A Photoshopped picture of Barcelona’s Xavi lying on the pitch of the Vicente Calderón with a pair of scissors and ruler in his clasps is a long-lasting image that resides burned in my mind from the social network explosion surrounding the Catalan club’s exit from the Champions League. For the first time in seven seasons F.C. Barcelona will not be amongst Europe’s final four competitors, bowing out of the tournament at the hands of Madrid, Atlético Madrid. For Barça there was no excuse. No matter the length of the grass or its moisture levels, Atleti had achieved history. ‘Ganar, ganar, ganar, y volver a ganar’ was the clear message plastered accross the vibrant tifo created by the Atleti faithful; in English it reads – Win, win, win, and win again.
Wednesday’s result was a reflection of the fans’ deepest desires but it would be the first Atlético victory over Barcelona since 2009. What a time to draw blood! The southern Madrid club have never been to the European Cup semifinal in the era of the Champions League format. Chelsea, Bayern Munich, and neighbors Real are all possible partners in the draw this Friday but Simeone, ceremoniously dressed in all black, showed his team are nearsighted in his post match comments. He summed up the event and squad mentality by claiming that his men need to rest because they have a game this weekend in La Liga, where they sit narrowly in first place with six games to play. But no matter how coy the Argentine plays his cards, what the world witnessed on the River Manzanares was tactical masterclass and although the result is clear-cut, it provided more questions than answers within the borders of the Spanish state, particularly for direct rivals. A tactical analysis will provide the insight because with every game played, Atlético de Madrid are becoming a scarier kind of monster.
On one side of the scale is the audacity of Atlético’s triumph; on the other is the shock caused by Barcelona’s manner of exit. Tellingly, it’s tough to say which side it’s tilting toward. Tata Martino’s boys were fortunate the tie wasn’t over in the first quarter hour. Not only did the hosts hunt a quick goal within five minutes but managed (somehow) to hit both posts and a crossbar within twenty. The ruthless pressing high into Barcelona territory was unsettling for the visitors who brashly forked over possession, panicked and alarmed by Atletico’s abrupt presence. Barcelona, who some claim are stuck in their ways, insisted on trying to play out from the back; they failed on numerous occasions. The inexperienced partnership of Bartra and Mascherano didn’t help the cause. Perhaps Barcelona should have purchased a center back when they had they chance, now highlighted by Gerard Pique’s hairline fracture. With their new transfer ban constricting their market activity, they’ll have to wait 14 months or just produce their own homegrown defending star molded for pivotal big matches, right? Or is that Bartra? Either way, ‘La masia no se toca.’
Whether it was down to confidence in their team’s ability to dictate possession or a predetermined tactic, it was exposed for the first half hour. Yet the most remarkable defending trait boasted by los colchoneros is the commitment to recover if beaten 1v1. If the first man is slipped by, he’ll recover in time to make a nuisance of himself from behind by the time the attacker is confronted by the next defender. Hence a 2v1 in favor of Atletico’s defense. Oh, how many simple folk would kill to be a fly on the wall in Simeone’s dressing room? The way he motivates and squeezes the effort out of his squad members is envious. He is a special, special manager.
If Simeone could, he would have applied that brand of suffocating fury for the entire game, but the nature of that style of defending is physically taxing and to suggest that kind of pressure for the duration of 90 minutes would be inconceivable. This is where the genius shown through.
Having already secured an early lead through the rigorous press in the first half, Atleti played to their strengths. In the second half they sunk in much deeper, inviting their opponents to test their greatest asset, organized defending. Domestically, Atletico Madrid have the best defensive record in the league. In the Champions League they are the only team unbeaten. With a goal to their favor they could afford to rest and sit back, waiting to break. Confident that they could hold off Messi and company enabled the team to pick and choose their moments to exploit an overcommitted Barcelona attack seeking a leveler or clear impending danger in order to set up again. Should Barcelona have pillaged an equalizer, Simeone’s men would have been rested enough to engage the pressing game again in which they scored their first. That being said, the walls never fell. Round of applause.
Hats are off to the Argentine tactician and his manic touchline behavior. Wouldn't it be interesting if the statisticians tracked Cholo Simeone’s distance covered in a match? First beer says he moves more than the average goalkeeper. Which leads to the next point – the absence of Lionel Messi. According to MARCA, Barcelona’s talisman only ran 1.5 kilometers more than Pinto, 6.8. To put it in comparison, Atleti’s Koke did 12.2. Pre-match chatter had suggested the four-time Balon d’Or winner would take up a starting position on the flank to rid him of claustrophobic shackles of center back pairing Diego Godín and Miranda, but throughout the evening Messi seemed a mouse in a corn field, lost in the stalks around him for large portions of the match. He was presented two thirsty chances in the first act but neither were on target, his header in the 13th minute squirting just wide of Courtois’s left post. He has now failed to score against Atlético Madrid in the last six meetings.
No one is taking anything away from Atleti's performance but their clanky tone of tackles fit well with an English referee’s interpretation of the laws. The Premier League’s Howard Webb allowed boys to be boys and wasn’t getting too picky about petty contact that would often times draw a whistle from La Liga’s officials. In fact, the game benefited from the fluency without getting out of hand. Two penalty shouts for each team were waved away and in the end it was a fair result. In many segments of world football, the grit and tenacity is disappearing from the game and it’s most evident amongst the color commentators of today who are forever saying things like ‘there’s not much in it for me,’ or ‘ten years ago that might have been waved play on, today it’s a yellow card.’ Of course, they’re the ones that were playing last decade. Nevertheless, it made the role of Tiago in midfield for the hosts a highlight of the match. He was superb throughout the 90 minutes with the highest tackle success ratio, a perfect clearance success ratio, and most interceptions of anyone on display. Bravo.
Onward and upward to the next round with nothing to lose. Many would delight in watching a derbi madrileño semifinal, cultivating the idea that the Spanish capital is now the most powerful footballing city on Earth. Madrid were victims of a similar press job performed by Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, but in the end poor finishing and tired legs saved los blancos from a historically embarrassing elimination.
Now, one can only marvel at what this latest achievement will do for Atleti’s confidence back in the league. They’re away this weekend to Getafe, but that’s not really away is it? Potential hiccups include two consecutive away trips to Valencia to battle los che and Levante and of course, Barcelona at the Camp Nou on the final day of the season. However, maybe the snowballing confidence from this triumph will allow them to power through the banana skins like some sort of La Liga version of ‘star power’ from Mario Kart. Meanwhile Barcelona will be hoping to avoid a European hangover as they head south to Granada. The only thing that’s certain is that these two challengers will meet again. And just like the Champions League, there can only be one winner. Exactly who that winner is remains a mystery.