3 reasons Atletico Madrid will win the Champions League
Atletico Madrid gets a third chance at continental glory, and a second attempt against capital rival Real when the two La Liga giants lock horns Saturday at the San Siro in the Champions League final.
Looking to flip the 4-1 extra-time defeat against Real two years ago in Lisbon, Diego Simeone and co. have plenty of reason to consider themselves favourites.
Here's a look at three reasons why Atletico will win Saturday:
Diego Simeone
Few clubs in Europe embody their manager like Atletico. A fiery fan of robust tackles and impassioned on-pitch displays, the 106-time capped Argentine El Cholo has inspired the club since joining in 2011 from Racing Club.
Simeone's virtues aren't limited to inspiring team talks and ruthless tinkering from the touchline, as Atletico has channeled the gaffer to continuously succeed as underdogs, both domestically and in Europe.
Perhaps Simeone described his squad best in 2014, when Atletico knocked Chelsea out of the Champions League semi-finals. Buoyed by a 3-1 victory over Jose Mourinho's red-hot lot that booked Atletico a finals berth against rival Real Madrid, Simeone was characteristically poetic in assessing his side's character:
"I would like to congratulate the mothers of these players because they have big cojones."
A near-impermeable backline
A cursory look at Atletico's numbers this season points to Europe's most dominant defensive-minded side. Eighteen goals conceded in 38 matches is an astounding number, with first-choice shot-stopper Jan Oblak boasting an obscene 24 clean sheets, nine more than the next best.
Digging a little deeper, in all competitions this season, the most goals Los Rojoblancos surrendered was three, which happened once, in a 3-2 Copa del Rey quarter-finals loss to Celta Vigo.
In 56 matches in all competitions this year, Atletico conceded two goals six times, three of those coming against football's munitions factory Barcelona. Simeone's lot also surrendered twice against Bayern Munich in advancing to the semi-finals, and were on the wrong side of 2-1 scorelines against Sporting Gijon and Levante.
More than just the heroics of Oblak, Atletico's stinginess is due to a backline comprised of the Uruguayan international duo of Jose Gimenez and Diego Godin paired with Spaniards Filipe Luis and Juanfran in full-back positions.
A sum of its parts, indeed.
Attacking depth
More than just a squad known for its shape and cohesive defensive unit, Atletico boasts a diverse group of attackers ameliorated since the finals loss that saw Real win the Decima.
Two years ago in Lisbon, Diego Costa and David Villa started up top for Simeone. Villa was years removed from his prime, and Costa was taken off after nine minutes with a hamstring concern. Adrian Lopez came on for the enigmatic Spanish international.
Two years on, French standout Antonie Griezmann leads a diverse group of a half-dozen attackers whose play on the counter suits Atletico's defensive-minded tactics.
Griezmann, 25, who Simeone describes as "one of the best three players in the world" scored 22 league goals in 38 matches paired with seven goals in Champions League, good enough for sixth- and fifth-best respectively.
A striker in the traditional mold, Champions League winner Fernando Torres complements Griezmann's penchant for movement, while Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco adds width with his pace on the flank.
Despite only conceding two goals in the knockout stages, Real has been prone to defensive lapses, and with Raphael Varane slated to miss out with injury, Griezmann and a rejuvenated Torres could spell trouble for Zinedine Zidane's lot.