From Wayne : cauldron at Vicente Calderon
Hi Myles,
A great game, I thought, with a fantastic atmosphere once again in Madrid. Those guys really know how to get their team going.
But the inch-perfect spatial awareness of the Atletico game really did impress me this time. A slice of luck at the last with the penalty call going for a free kick but it was richly deserved.
I watched on RTE and listened to the pundits of Johnny Giles, Liam Brady and Eamon Dunphy after the game.
Giles admired Atletico’s efficiency, work-rate and teamwork and likewise Dunphy, who also spoke of their honesty as well in riposte to Brady’s labelling of Diego Simeone’s team as cynical.
Brady surprised me with that, referring to constant fouling etc, as if Barcelona are so angelic themselves, Suarez, anyone?
Dunphy’s mention of honesty was stated in tandem with an admission of a certain degree of fouling but that as a team operating on a shoestring, close to the edge for many years having to sell always to stay alive they do exactly what is required of them.
Remember, in 2010, when the teams met in the Europa Cup Final their wage bill was lower than Fulham’s !
They are the underdogs and there is always a certain thrill for me when the uninvited guests arrive. I guess that’s why I’m rooting for Leicester too.
I wonder what the Arsenal board think when they see a stadium atmosphere like that, a dynamic and successful manager, and a team that captures the imagination.
Myles says:
The Arsenal board are old farts who rarely go to away games and only care about their perks & privileges.
The lives of the directors these days? Most of it’s probably luxury cars, posh hotels, the Diamond Club and the Directors’ Box.
They used to be owners and custodians, but now the owner lives 6,000 miles away and the directors don’t know how often Wenger & Kroenke speak on the phone.
In the old days, when David Dein & Danny Fiszman were working together, the gregarious David would do most of the talking on social or matchday occasions, while canny Danny would listen and and figure people out.
But, later on, Danny was accessible, a proper nice guy who would talk to anybody. I liked him a lot.
With Atletico Madrid , it’s like Avis & Hertz car rentals.
The Avis slogan was : We’re No.2, we try harder.
They are the noisy neighbours of Real, who have always been backed by the King, the government and the banks. King Juan Carlos even let his daughter go out with Iker Casillas. Some fathers find it hard to say no to their kids (although I never had that problem).
Ashburton Grove is a big modern facility which generates cash, hosts conferences, exams and pop concerts, plus occasional internationals like the Portugal-Brazil game I once attended as guest in a box.
We live in a world owned by corporations and London’s biggest football club is a corporate dining room and also a huge pub.