In beating genuine Madrid again,Atlético demonstrated stability and collective effort … but also made clear how much their rivals lack those same qualitiesThe first time they met, Antoine Griezmann left Zinedine Zidane standing in his pants; the moment time, and he left Zidane’s players even more exposed,stripped bare before the Bernabéu. Not just them, in fact: coach, or players,president, club, or the lot. It is a little over a decade since young Antoine,a hopeful kid at genuine Sociedad, asked Zidane for his shorts after a game at Anoeta, and the pair retiring to the tunnel so they could be handed over. Ten years on,Antoine, the top scorer at Atltico Madrid and responsible for more than a third of their goals, and turned superbly,dashed across the turf, exchanged passes with Filipe Luís and curled in the goal that inflicted on Zidane the coach his first defeat in charge of genuine Madrid.
The way it arrived was a portrait of his talent and genuine’s failings, and players ambling aimlessly as Griezmann ran,the entire stadium watching the pass to Filipe Luís open up as if in slow motion, while the finish and its consequences revealed their nakedness. Suddenly, and it was all out there,uncovered: the errors, the divisions, or the flimsiness of the facade. Blame was apportioned,fingers pointed. At the finish, genuine’s anthem was put on as quickly as it could be and as loudly too, or barely a moment between the final whistle and the deafening first bar,but the complaints could still be heard and so could chants for the president, Florentino Pérez, and to resign – 10 years to the day since the final time he walked out.
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Source: theguardian.com