We pay tribute to the finalists without cups.
Many losers deserve “from the ears”
Guardiola kisses his wife and the European Cup, he did not cheat on Christina with “eared” twelve years. Second career treble, a unique achievement. But the label “the favorite won and the best lost in the final” will stick to the fight in Istanbul. Hanzha will note that Inter was a worthy extra who missed 14 shots (6 on goal). Manchester City only had 7 tries.
But the hypocrite could be wrong. We must pay tribute to Inzaghi and his departments. Unfortunate, as unfortunate before in Champions League Manchester City. Many losers deserve the cup. Liverpool were no worse than Real Madrid, but lost to Courtois. Chelsea did not beat Manchester City, even if they turned off Guardiola’s more successful team Inter Milan. Neuer helped Bayern win PSG with a score of 1:0.
Tottenham Hotspur pressed Liverpool. Yes, and the move from Ajax is canon, Pochettino’s team was close to victory in Champions League. There were push-backs in the final, but the 4-1 defeat against Atlético, which returned the cup to Real Madrid, was also a draw in regular time. Ronaldo and Marcelo crushed Simeone’s team, but Ramos’ goal rewrites history. The victory of the “creamy” on penalties two years later from the same work.
If we take all the finals of the new century, we get seventeen of the twenty-three finalists who deserved to win. Deschamps’ Monaco, which lost 3-0 against Mourinho’s young Porto, was also an interesting group. Bayer, who lost to the great Real Madrid, was also impressive. After all, even the finalists, who granted indicatively, such as Manchester United Ferguson, they were great.
There is no easy way to the Champions League final
On the eve of the final, analysts calculated the “quality” of opponents for all Champions League finalists, starting with the final in Moscow. It turned out that Enrique’s Barcelona had gone the hard way. Although the final turned out to be predictable, the Catalans met with Juventus, who removed Real Madrid. Before that, the Spaniards went through Manchester City, PSG and Bayern. But not everyone has come across such tough opponents.
Guardiola had Leipzig, Bayern and Real Madrid on the way: a league test. But the Munich club, having reached the final, in which they gave victory to Chelsea, surpassed their more modest rivals in terms of sum, Inter Milan, Marseille and Real Madrid. Inzaghi’s Inter, too sinful to complain about their fate in the playoffs – they beat Porto, Benfica and Milan, they too lost, like Bayern.
The only “easy” victory in many years for Zidane in 2016. Experienced Real Madrid got Roma, Wolfsburg and Manchester City. Analysts have calculated this to be one of the weaker combinations. But Real Madrid twice had opponents almost as difficult as Enrique’s Barcelona. And of all the underdog teams, Atlético Madrid had the toughest path in 2016.
Simeone not only beat PSV, but also Barcelona with Bayern. As you can see, while Zidane was nervous after his flight from Wolfsburg, his neighbor in Madrid was facing tough matches against the favourites. As a result, there was no strength left for the final with the neighbors. Guardiola is now joking about Real Madrid’s victories and he himself is now in the opponents’ difficulty ranking in the center, and Inter are at the bottom. Most likely, the freshness factor influenced the final in Istanbul.
Inter finished third in Serie A, 18 points behind Napoli. While Inzaghi has quietly lost 12 times, Guardiola almost gave the title to Arsenal. I had to turn on. Josep took the treble, but obviously it was more difficult for the English, Premier League it takes a lot of energy. Not only was Haaland not the first freshness yesterday, which Inter almost took advantage of at the end of the game.
Italians and French are the main losers
The most offensive to Greeks, Belgians and Swedes. They had a shot at winning the European Cup but failed to convert. Panathinaikos coach Puskas lost to Ajax Michels. Club Brugge lost to great Liverpool. Soon after, Malmö lost to Clough’s Nottingham Forest. But if we count the number of defeats, and not their share, then Italy is in first place: 17 lost finals.
Then the Spaniards – 11 defeats, while the British and Germans have ten failures. Sometimes we talk about one-country finals, like Manchester United against Chelsea, Atlético against Real Madrid. Or Bayern against Borussia Dortmund. Yesterday Gundogan, author of that old final, lifted the Champions Cup. But many were less fortunate. For example, French clubs have played in 7 Champions League finals and won only once.
In addition to the Italians and the French, the Portuguese can be noted. That Curse of Bela Guttmann. The Hungarian coach was offended by the bosses of Benfica for not raising salaries, “cursed” the big club for a hundred years without victories in the European Cup finals. Poor Eusebio went to the coach’s grave to ask to “reverse the curse”. Benfica have lost five finals in a row, an incredibly shocking run.
Only Juventus can feel like a big loser – 7 defeats in 9 finals and Bayern – 5 defeats with 6 wins, but the Germans had a better chance than Benfica. “Inter” yesterday “evened the score”, now 3:3 in terms of victories and defeats. Milan from Italy hold on with 7 wins and 4 losses, but Fiorentina, Roma and Sampdoria lost the only finals.
However, in this category, Atlético became the “champion”. They fought with dignity three times – they dragged Bayern in a replay and bit Real Madrid, but lost. Now it’s a shame for Inter. Lukaku slept very little last night. Together with the unbridled joy of the English, the bitter and metallic taste of defeat arrives in the mouth, the third consecutive Serie A final of the year after the failures of Roma and Fiorentina.
Inter create chances, but Lukaku doesn’t beat Ederson. Long live the new king of European football. The Citizens became just the 19th club to win in the 67-year history of the European Cup. For the first time in 11 years, a new name is engraved on a trophy. Chelsea and Manchester City are the only winners making their debut in the 21st century.
