The Champions League final will be between Real Madrid and Juventus after Real qualified for the final by beating Atletico Madrid 4-2 on aggregate. But for Atletico they left the competition at least with their heads held high after they won on the night 2-1. It was one of the most important victories in the club’s history given that it was the very final Madrid derby to be played at their infamous stadium Vicente Calderon.
Atletico will say goodbye to the stadium that has hosted their games since 1967 at the end of this domestic season. Their very final match being against Athletico Bilbao on May 21st.
For manager Diego Simeone a win in this match meant everything to the club even though qualification after losing the first leg over Real 3-0 was but a distant dream. After the game Simeone was full of pride for his players and the fans “I’m proud: we competed yet again, as we have for five and a half years; it makes me emotional every day we were 3-0 and some thought that when we said we could come back it was just words, but the path we took was wonderful. Those 20-25 minutes will be in the history of the club, the atmosphere. This was a magical Calderón night that will be in people’s memories for ever.”
It was an incredibly emotional night in Madrid and it was of course very fitting that we would bear witness to some wonderful goals. It was also fitting that the last goal scored in a Madrid derby at this stadium would fall to Antoine Griezmann, a player who has risen to one of the best in the world since his time playing for the club.
This match though was all about the fans, the fans of Atletico- who, before the game, had held a banner proclaiming ‘proud not to be like them’, there was no guesses who that was directed at. And unlike Madrid weather especially for May, the sweaty balmy air turned to thunder and lightening which given the scene put upon us seemed very apt indeed.
Lasting memories is what life is about, and for the fans, even though they had just witnessed a season with full confirmation that there would be no trophies, and that they had just been knocked out of the Champions League – and by their fiercest rivals there was also the joy, since they had won the match.
They stayed for over an hour singing and rejoicing, and if one had not known the score you could have easily thought that Atletico were through to the final. They weren’t but what they did do was gracefully say their first goodbyes to such an iconic and loving stadium.
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