It was the perfect
motivation. Atletico, still
scarred by leaving
Monday's Ballon d'Or ceremony in Zurich with
zero reward for their astonishing achievements
in 2014, watched on as Cristiano Ronaldo
presented his Golden Ball to the Santiago
Bernabeu crowd.
Madrid were in celebratory mood; Atleti were
out to prove a point. Ronaldo was all smiles
alongside Puskas prize winner James Rodriguez,
Sergio Ramos and Toni Kroos (both included in
the FIFPro XI on Monday as Diego Costa and
Diego Godin inexplicably missed out). And less
than a minute into the game, with fans only just
back in their seats after raising a huge gold
mosaic in Cristiano's honour, Diego Simeone's
side took the lead through Fernando Torres.
"It was hard [on them]," Simeone said
afterwards. "There was a big crowd and the
choreography was very pretty, but such an early
goal marked the rhythm of the match. It wasn't
part of the [Madrid] plan."
When Torres left Atletico, he was too good for
his boyhood club. And when Torres came back,
they were supposedly too good for him. But much
like the rest of his team-mates and his coach, he
was out to prove a point in this match - and he
did so emphatically.
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