway inside the opposition half and slid a perfectly weighted pass to striker Cristiano Lucarelli, who had peeled off the back of his marker. Lucarelli showed great awareness to slide the ball back across the box while running in the opposite direction, and Cauet, having made a lung-busting run to arrive at the back post, made no mistake from four yards out.” backpagefootball
“Miroslav Klose was taken aback. Lazio’s World Cup-winning striker left the pitch at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday night awestruck. He had been greatly impressed by one of his club’s opponents, the Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba. Pogba is the only representative from Serie A to find his name on the shortlist for the Ballon d’Or, and Klose appreciated why the France international figured on the ballot papers. After playing with seven of the other 23 contenders either for Germany and/or Bayern Munich, he is well-placed to know what it takes to be considered.” ESPN
“It wasn’t so long ago that things looked rather bleak for Italy. Following a group stage exit from the 2014 World Cup, the Azzurri found themselves a team divided. In their final match of the tournament, a 1-0 loss to Uruguay under the oppressive Brazilian sun, Mario Balotelli again courted controversy. In the first half he produced a largely transparent performance from a footballing perspective, and after putting in a reckless challenge on Alvaro Pereira due to his increasing frustration, a number of observers felt that he was lucky to remain on the pitch.” Licence to Roam
“Our Talent Radar Player Rankings, along-with our Talent Radar Team of the Week documents the progress of youngsters across Europe’s top six leagues, with those featuring in these regular pieces, eventually being recognised in our end of season Talent Radar Young Player Awards and 100 Best Young Players to Watch list. Read this document for all your queries on Talent Radar and explanation of the features under it.” Outside of the Boot
“… Catenaccio! A word which even today strikes fear into the hearts of footballing fans, players and managers alike, is often lamented as a parasite to the word, ‘football’. Symbolizing all that is bad in football, Catenaccio accommodates defensive play, aggressive fouling, cynicism, intimidating opponents, alongwith a penchant for what is called nowadays- boring football. Football is a beautiful game and teams which kill this scenarios, are often crucified.” Outside of the Boot
“There are two types of coaches in this world, those that are content to develop a career either at a single club or at least within a single nation and those that are willing to take themselves out of their comfort zone and push the boundaries of their abilities. Luckily for fans of AS Roma in Italy the French coach Rudi Garcia belongs in the second category. As a player Garcia failed to make much of an impression despite playing for both Lille and Caen during the course of his career, as a coach though he has gone from strength to strength. Whilst still coaching in France he led a relatively unfashionable side in Lille to a league and cup double and helped launch the careers of the likes of Gervinho, Yohan Cabaye, Matthieu Debuchy and Eden Hazard. Such relative success was always likely to bring with it interest and in June 2013 Rudi Garcia accepted an offer to take charge of Roma in Serie A.” Outside of the Boot
“Our Italian roundup comes a little later in the week due to an action packed seven days on the Peninsula that consisted of two full rounds of Serie A fixtures which saw plenty of passion, goals and drama. Going into the midweek round of fixtures Serie A boasted two unbeaten teams in Juventus and the rather surprising Sampdoria. After game week nine I am happy to say that there are no longer any fans of Serie A who can brag that their team holds an unbeaten record this season as both fell to defeat in their respective games against Genoa and Inter.” backpagefootball
“We’re halfway through the 2014-15 Champions League group stage. The UCL is one of the greatest tournaments in all of sports because we get a chance to catch our breath for a couple weeks after every matchday. So let’s do so. Some groups are mostly decided, others hang in the balance. Who will go through in each four-team sector? To the groups!” Center Circle
“The aggression, intensity, and general bearded shoutyness that made ex-AC Milan star Gennaro Gattuso one of the best defensive midfielders in the world during the 2000s aren’t serving him quite as well now he’s gone from tackler to tactician. First there was a 2013 spell as player-coach of Swiss club Sion, which lasted less than three months. To be fair, that’s actually a long time at Sion. Gattuso was their fifth manager of the season, because the club’s president is a testicle-kicking architect who’s incapable of designing solid foundations. Later that year, Gattuso moved on to another club where managers have shorter lifespans than mayflies – then Serie B’s Palermo. The Sicilians axed him after he steered them to only seven points in the first six games.” Soccer Gods
“Tuesday’s Champions League action brought thumping wins for Chelsea, Shakhtar Donetsk and, perhaps most impressively, Bayern Munich, who hammered Roma 7-1 at Stadio Olimpico. Manchester City’s misery went on as it threw away a lead to draw in Moscow, while there was another defeat for Athletic Bilbao away to Porto. Here is what caught our eye from the day’s games, when a Champions-League-record 40 goals were scored…” SI – Jonathan Wilson
Robben impressed by rampant Bayern
“Arjen Robben, Bayern forward. Afterwards it’s always easy to talk. I’m still convinced Roma have a very good team – they’ve shown that this season – but we should pay a big compliment to us, to all the players, but also to the coaching staff who prepared this game in the way we played, the way we created chances and scored goals. There were some great goals tonight. We played a little different tonight. Everybody has seen it, but it’s not good to talk about our tactics and how we want to play. Everybody can see it and watch the match to analyse us. But a big compliment to the team and the tactics.” UEFA
“Roma are a really good soccer team. This shouldn’t be surprising. They are, after all, the biggest team in the biggest city in Italy. It’s easy to shrug and say, ‘Of course Roma are the second-best team in Serie A. They are Roma.’ Except that, with the exception of two stretches — one in which they were managed by Fabio Capello and another under Luciano Spalletti — Roma have frequently been an average side. They have never been considered a perennial Champions League side. Yet here they are. On a superficial level, Roma’s approach isn’t all that special. They do all the things well that you’d expect good teams to do. They shoot more than their opponents, give up fewer shots, and, in general, create better chances.” Grantland (Video)
“2013-14 finally saw a break from Barcelona and Real Madrid hogging the La Liga limelight. It was Simeone’s Atletico Madrid that stole all the headlines, taking the league all the way to the last match day. A massive part of that success was their discipline and organisation in defensive. Last season saw Atleti concede just 26 goals in the entire campaign, 7 fewer than the next best team, Barcelona. Certainly Simeone’s team will look to continue this impressive defensive display. Krzysztof Sierocki has done an in-depth analysis of Atleti’s defensive organisation against Real in their recent fixture.” Outside of the Boot (Video)
“Once upon a time English clubs envied the Italian model of renting municipal stadia and thus avoiding the financial weight of owning and running their own home. The giants of Serie A were thus ‘free’, from the 1950s to the 1970s, to pay the highest transfer fees and most lucrative wages. Then came the TV, sponsorship and new media explosion and England developed the Premier League model and cashed in on the new generation of stadia built and rebuild post-Hillsborough. With restaurants, conference facilities and even sometimes hotel built into the grounds new revenue streams opened up.” World Soccer
“It was a simultaneously inspiring and sad sight. Returning to Valencia for a few nights’ decompression after the Festival Internacional de Benicassim – located an hour north of the city, on the Costa Azahar – we looked down from the roof of our hotel, looming over the Nou Mestalla. In the falling dusk, it could easily have been mistaken for a titanic sporting arena, rather than just the skeleton of one. When we spoke to the locals about it, they told us of rumours that the foundations of the stadium had shifted since work stopped on it over a year before, and that the whole lot may have to be pulled down.” Fusion
“The second gameweek of the UEFA Champions League had some tasty encounters in store for all viewers, with a number of top teams clashing. In terms of results and entertainment too, it didn’t disappoint, with lots of goals, and a lot of good, competitive football. One of the tastiest fixtures was Atletico hosting Juventus. It was a clash of Champions from Spain and Italy. Coming into the game, Juventus had a 100% record, with no goals conceded. Atletico have made a good start, but find themselves in third after a few indifferent results. This was a different situation, as Atletico had lost their opening fixture in Greece, and a positive result against Juventus was absolutely vital. The Italians were up against it, as a daunting home support, combined with Atleti’s usual aggressive approach had meant that they had 17 wins in their last 19 European fixtures.” Outside of the Boot
“Since he joined Porto in 2002, Jose Mourinho has won the league title in his second season at every club he’s managed. That, it seems, is the optimal time, when he has had a chance to embed his method in his players and before the abrasiveness of his personality has had time to sour the mood. This is his second season back at Chelsea, and, sure enough, the Blues go into Sunday’s game against Arsenal already five points clear of its closest realistic challenger.” SI – Jonathan Wilson
“Tuesday evening saw Roma drew 1-1 with Manchester City away from home and now sit in second place in Group C. The match – which saw Francesco Totti become the competition’s oldest goal scorer – illustrated a Roma side unfazed after conceding an early penalty and go on to play fluid football. The reigning English champions looked sluggish throughout and Roma were able to dictate long stretches of play. Let’s take a look how they did it.” backpagefootball
“The world’s toughest club competition is only in its second match day, but things are already getting very tight. The Group of Death, containing CSKA, Bayern, Manchester City, and Roma, was, always going to be a very close one, but few expected there to be such high stakes, this early on. Going into the game, the English champions, City, needed to pick up 4 points over their 2 clashes with Rudi Garcia’s Roma in order to stake a strong claim for a spot in the next round of the competition. This was no easy task, as Roma came into the game in terrific form, with their last European outing being their thrashing of CSKA. Realistically, both sides were looking at second spot in the group behind the dominant Bayern Munich, and so the game was worth a lot.” Outside of the Boot
“Southampton have recovered excellently. No Rickie Lambert, no Adam Lallana, no Luke Shaw, no Dejan Lovren, no Calum Chambers…and no problem. Many predicted Southampton would struggle having sold so many star performers, but some intelligent recruitment and clever coaching from Ronald Koeman means Southampton are riding high, in second position in the Premier League table.” Betting Expert – Michael Cox
“Francesco Totti had tears in his eyes as he lined up to face CSKA Moscow. The Champions League anthem had barely kicked in when television cameras picked out the Roma captain looking quite overcome. Three-and-a-half years removed from his last appearance in the competition, Totti had begun to wonder if he would ever get back here again. Never did he doubt that he belonged on such a stage. Totti turned 38 on Saturday, but remains as certain as ever of his own abilities. Asked on the eve of the CSKA game which teams in Europe would not want him in their starting XI, he replied: ‘Few of them’.” Guardian
“Heading into the matchup between AC Milan and Juventus, the talk was of Milan’s high-scoring start to the Serie A season under former playing idol Pippo Inzaghi. The optimism was to prove short lived, however, as Juventus, winners of the Italian title for the last three seasons, asserted its authority with a cool, muscular display that silenced a noisy San Siro. Here are three thoughts on Juve’s 1-0 victory…” SI
The story so far: AC Milan’s good start to the season
“Milan has gotten off to a solid start this season; they have garnered all six points in their first two games against Lazio and Parma. There were plenty of questions prior to the season regarding attacking options, concerns over the mercato performance, defensive issues, and how this team would perform under new management. Though it is still extremely early in the season, some of these questions may have already been answered.” Outside of the Boot
“The first matchday of the Champions League is in the books, and, pleasantly, there were some surprises. Let’s have a look at the biggest.” Grantland (Video)
“A game of football is punctuated by moments of spectacular nature. The overhead kick, the unbelievable save, the superhuman burst of pace are all instances that take the breath away. However these headline hogging events are simply a small part of a grand narrative. In terms of overall importance to the outcome, the role of the defensive midfielder is sadly ignored at times. Marvyn Paul addresses this by heaping praise on Atleti captain, Gabi.” Outside of the Boot
“The 3rd Derby between the two sides already this season recording an important win for Rojiblancos and a dramatic fail for Real Madrid in their second consecutive game with only 3 points out of 9 conceding 6 goals in two matches. … Every time Real Madrid faces Atletico we’ve seen some characteristic features that both coaches deployed in the match in order to exploit the weakness of the other. Simeone is always trying to make the field very narrow so that none of Real players have much time on the ball whilst Ancelotti responded in attacking from the wings depending highly on fullbacks for stretching Atletico’s narrowness.” Outside of the Boot
“It’s Champions League time. To help you get set up, we’re going to go on a brief tour around Europe, to get you up to date on all the major non–Premier League teams. Our tour will take us through Germany, Spain, and Italy, with a brief stop in Paris to round things out.” Grantland (Video)
“Mauro Icardi scored his first ever hat trick as Inter Milan thrashed 10-man Sassuolo 7-0 on Sunday for its first victory of the fledgling Serie A season, while AC Milan won 5-4 at Parma in a highly entertaining match, which saw both teams reduced to 10 men. New signing Paolo Osvaldo netted twice and Mateo Kovacic also recorded his first league goal for Inter, while Fredy Guarin capped off a fantastic day for the Nerazzurri. Sassuolo, which lost at home by the same scoreline in its first meeting with Inter last season, also had forward Domenico Berardi sent off for an elbow on Juan Jesus.” SI
“With the international programme officially over Andy Brassell, James Horncastle and Julien Laurens bring you their Talking Points ahead of this weekend’s action” Guardian
“While AC Milan have begun their season on the tail-end of a surprisingly successful transfer campaign; acquiring the likes of Menez, Alex, and Diego Lopez, there is one piece of business which was a huge disappointment for Milan fans around the world: the sale of 19-year old Bryan Cristante. Over the past few seasons, Cristante has been the shining gem of Milan’s youth set-up and it seemed that this year would be the one where he would get the opportunity to showcase his talent. Technically he will be doing just that, but not with Milan. Cristante will be plying his trade in Portugal this season with Benfica. There was plenty of speculation regarding the future of the midfielder at the start of the transfer window, with both Benfica and Sassuolo seeking out the services of the player. However these rumors were quickly put to bed by Galliani who stated that Milan had no intention of selling Cristante, much to the relief of the fans.” Outside of the Boot
“It was another record-breaking transfer window in terms of money spent, but sometimes the most intelligent transfers cost extremely little and clubs that take a chance on overlooked players are frequently rewarded with fine performances. Here, then, are five of the bargains of this transfer window…” ESPN – Michael Cox
“Roma 2-0 Fiorentina | A match that was about discipline and pressing culminated in the home side grapping their first 3 points of the Serie A 2014/15 season. With the result, Vincenzo Montella’s record in the Olympico as a coach reads an uninspiring 8 matches, 0 wins, 2 draws and 6 losses.” Outside of the Boot
“Last season, Juventus won Serie A by 17 points. The season before, Juventus won Serie A by nine points. The season before that, Juventus won Serie A by four points. Juventus is the best-placed Italian club (ninth overall) in the 2014 Deloitte Money League, a ranking of Europe’s top-earning clubs. It’s Italy’s biggest club and recent record suggests it has the best squad. The only question in Serie A is whether anybody can prevent Juve making it four in a row.” SI – Jonathan Wilson (Video)
“At the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao there’s an olive tree. Tourists write down their wishes on pieces of paper and tie them to its branches. Before the second leg of his team’s Champions League play-off on Wednesday night, Napoli owner Aurelio de Laurentiis made one of his own. His wish? ‘That Napoli win against Athletic.’ No Italian team had ever claimed victory at San Mames but Napoli coach Rafa Benitez was defiant before the game: ‘We aren’t here to be the victim,’ he said on the eve of the game, which began with the two sides level 1-1 on aggregate.” ESPN
“‘It’s not long now until we hear that tune again,’ tweeted Napoli’s stadium announcer, an excited Decibel Bellini. The emcee known throughout the world for his spine-tingling call and response routines when the likes of GON-ZA-LO HI-GUA-IN sgonfia la rete [make the net bulge] wasn’t referring to the latest summer hit to emerge from the city’s flourishing rap scene. Nothing from the likes of CoSang’s Luche, nor Rocco Hunt. Instead, Bellini was alluding to a piece of classical music — George Frideric Handel’s ‘Zadok the Priest,’ the Champions League anthem.” ESPN – James Horncastle
“It is the day that the dress rehearsal becomes the gala performance. A full 12 days before Napoli’s Serie A campaign starts with an away trip to Genoa, Rafa Benitez’s side begin to shape their destiny of their fledgling season as Athletic Bilbao arrive at the Stadio San Paolo for a Champions League play-off. Such a high stakes tie is probably not what the former Liverpool boss would ideally want at this stage of preparation, with transfers still in the pipeline and peak form yet to be attained. Yet Napoli and Benitez have no choice. They have to be ready, knowing a false step could put a hugely negative spin on their season before it has really begun.” Bleacher Report
“An investment fund, a super agent, and a Singapore businessman: What will it all mean on the field for Los Che this season? While the summer’s silly-season headlines have mostly focused on big names like Luis Suarez, James Fernandez, and Diego Costa, La Liga’s most interesting transfer business has been taking place at Valencia. Los Che have brought in promising attacker Rodrigo and young midfielder Andre Gomes from Benfica, and were widely reported to be tracking even more high-profile targets like Argentina’s World Cup midfielder Enzo Perez and Colombia’s $53 million-rated striker Jackson Martinez.” Fusion
“After a fantastic season which saw them crowned as La Liga Champions, Atletico Madrid is now starting over from scratch. Diego Simeone’s squad lost many talented players as Striker Diego Costa and Left Back Filipe Luis departed to Chelsea as Los Colchoneros received €58M for the two players combined (Diego Costa 38M, Filipe Luis 20M).” Outside of the Boot
“There was no warning. Like a stone thrown into a pond, the news shattered the serene peace of Turin’s grand Old Lady. Even in an age of twenty-four hour news coverage, Antonio Conte’s resignation as Juventus manager arrived like a lightning strike, the first whispers leaking less than fifteen minutes before the club confirmed the 44-year-old had quit. Later, a recorded interview from Conte, a former Juventus captain, confirmed his own departure, and an open letter from Juventus President Andrea Agnelli attempted to console ailing supporters, thanking Conte for the ‘three years in which we rewrote this club’s history’ and noting that the news had ‘saddened him greatly.’ Supporters felt exactly the same way, deeply shocked that the man responsible for transforming La Madama back into a serial winner was gone.” 8by8
“After what turned out to be a disappointing World Cup for him and his Croatian side, Mateo Kovacic returned to his club duties with Inter Milan last week. Manager Walter Mazzarri included him in to the starting XI in the 1-0 win over minnows Prato, in what can be seen as another sign of Inter’s determination to reject all the offers and keep Kovacic for the season that approaches. It is no secret that there is massive interest in a midfielder who turned 20 in May and has been considered one of the brightest prospects of world football.” Bleacher Report
“Finals don’t often come down to pretty football, especially those that go into extra time. That doesn’t mean the tactical battles are any less compelling, as Real Madrid’s 4-1 win in the Champions League final over Atlético showed. Both managers made strange decisions in their starting lineups. Diego Costa, supposedly fit after his horse-placenta hamstring treatment, didn’t even last 10 minutes for Atlético, while Sami Khedira played a rather ineffective hour in just his third appearance for Real since recovering from a serious knee injury.” SI
Atlético reaches its breaking point as Real Madrid claims La Decima
“It turns out there was a breaking point for Diego Simeone’s magnificent Atlético Madrid side, and it came with 10 minutes of extra-time remaining. The club had won La Liga and was within two minutes of winning a first ever Champions League. Even after conceding to Sergio Ramos, there was still a chance it could cling on through extra-time for penalties, but once Gareth Bale had headed Real Madrid into the lead, it collapsed — physically and emotionally shattered. Marcelo’s late drive and Cristiano Ronaldo’s even later penalty added an unrepresentative one-sidedness to the scoreline, but there was no shame in defeat.” SI – Jonathan Wilson
Real Madrid 4-1 Atletico Madrid (aet): Tactical Analysis | Game changing substitutions from Carlo Ancelotti
“The Champions League is always a very exciting competition, but this season provided a few more edge of the seat encounters than most others. After a season of incredible football from many teams across Europe, we got to the final in Lisbon last night, which like almost every other game in this season, was exciting from start to finish. Atletico as always, worked had, fought till the end, and made things very difficult for the opposition, but at the end of the day, the sheer determination and energy from Real made the difference, as the Galacticos 2.0 made history by reaching La Decima.” Outside of the Boot
Sizing up the Real vs. Atletico tactical battle
“Big clubs have a nasty habit of ruining their little city rivals’ celebrations. When Everton finished above Liverpool for the first time in years back in 2005, beating them to the final Champions League spot, the Reds went out and won the European Cup. When Manchester City’s 35-year wait for a major trophy ended with their 2011 FA Cup final win, Manchester United clinched the Premier League title on the same day.” ESPN – Michael Cox
“‘If you believe and if you work, you can do it.’ Diego Simeone’s words were clear on Sunday evening. They were simple, they were true. Speaking at an enormous celebratory parade in the wake of Atlético Madrid’s attritional league-winning draw, away at Barcelona, Simeone extolled humble virtues often lost in the din of modern professional football That Atlético are now triumphant is genuinely significant. Setting aside Rangers’ spectacularly grubby fall from Scotland’s top tier, the last decade had seen Spain develop its own high-end version of an Old Firm hegemony.” backpagefootball
“The Serie A season ended as these things usually do: with contrasting images of joy and despair. In one stadium, champagne bottles were uncorked and grown men were tossed up in the air. In another, an Italy forward wept inconsolably. His failure to convert a last-minute penalty had cost his team everything. Instead of sealing a triumphant sixth-place finish, Alessio Cerci had condemned Torino to disastrous seventh.” Guardian
“Atlético Madrid is the third-most successful club in the history of Spanish soccer, which is a little like being the third-most famous khan in the history of the Mongol horde. Good job by you, but you’re never going to stop hearing about Genghis and Kublai. Atleti has won nine titles in La Liga, Spain’s top division, which is great, except that Real Madrid and FC Barcelona have combined for 54. And when you start running the math on that, and realize there have only ever been 82 champions crowned in La Liga, and add in that Madrid and Barcelona have collectively finished second an additional 45 times (versus eight for Atlético), and further consider that Atleti isn’t even the biggest team in its own hometown (that would be Real) — well, you get a clear picture of a tough little club that’s been overshadowed by its planet-conquering, culture-altering rivals.” Grantland – Brian Phillips
“7th place with 61 points. 6th place with 62 points. That is what Liverpool & Roma’s 2012/13 league position spelled. The unpleasant factor in that is that it wasn’t even a surprise. Both these traditionally competitive clubs had fallen well off their high horse and into uncharted territory, with the risk of near perpetual mid-table obscurity. Both have now found their feet, and certainly the club’s ideology, as they rescued themselves from a faltering status and emerged as shock contenders, league leaders and eventual runners-up in their respective leagues. But while fans and management can certainly chuckle at their success, their happiness should be no more than that. To have achieved their remarkable league positions is quite incredible, but the job is only half done. The rest test begins now to ensure this season’s efforts weren’t in vain.” Outside of the Boot
“The Europa League final makes its way to Italian shores for the first time in its current guise this Wednesday, although the showpiece is tinged with disappointment for the host city. The Mayor of Turin has been trumpeting the slogan ‘scegli lo sport, sorridi!’ (choose sport, smile!) in the build-up to the game, but Torinese grins are through gritted teeth. Hometown heroes Juventus — the dominant force in Italian football for the past three years — fell at the penultimate hurdle, a semifinal defeat to Benfica denying the Bianconeri a chance to extend their record haul of three titles in the competition.” ESPN
Rudi Garcia
“The readers of Outside of the Boot have cast their votes across Europe’s top 4 leagues across 10 different award categories with 4 nominees under each to pick the players who they believe deserved recognition the most. The Serie A 2013/14 End of Season Awards were the most closely competed one, with most categories lacking a clear winner. Note that no club has more than one representative in a particular product category.” Outside of the Boot
“ose Mourinho’s Champions League semifinal misfortune struck for a fourth consecutive year, as Atletico Madrid beat Chelsea 3-1 at Stamford Bridge to earn a final place in Lisbon against neighbor Real Madrid. It will be the first time two teams from the same city have competed in a European cup final. Here is what caught our eye from Wednesday’s result in London’ There was not quite the fanfare surrounding the return of Tiago Mendes to Stamford Bridge that we saw in the round of 16 when Didier Drogba returned with Galatasaray, but the effect was altogether more decisive.” SI
“I ambled into a random bar near the center of the Spanish capital on September 18, 2005, looking to catch Atletico Madrid, which was hosting Barcelona at Vicente Calderon Stadium in a Sunday nightcap. There was a television bolted in the upper-left corner of the room, and rarely did eyes stray from it. It was standing room only in this old man’s bar. There were men who were born during the Spanish Civil War; men who were born to parents who lived through the war; almost everyone inside was alive during Franco’s reign. It was like stumbling into a house of worship on a holy day. Everyone knew why they were there.” Grantland
“Atletico Madrid and Chelsea went head-to-head at the Vicente Calderon in the Champions League semi-finals. It was a tactical battle that was certainly not pleasing to the eyes, it was never going to be. Both sides are in their respective title races but Atletico Madrid are in a much better situation while Chelsea’s contention could come to a halt this weekend. Mourinho has been desperate for a Champions League with Chelsea, and a record third with a different club while Atletico Madrid are looking forward to a first final in 40 years.” Outside of the Boot
“Needing to use up some holiday time and in desperate need of some sun, beaches, countryside and football I elected to visit Malta. What little knowledge I possessed of the lonely island came from several chapters of Thomas Pynchon’s haunting novel V and I was uncertain of what to expect. Happily, I got on extremely well with Malta and while the tourist sites, ranging from ancient wonders to Second World War bunkers, were remarkable it was the miles of picturesque countryside and sun-drenched, arid farmland in between charming towns untouched for countless years that really impressed itself on me.” backpagefootball
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