Thursday, May 17, 2018

Atletico Madrid champion

On a day like today I do not like living in Latin America: I was unable to watch the Europa League final because it is in my working hours. I was half-following the match on Twitter, and was not surprised in the end when Atletico Madrid basically cruised to a 3-0 victory against Olympique Marselle. They deserve it mainly because of Diego Simeone, who has been heavily criticised this season, but is truly the reason that Atletico Madrid are where they are today: their third Europa League title since 2010; a period that includes two Champions League finals and one Spanish title. Atletico Madrid are the only team that poses a serious challenge to the dominance of Barcelona and Real Madrid, but also show how strong they need to be to compete against the two giants.
Since 2014 Spanish teams have won every European final, except for Manchester United's victory last year. It is indeed a testament to the strength in the Spanish league to have four top teams (although Sevilla has fallen this season), but it does not tell about the entertainment of the league. Here I am of the opinion that English, German, and Italian leagues are better. When it involves the big teams, things are just too predictable and easy for the big teams. In the other leagues (except the French) competition is much better, as more teams fight for the title and on a good day anyone can beat anyone. In Spain this is not the case.
So Spanish football is great because of its great teams, and less so because of its league.

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