A decade later, Atlético returns to Anfield: "I didn't know where to go"

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The access door to Liverpool's locker room in Anfield is smaller than the visitor's. So is the dressing room itself. The reason: that the opponent feels tiny, while the host, with his players close together, is agiguous. At Atlético they learned about the matter in 2008, during the Champions League group stage (1-1) , and he was no longer caught by surprise a couple of years later (2010), before that vibrant Europa League semifinal that served of liberation to the rojiblanco club. Despite the defeat (2-1), Forlán decided with a blow in the extra time. «That victory gave us a leap and recognition in Europe. It was a step forward for the entity and a change in the mentality of the amateur », acknowledges a decade later Álvaro Domínguez, one of the centrals on that magical night. Perhaps without it, nothing that happens on Wednesday along Anfield Road would have been possible.

Because it should be remembered that, at that time, Atlético was traveling in a different car than now. And, also, that he lived with enough economic and sports constraints. Despite the aura of infallibility that Liverpool from Klopp gives off (somewhat less after their three losses in five games ), the distance between both teams in 2010 was much more pronounced. «The game started very intensely, it was like a storm. They did not take in marking and everything went cold. Few things happened until the extension, where they scored first. We had Diego [Forlán] in a state of grace and he ended up being decisive, ”recalls Fran Escribá, the right-hand man of Quique Sánchez Flores.

In the previous one, Quique sent to put in the dressing room an impressive photo of each player , with a gesture of strength and energy, just above the place where each one had folded his uniform and his boots. "It was like an injection of adrenaline, a last push to a staff that stepped on those heights for the first time," recalls one of the members of the expedition of that team.

"Suffer again"

Dominguez was then a 20-year-old boy who poked his head in the elite as central. His back problems forced him to leave football in 2016 and undergo five operations. However, he keeps in mind that hellish start that lived in Anfield. « They went out in tromba . People stood on each corner and on each occasion. At 10 minutes I didn't know where to go. It will be their turn to suffer again, ”he predicts.

Because in Anfield, Liverpool is always more Liverpool, if possible. As is the case with Atlético in Wanda. As soon as he kneeled in Madrid, Klopp appealed to the spirit of a stadium whose heartbeat makes his people levitate. However, Escribá relativizes his weight : «The public is very high and the sensation of noise is permanent. But Atlético's fans are like that too. I don't think the environment is going to be decisive.

«The two teams have changed a lot. Rafa's Liverpool [Benitez] was very orderly and disciplined, and played with a point (Kuyt). Now they are more dynamic and with more goal . Except for Gerrard, the rest is much better today, ”the technician abounds. The market price of Atlético, according to the Transfermarkt website, was 210 million, for the 870s of which the red carpet will step on tonight.

For this Athletic, overcoming the tie has more emotional value than economic. Because in his budget the classification for the next Champions weighs more (something that this course is more expensive) than striding in Europe, unless it is to achieve the title. Leaving Liverpool alive would broaden the self - esteem of a team in the process of cooking.

In principle, unless an extension such as that of 2010 is repeated, those of Simeone will know their destination before 22.00 English time. They will have a thousand anecdotes to tell, but, sure, none like the one their compatriot Pernía wrote there, one autumn night in 2008. Maxi Rodriguez silenced Anfield in the first part and, when the victory seemed a fact, a lap of Gerrard in the discount, left the thing halfway. “Pernía went like crazy for the referee and released him: 'The line judge saw him. He apologized. He said: 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry! (Sorry, sorry!) », Reveals an employee of that Athletic. The team returned home with the anger of the tie, the injustice of a penalty that was not and the fire for the alleged fault of the lineman. The next day, the cameras uncovered the conversation: 'I saw it, I saw it! (I saw it, I saw it!) '. "I don't know English, I understood that," Pernía acknowledged. That's why in 2010, everyone lived the discount from the tunnel, distrustful. It happened 10 years ago. Today's may not be very different.

No restrictions

By mid-afternoon on Tuesday, there was confusion about what the set would be and the final soundtrack of the Anfield stand. The expansion of the coronavirus through Europe had made the rumor grow on a hypothetical closed-door game . As will happen tonight in Paris or happened yesterday in Valencia. «I hope you play with people; it would not be fair for Liverpool not to be able to count on its people, ”Simeone admitted with a serious gesture, despite the fact that the stands of the British stadium are one of the pillars that sustains much of the enthusiasm of the whole of Klopp. Today, at the last morning meeting, the matter will be discussed again, although it is normal that there is no last-minute change. "There are only rumors," they insisted yesterday at the last minute from Atlético de Madrid.

The Cholo stepped for the first time in his career (both coach and player) a stadium where Atlético has the last chance to leave a good mark this season. "In Turin we could not play," repeated the Argentine coach after ensuring that, if things get ugly, "there is a plan B".

In the big nights, as happened in the first leg, he usually hides some trick. And, perhaps, it comes in the form of four midfielders (Koke, Llorente, Thomas and Saul), as has been the norm on special nights like those in Munich (2016). Morata, who came out of the Sevilla game, trained as if nothing. Between him and Diego Costa is the companion of Joao Félix .

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

• Europe
• Seville
• Valencia
• Atlético de Madrid
• Joao Felix
• Koke
• Madrid
• Diego Costa
• Paris
• sports

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