Atletico look to complete Simeone miracle

If there was any remaining doubt about the immense faith Atletico Madrid have in their manager, Tiago immediately removed it. The former Chelsea midfielder was asked to explain the effect of Diego Simeone.

At first, with his manager sat to his right, he seemed a little reticent. He ended up offering the highest possible praise.

“It’s difficult to speak with him here but I think, for us, for all the club, he’s like a God for us.”

If that sounds over the top, it is actually a rather mainstream opinion by this point. “A miracle,” has been the phrase commonly used to describe their campaign. They were exactly the words used to the Irish Examiner by Radomir Antic, who was the last Atletico manager to win a double, back in 1995-96.

This season far surpasses that one, in every sense, and not just for Simeone’s side. Should Atletico go and win the Champions League tonight, they will be the financially weakest side to do it since FC Porto in 2004. They are already outside the richest 20 clubs in Europe, which is itself so unusual.

The contrasts with Real Madrid have already been repeated: Atletico’s wage bill is just 27% of their city rivals, their total revenue just 21%.

All that is in itself is remarkable. Those are also the stakes.

Given that Atletico won the Spanish league in such sensational and defiant fashion, this genuinely has the potential to be the greatest achievement in modern football.

It’s difficult to think of many that compare to it. More importantly than anything, it was the kind of campaign that was supposedly beyond anyone but the super-clubs. Tiago put all that down to Simeone, and his supremely intelligent design.

“For us, it doesn’t matter if we’re underdogs or not. We give everything.

“He arrived at the club and changed everything. What he says comes true. If he asks us to jump from a bridge, we jump. I think he knows a lot of football. We as a group follow whatever he says, and we’re very proud to have him as a coach.”

Atletico are also evidently proud of what is the biggest game the club has ever played.

“This the most important game in the history of the club, with all the responsibility that brings,” midfielder Gabi said. “I’m proud to defend the Atletico jersey.”

That raw emotion has been one of the distinctive traits of the team’s season, evident in every home match and so connecting them with their earthily raucous fan base. Tiago also made that clear.

“It’s a club where the people have an emotion for the colours like few others.”

If that rawness makes them so distinctive from the elite grandeur of Real, so does their humbler history, but that is not to say they don’t have a past that provides this game with an extra resonance.

This match marks the 40th anniversary of Atletico’s only other appearance in a European Cup final, a defeat to Bayern Munich in 1974, and that after a painful last-minute German equaliser which brought the competition’s only ever showpiece replay. The scorer in the first game was Luis Aragones, the club legend who died earlier this year. His presence could also be felt in Lisbon.

“He will be out there with us,” Gabi said. “Tomorrow we’ll play with an extra player.”

Facing Atletico has often felt like that anyway, and that despite their inherent financial disadvantages.

Simeone has already performed alchemy. He can now produce something heavenly.