On the evening of May 24, at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal.
Weather: sunny to cloudy.
Temperature: 14 to 17 degrees.
Wind: northerly, force 4.
It was excellent weather for football.
Before this Champions League final, Lisbon had light to moderate rain for four consecutive days from the 19th to the 22nd. Yesterday and today turned sunny to cloudy, which could be called a blessing from above.
Gao Shen stood at the doorway of the home dressing room at the Estádio da Luz, hugged his players one by one, gave them his blessings and encouragement, and sent them out toward the battlefield that was about to begin.
Every Real Madrid player wore a solemn expression because they all understood the importance of this match.
The Estádio da Luz is not large, with a capacity of only 60,000. The actual number of Real Madrid fans present was fewer than 25,000, because the two clubs split 40,000 tickets equally, and the remainder belonged to UEFA. Fans who could not buy through the club had to purchase from UEFA or other channels.
This was a global spectacle. Fans from all over the world had gathered in Lisbon, and tickets were almost impossible to find.
At the back of the line walked goalkeeper Courtois. Gao Shen high-fived the nearly two-meter-tall Belgian, then hugged him and offered encouragement.
"I am absolutely certain that tonight will be yours."
Courtois smiled and nodded, very confident.
Gao Shen still remembered that in his previous life, Courtois should have been on Atletico's side for this final. Now he belonged to Real Madrid. This was not to say that Gao Shen's arrival had no butterfly effect.
On the contrary, not only Courtois, but Felipe Luis too was no longer at Atletico, instead at Manchester City, which meant Siqueira was Atletico's left-back.
Yet the Colchoneros still reached the Champions League final, which once again proved a point.
Football truly is a team sport.
When Atletico get things right, when the team settles at a balance point and unleashes its strongest fighting power, even losing one or two key players does not affect them much.
Simeone always finds a way to solve problems.
Just like now.
In front of the players, Gao Shen always appeared confident, but only after they had all left did he take a deep breath and try to calm himself.
Life is like a play, and it depends on your acting.
When he worked in the corporate world, he managed employees this way. Now, as a head coach, he managed the dressing room the same way.
…
Goalkeeper: Asenjo.
Defenders: Siqueira, Godín, Miranda, Juanfran.
Midfielders: Koke, Gabi, Thiago, Raúl García.
Forwards: Villa and Diego Costa.
This was Atletico Madrid's starting lineup tonight.
A 4-4-2. Simeone clearly wanted a more balanced approach.
Real Madrid also sent out their strongest lineup.
Goalkeeper: Courtois.
Defenders: Marcelo, Ramos, Pepe, Carvajal.
Midfielders: Toni Kroos, Xabi Alonso, Modric.
Forwards: Ronaldo, Benzema, Di María.
Real Madrid would also play the system and tactics they knew best.
The midfield setup was stable, and Gao Shen did not put Casemiro on the bench. Instead, it was Illarramendi.
In addition, Isco, Pogba, and Morata also made the squad.
This showed Gao Shen's attitude toward tonight's match, namely that Real Madrid would be proactive.
Judging from the personnel, Real Madrid leaned toward attack.
Simeone obviously sensed Gao Shen's determination.
The two met at the entrance of the tunnel. Simeone arrived earlier and, when he saw Gao Shen, immediately greeted him with a smile. They shook hands politely, patted each other on the shoulder, and exchanged a few words.
Gao Shen took the initiative to "surrender," hoping Simeone would be merciful both with feet and hands.
Simeone understood and laughed. "We have no choice. You are so strong that we dare not hold anything back."
This was one of the weapons that allowed Atletico to repeatedly upset stronger opponents.
They were exactly like Simeone as a player, very good at walking the line of officiating standards.
Atletico cared little about fouls or whether the game flowed. To some extent, a broken rhythm was exactly what they wanted. What they really cared about was whether they would be booked.
Before the match, both sides had studied the referee and knew exactly what kind of official Bjorn Kuipers was.
In comparison, Atletico held the advantage, and Real Madrid were already behind before the match began.
…
After the coin toss, Atletico chose the left, and Real Madrid got kickoff.
But tonight's kickoff was different.
You could see it from the starting positions on both sides.
Benzema and Modric stood in the center circle, Ronaldo and Di María on the wings, and Marcelo and Carvajal both pushed high.
This made Real Madrid's shape at kickoff look a bit like a 2-4-4, with Marcelo and Carvajal almost level with the wingers.
Atletico used a standard 4-4-2.
With Bjorn Kuipers' whistle, Benzema tapped the ball to Modric amid a roar from the stands.
As soon as Modric took the ball, he moved it with his right foot to the left.
Ronaldo controlled it, and Marcelo surged forward from behind him, pushing even higher than Ronaldo.
But Raúl García and Diego Costa both pressed at the same time.
The strategy had been clearly set before the match: when the opponent advances, we advance; when the opponent retreats, we control.
Atletico's best skill is wing pressure. It is very similar to high pressing. Because of the limited space, pressing on the wing is most effective.
Therefore, when Atletico pushed up, Real Madrid pushed too.
Ronaldo did not play Marcelo in front of him because he knew that once he fed Marcelo and Juanfran stepped up, Atletico would form a three-on-two on the wing, which would be a disadvantage for Real Madrid.
The ball might even be intercepted.
So Ronaldo did not look for Marcelo. He passed directly back to Toni Kroos.
Kroos understood, took the ball with his right foot, opened his body, glanced right, and then hit a long diagonal.
The ball was switched precisely to the right.
From the home dugout, it was toward the far touchline.
Di María had already made his run. Seeing Kroos's pass, he judged the drop, backed up, turned his back to goal on the right touchline, and cushioned the ball.
At that moment, Carvajal shouted a warning, telling Di María to beware of Siqueira.
But it was too late.
Siqueira slid in from behind, taking ball and man.
The stadium erupted in a mix of boos and cheers.
The boos came from Real Madrid fans, the cheers from Atletico's.
The referee indicated a foul. Real Madrid had a free kick.
"Atletico Madrid committed a foul just eight seconds into the game."
"This is classic Atletico."
…
As Atletico dropped off, Real Madrid took the free kick quickly but created no real threat, then recycled and reorganized.
They moved from right to left, then suddenly switched back to the right.
Carvajal carried forward and slipped a pass into Benzema, who had dropped to receive.
The French striker, with his back to goal, controlled and laid it to Di María, then spun and surged into the box.
The Argentine returned the ball into Benzema's path and accelerated.
Benzema read it and flicked it back to Di María, forming a neat wall pass down the flank.
After Di María caught up to it, he faced Siqueira on the right edge of the area, pulled up, drove inside, split the gap between Siqueira and the recovering Koke, cut across the top of the box, and swept a low left-footed ball into the area.
Neither Benzema nor Ronaldo could get there. Godín cleared first.
But Real Madrid had seized Atletico's left and began to hammer away.
Di María and Carvajal were in rhythm, launching waves of attacks on the right as if trying to knock Atletico down there, stabbing at their left flank.
In under three minutes, Real Madrid mounted several right-sided attacks, with two moves even entering the area. Simeone on the touchline grew uneasy.
In front of the visitors' bench, Simeone, in a black suit, black shirt, and black tie, dark-skinned with stubble, looked like a mob boss. He kept gesturing, urging his team to step up and press.
"Don't let them block our door, you idiots!"
Atletico tried to counter quickly, but the long pass was overhit, Koke could not reach it, and it rolled out near the halfway line.
After Real Madrid took the throw quickly, they circulated the ball at the back, stretching Atletico.
From left to right, then right to left, and back again.
Atletico's midfield and forwards surged up again, but Real Madrid moved it away rapidly.
Carvajal, Modric, Xabi Alonso, the ball was lifted forward.
Ronaldo attacked the first ball, flicked a header behind him into Benzema's zone, and, on landing, sprinted on.
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Benzema did not jump, held his ground, and nodded it back into Ronaldo's stride.
The Portuguese brought it under control and burst into the area.
At the critical moment, Juanfran slid in from the side and brought him down. Free kick.
Still no cards.
There had been several fouls, and not even a verbal warning.
Gao Shen nodded at Ramos, who immediately rushed over and, as captain, protested to the referee.
On the touchline, Gao Shen looked even more animated. He kept shouting, spitting as he argued with the fourth official, accusing the referee of being unreasonable for not showing a card for a side-on scissor tackle.
"Look at his officiating. Is this fair?" Gao Shen snapped at the fourth official.
Given his status in European football, he did not swear or make it personal, and his argument was coherent. The referee and fourth official had to accept it. Ramos's protest was backed by teammates, Atletico players came over as well, and the two sides nearly clashed. The scene was tense for a moment.
Fortunately, Real Madrid remained restrained and did not escalate.
After calming both sides, the referee also came to the touchline to soothe Gao Shen and said he would control the match.
He then signaled for play to resume.
Real Madrid free kick in the attacking third.
(To be continued.)
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