Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid - Champions League Final 2014 *Mod Warning Post #856

Nuri Sahin

Saturday 24 May, 19:45 and takes place at the impressive Estadio da Luz in Portugal, home of this seasons' treble winning side, Benfica.

* Breaking news just now is that Diego Costa sadly will miss the Final due to his hamstring injury picked up in Atleti's final league game of the season in Barcelona that saw them win La Liga.

Blatter

Any news on Arda Turan?

mike65

Real Madrid to smash em about 1-0 unfortunately.

carraig2

Very sorry to hear Diego Costa out. He deserves to play in this final.

Nuri Sahin

Blatter wrote: »

Any news on Arda Turan?

Bruised pelvis was the last thing I heard, but no confirmation as to whether he'll play at all or not.

Blatter

Nuri Sahin wrote: »

Bruised pelvis was the last thing I heard, but no confirmation as to whether he'll play at all or not.

Hopefully he's fit but I think they have a great team unity anyway, missing key players doesn't affect them as much as it would other teams.

Moneymaker

Blatter wrote: »

Hopefully he's fit but I think they have a great team unity anyway, missing key players doesn't affect them as much as it would other teams.

Didn't bother them at Barca.

Very much a side that is more then the sum of their parts.

That being said, I think Real will win, they will have too much for Atleti and they'll be fresh whereas Atleti could still be hungover from their Nou Camp heroics.

I'll go for 2-0 Real.

Blatter

Apparently Simeone said this about Costa;

"the week has just started, there are still some days until we have to decide. It's still early."

Hope yet...

upstairs for coffee

I hope the best player in the world shines on the night. Viva la Cristiano Ronaldo!!

glued

Blatter wrote: »

Apparently Simeone said this about Costa;

"the week has just started, there are still some days until we have to decide. It's still early."

Hope yet...

The Doctors have told him that he can't play or he'll tear his hamstring.

Radio MARCA wrote:

El hispano-brasileño se resintió de la lesión muscular el pasado sábado en el Camp Nou y las pruebas médicas han confirmado que tiene casi imposible jugar porque se podría romper

Atleti

@Atleti wrote:

D.Costa sufre una lesión del músculo isquiotibial en la cara posterior de su muslo derecho. Arda, un traumatismo en la cresta iliaca derecha

Athletico Madrid have confirmed that it's a reoccurance of the same injury. There is no way he'll play.

Nuri Sahin

Quite a few news sources here in the US are saying he's out for at least 2 weeks. If this wasn't a World Cup year, he might risk playing, though Chelsea and Del Bosque wouldn't be pleased either way.

NIMAN

Shame Costa is going to miss it, must be hard for him to take. Great chance of a CL medal before he moves into his defensive role at Stamford Bridge.

I too think Real will win this, think Atleti have achieved so much they are bound to have a bad game soon (having said that, all the top 3 played quite poorly in the run-in to La Liga).

I hope for the sake of the game that Ronaldo and Bale are fit.
Shame Alonso won't be there.

PirateShampoo

Ronaldo to score first with final score of 2-1 to Atletico

ArielAtom

Would love to see them do the double. Athletico fan for a day😉

Lennonist

I hope Atletico Madrid win it and I think they will follow up the title win by winning this as well, despite injuries to a couple of key players.

Barr

I can see Atletico Madrid winning this 1-0 , wouldn't bet against them this season

dan1895

Been a bit of a fan of Atleti the last 6 years or so so would love to see them win obviously. But more importantly I said at the start of the competition that they'd win it and I've never been right before.
Vamos Los colchoneros!!!

Professional Griefer

Hala Madrid!

greendom

What were the league results between the 2 this season ?

inforfun

Ronaldo, Benzema and Bale missing training today for Real

@greendom

All this season results between the 2 here

Dolph Starbeam

Hoping Atleti do it to round off an unbelievable season. Diego Costa is a big loss though, not only for his goals but his pace and strength to hold the ball up. Atleti are great without the ball but Madrid have so much pace they will hurt them at some stage. It should be an interesting game.

TheNap

inforfun wrote: »

Ronaldo, Benzema and Bale missing training today for Real

@greendom

All this season results between the 2 here

Doesnt sound great for Ronaldo tbh

itsjaybud

Why is the official UEFA website showing kick off to be at 8:45 & sky sports saying 7:45?

I presume 7:45 is correct considering there is no time zone difference between Ireland/England& Lisbon.

greendom

That's odd as I always thought Portugal was on the same time zone as the UK/Ireland.

8.45 would be the kick-off time in Nyon !

Agent Coulson

Any chance Costa would risk playing or would he prefer to be fully fit for the World Cup?

NIMAN

I can't see Ronaldo not playing, but its a huge risk for him.

Does he go all out, maybe tear a hamstring and miss the WC?

Its not like you can take it easy in a CL final.

iDave

You would have to feel for Athletico if they lose. They finally manage to win La Liga, break the duopoly their city rivals have been involved in. Get some well deserved bragging rights over them after years of hurt and then go and lose a Champions League final a week later to them. Any you can do......

TheNap

Ronaldo

“Nobody wants to miss a final, a final we have been aiming for and it is obviously important. If the body can’t do it then it is not the end of the world but I will be there, I am confident.”

thelad95

Hopefully this will be good. All the CL finals have been a bit drab since they switched to a Saturday night for the final with the exception of Bayern-Chelsea in 2012 and even that was terrible for 80 minutes.

klose

thelad95 wrote: »

Hopefully this will be good. All the CL finals have been a bit drab since they switched to a Saturday night for the final with the exception of Bayern-Chelsea in 2012 and even that was terrible for 80 minutes.

.????


Last years final was superb.!

klose

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Any chance Costa would risk playing or would he prefer to be fully fit for the World Cup?

Seems he's gone to Bulgaria to bet that horse placenta injection thingy that a few other players have gotten in hope to be able to play.

LuckyLloyd

I think it's important that the football hipsters be defeated. On that basis, hoping for a Real romp with a Ronaldo hattrick. The likes of Pepe and Ramos turning in sterling performances would also be highly acceptable.

Lennonist

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

I think it's important that the football hipsters be defeated. On that basis, hoping for a Real romp with a Ronaldo hattrick. The likes of Pepe and Ramos turning in sterling performances would also be highly acceptable.

Ronaldo is carrying a knock which may affect his performance. Fitness is a skill as you say yourself:pac:

Rooting for Atletico in this one.

NIMAN

I can see Bale having a major role in this.

Can just see the fairytale . .... last year stuck at an underachieving Spurs ... this year playing with one of the best teams in the world, great players around him, having likes of Zidane and Ancelloti hugging him after winning the Cup Final for Madrid, and now a winning goal in the CL Final to top it all off.

Not a bad 1st season, eh.

dan1895

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

I think it's important that the football hipsters be defeated. On that basis, hoping for a Real romp with a Ronaldo hattrick. The likes of Pepe and Ramos turning in sterling performances would also be highly acceptable.

Are you mixing up hipsters and bandwagon jumpers?

Dolph Starbeam

dan1895 wrote: »

Are you mixing up hipsters and bandwagon jumpers?

I don't think either is correct, its just people shouting for the underdog, its completely normal in this situation.

Seaneh

I want Real to finally win La Decima but I wouldn't be upset no matter who won once it's a good game.

Amirani

YayaBanana wrote: »

I don't think either is correct, its just people shouting for the underdog, its completely normal in this situation.

Agreed. Anti-hipsters have to be the most annoying people around. Disliking people for liking something different is a bit sad.

Nuri Sahin

There's a term in wrestling called smark. Smarks tend to consider themselves as ITK and for the most part root for the perceived bad guys because it's considered cool to do over the majority rooting for the good guy, or perceived underdog in many cases. Smarks are what they hate though, hipsters themselves, but in a different manner of speaking. They'll speak of themselves as the anti-hipsters, and in turn will make their comments louder in an attempt to really distance themselves away from it, but I see not much difference.

In saying that, Real Madrid have no excuse for not winning. The Champions League is what the club lives for, and Atleti without Diego Costa, Real will win a closely fought game more than likely. I do hope Atleti do their thing winning by Villa goal though.

keane2097

I feel I can't lose emotionally ahead of this game. I can't bear Ronaldo and his self-centredness on the pitch so hope Real lose badly, but at least if they win I'll have the pleasure of seeing Mourinho trying to claim it's really his trophy while fuming over how Ancellotti won La Decima where he failed so badly.

Diabhal Beag

It's a win-win for the neutral. Either Real finally end a really expensive drought or they suffer their biggest defeat to the neighbours. Don't see it being cagey either.

NIMAN

Lets just hope its a classic.

Real to win 3-2.

Morzadec

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

I think it's important that the football hipsters be defeated. On that basis, hoping for a Real romp with a Ronaldo hattrick. The likes of Pepe and Ramos turning in sterling performances would also be highly acceptable.

Nothing to do with "football hipsters" Lloyd.

It's about admiring a team of players and a manager who have epitomized all that's great about football overachieving, and doing what we all thought was the impossible, against a club who has every advantage going for them, who throw millions at every problem, who have treated many players poorly in the past, whose fans have zero patience and who whistle and boo their own players, who feel they have a right to do whatever they want in the transfer market, who bleat on about trophies they won when their only opposition were a couple of French dud teams, who had dodgy dealings with the local council to fund their star signings ten years ago, who Franco backed as his shining example of Spanish national greatness in Europe, who are still generally universally backed by the elite class in Spain who probably wish El Generalisimo was still alive, who essentially stole de Stefano from Barca when the deal was done, who get a totally disproportionate percentage of TV money which helps them fund their ridiculous transfer policy and maintain a (until now) boring and unfair duopoly in Spanish football, who give watches to refs before games and then unsurprisingly tend to get the rub of the green in the majority of matches.

It's easy to get cynical about football nowadays - billionaire owners, big teams who just get bigger, the chance of a team that is not already amongst Europe's elite or is funded by an oligarch or sheik breaking their way to the top almost impossible. The game has become predictable, boring and lost its soul.

Or has it?

To my shame, I did not believe in this Atleti side many times throughout the season. I always thought they'd fall short, their small squad, their (in comparison) minuscule budget, the perceived lack of quality of their players, was always going to catch up with them.

And at half-time on Saturday, I doubted them again. Their two best attacking players injured, one nil down at the Camp Nou. This was it. All the hard work would eventually end in heartbreak and a harsh lesson in reality dosed out.

But Simeone said his belief never faltered - he was always sure they would do it. Incredibly inspirational words about always having belief, and such an admirable group of players.

These guys have taught us lessons in hard work, bravery and belief that no amount of millions of euros Real Madrid spend could ever teach us.

And that's why we watch sport isn't it? The incredible moments that you almost can't believe, the impossible being achieved, life lessons being handed out - these are always the most epic moments.

Even United fans had to applaud Liverpool at Istanbul - it was almost impossible not to get behind them, the story, the incredulity, the human desire to believe that miracles are possible and the impossible can be overcome. That's why every neutral will be behind Atleti on Saturday.

And what's more, Atleti have done it showcasing everything that you, Lloyd, laud as great in football. They have showcased everything that, from your posts, I believe you claim is what football is about - bravery, hard work, "manliness", mental fortitude, strong organized defence, swift counter attacks, a never-say-die attitude, team spirit, a passionate manager, incredible vociferous fans who get behind their team win or lose, and above all, BALLS.

I couldn't think of a team that epitomizes your philosophy of what a great team, great players, great fans, a great manager and a great club should be like, better than Atleti 13/14.

I find it startling how any neutral, but especially a neutral who holds footballing views and a philosophy so strongly as yours, could want anything other than an Atleti win this weekend

GLaDOS

Fantastic post Morzadec

carraig2

ScienceNerd wrote: »

Fantastic post Morzadec

Agreed.

Talib Fiasco

Ronaldo to score early then get injured resulting in a World Cup ending injury and Atletico go on to win easily as Real are stunned by Ronaldo's injury....

Na, I'm just hoping for a great game with a few goals. Rooting for Atletico though. What a year. To think they sold Falcao last summer and most would think that was Atletico back to pushing for CL qualification but they have been immense this year.

Nuri Sahin

Diego Costa and Arda trained normally yesterday. Looking like both will play some part tomorrow at least.

PirateShampoo

PirateShampoo wrote: »

Ronaldo to score first with final score of 2-1 to Atletico

Is Ronaldo still injured?

Portugal are ****ting it.

inforfun

Reports in the Dutch press say Bale and Ronaldo will make it.
Benzema is doubtfull and Pepe is out.

Morzadec

inforfun wrote: »

Reports in the Dutch press say Bale and Ronaldo will make it.
Benzema is doubtfull and Pepe is out.

Pepe's been very good lately and Benzema links up the play really well, so a couple of blows there for Madrid.

Varane coming in (presumably, unless I'm mistaken and he's also injured?) is as good cover as you could hope for, but Benzema could be a bigger loss than you might think (even though I've been a critic of his in the past).

I think he helps get the best out of the likes of Ronalso. Will it be Jese who comes in? He looks like a good number 9, fast and a good finisher, but does he have the link-up capabilities of Benzema? Might we see a little less cohesion in the Madrid attack?

Blatter

Morzadec wrote: »

Pepe's been very good lately and Benzema links up the play really well, so a couple of blows there for Madrid.

Varane coming in (presumably, unless I'm mistaken and he's also injured?) is as good cover as you could hope for, but Benzema could be a bigger loss than you might think (even though I've been a critic of his in the past).

I think he helps get the best out of the likes of Ronalso. Will it be Jese who comes in? He looks like a good number 9, fast and a good finisher, but does he have the link-up capabilities of Benzema? Might we see a little less cohesion in the Madrid attack?

If Benzema is out I'd see Isco coming in.

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Ronaldo

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di Maria

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Isco

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Bale


The big question I'd have is who will play instead of Alonso. Is Khedira ready?