• Ramos. "Me the enemy of Atlético? That's a very ugly word"
  • Rivalry: Simeone vs Zidane, more love than hate

In Trujillo , a noble town of Extremadura, they still remember that pilgrimage in May 2014 in their bars. Thousands of Real Madrid and Atlético fans passed by cars and buses excited to Lisbon, where the Champions League final was waiting. Some of the nerves even lost the coveted entry into a service area. The return, at dawn on Saturday and throughout Sunday, was different; with faces full of joy and others with a dislike of first.

Few of them could imagine that from that historic party a series of new revenges would emerge, many of them also in international venues and all of them always leaving deep marks to winners and losers. None, it is true, later reached the limits of what happened in the stadium of Light , with a film ending, but they all had their hard hangover. Tonight in Jeddah , after the Spanish Super Cup , is also felt annoying, because the defeat against the neighbor is always more bitter.

"It still hurts to think about it," said David Villa later, athletic striker in Lisbon. He, stumbled by exhaustion, caused one of the most famous corners in football history. They later confessed on the red and white shore that some players were all that summer reviewing the match with a CSI magnifying glass in search of small details that would have prevented the fatal corner kick that made Sergio Ramos a hero of the Tenth European Cup in Europe.

The change wasted in Diego Costa, some stronger clearance in those last moments of agony, a lack in the center of the field to lose time, that lost race ... In Madrid, in the opposite direction, they also collected after miguitas de gloria Heading for that tight header. The fight (little valued later) of the now rojiblanco Morata in his few minutes on the grass, the great game of Marcelo, the determination of Isco - both substitutes - and the previous message of Florentino Pérez to the Andalusian defender: «I put all my trust in you ». That upset of the president in the box was also in the books, for being the second time in his years in the position he held effusively, standing, a goal. The previous one had been after one of Karim Benzema in his native Lyon.

In search of revenge

It would take Atlético four years to adjust part of the accounts, taking the European Super Cup. Before, yes, he had to go through the hard trance of losing another Champions to his hated rival. It happened in Milan and in the penalty shootout, a random destination where Griezmann landed after failing a maximum penalty and missing Simeone's dare to throw his men for a grogui Madrid for Carrasco's draw. His responsibility in the second fall to the whites tormented the Argentine coach in the following days, seriously considering his resignation. In vilo he had his parish. Nothing to do with Lisbon, from where despite the cruel blow he was reinforced thanks to the league title won that season and the promise of blood to his people to soon lift a European Cup yes or yes. And if it was against Madrid, better.

Simeone did not leave and fate placed him in Estonia, years later, a new international derby to finally give a joy to his unconditional. Along the way, another unpleasant drink against the whites, also in European competition: the elimination in the semifinals of the 2017 Champions League. In domestic tournaments, there was his Atletico hit Madrid, with a tasty Copa del Rey (2013) in Bernabéu, a Spanish Super Cup (2014) and several dominated league clashes. The win that endorsed Carlo Ancelotti (4-0, February 2015) almost cost him the Italian dismissal.

But it wasn't until August 2018 when the rojiblancos sang triumph in a derby abroad, in a final. They did it in Tallinn, a city that welcomed the pulse between the champions that year of the Champions League and the Europa League, in another flash of Madrid's power in the continental football of recent times. Never have two clubs in the same city had so many times and so high their rivalry. Milan and Inter crossed at the beginning of the century in the Champions League, but not for the title. In that European Super Cup, traced by Atlético in the last minutes, and with a final win (4-2), a turbulence trip began for Real Madrid.

From Tallinn to the United States

Julen Lopetegui returned from Estonia already in question, with little travel on the bench. He left after being beaten at the Camp Nou. Then Santiago Solari arrived without being able to redirect a changing and nostalgic wardrobe of Cristiano Ronaldo . Until Zidane returned, which took months to reactivate the machines. In fact, it would be up to the French to deal with an ugly athletic bait in the last preseason.

Rarely did a friendly cause such damage to whites. In the first derby in the United States, the men of Simeone took advantage of the dismissal of their rival, more pending in the previous hours of shopping in the Big Apple. With Diego Costa in front, the athletics enjoyed, even on an unofficial date, skinning Madrid, which even ended up with a better score than expected as things went in the field. New Jersey 7-3 is not yet forgotten in Zidane's locker room or club, because of the blush he caused.

Tonight, some and others keep recent motivations to fight for the victory, beyond the traditional capital rivalry, shot to the maximum by the confrontations of the last years. «Your number one public enemy? I don't like the word enemy, ”Sergio Ramos confessed yesterday. In his head and in the insufficient stretch of Courtois, today his partner, it all began.

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  • Real Madrid
  • Diego Costa
  • European Super Cup
  • Spain Supercup
  • U.S
  • Sergio Ramos
  • Thibaut Courtois
  • Marcelo
  • Carlo Ancelotti
  • Cristiano Ronaldo
  • Santiago Solari
  • Isco Alarcón
  • Julen Lopetegui
  • Karim Benzema
  • sports
  • football

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