Abu Dhabi: Just like the highly improbable English Premier League champions-elect, Leicester City, Atletico Madrid can no longer be considered incongruous among football’s elite after another indomitable display on Wednesday evening.
Their 1-0 home victory over Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final followed their wholly merited 3-2 aggregate win over the defending champions Barcelona in the quarter-finals.
And, as against Luis Enrique’s men, their triumph was largely due to an exemplary defensive effort from Diego Simeone’s dogs of war. This was Atletico’s 33rd clean sheet in all competitions this season and, even more laudably, their 135th in Simeone’s 256 games in charge.
It also came in spite of Atletico being without their central-defensive kingpin, Diego Godin, due to a hamstring injury.
Stefan Savic, who spent an unexceptional season at Manchester City in 2011-12, ensured he was not missed, however, with a faultless performance alongside Jose Maria Gimenez.
But defending for Atletico is a collective effort, with their lively strikers Fernando Torres and Antoine Griezmann selflessly chasing back to ensure Bayern could not exert their usual passing rhythm. In the midfield engine room, Gabi and Augusto Fernandez were similarly tigerish.
Combined with their impenetrable rearguard, Atletico possess genuine quality in attack and their goal was of the highest order; Saul Niguez slaloming past several players before firing a sublime curler beyond Manuel Neuer. It was a strike reminiscent of Lionel Messi, albeit one which could have been avoided by more rigorous Bayern tackling.
So what of the visitors?
This was a chastening night for the Bundesliga leaders and especially for their much-feted boss, Pep Guardiola.
For many pundits, the Catalan would be deemed a failure if he fails to deliver the Champions League trophy in his third and final season in charge of Bayern before he takes over Manchester City in the summer.
His first two years in Germany yielded brutal beatings by Real Madrid and Barcelona at the semi-final stage, and another disappointing exit beckons unless Bayern improve immeasurably.
His decision to leave the talismanic Thomas Muller on the bench until 20 minutes before the end was perplexing.
The 26-year-old, who is nicknamed ‘the space investigator’ in Germany due to his stealth and cunning, could have made the difference against such a well-drilled defence if he had played from the start.
But ultimately, the supposed master tactician Guardiola and his illustrious charges were unable to breach the red-and-white shirted wall.
Granted, they created several chances in the second half after a listless first 45 minutes, the best being David Alaba’s thunderous, long-range drive, which cannoned off the underside of the bar.
But Atletico remained resolute in the face of the onslaught – they weathered a similar storm against Barcelona, after all. They could even have intensified Bayern’s misery with a second goal, when Torres hit the post with the outside of his right foot following an electrifying counter-attack.
While he may not have scored, Torres’s exuberant display proves irrefutably that he has rediscovered his confidence and form after a wretched spell at Chelsea.
But then, who wouldn’t want to put in a shift for a man as zealous as Simeone, who in customary fashion whipped his players and supporters into a frenzy with his impassioned appeals from the touchline?
Not that he needed to rouse the partisan crowd at the Vicente Calderon Stadium, who created a cacophony from start to finish to match the relentlessness of Simeone’s warriors.
Atletico will have to withstand a similarly hostile atmosphere at the Allianz Arena next week and one can expect Bayern to be infinitely better on home soil, where they usually score.
They have done so in adversity, too, coming from 2-0 down to Juventus in the last 16 to run out 4-2 winners.
If Torres had netted a second, Atletico would have been heavy favourites to reach their second Champions League final in three seasons.
On paper, therefore, a 1-0 deficit appears easily surmountable for a side as potent as Bayern.
But then again this is the season of the underdog, although after Wednesday night’s heroics few would be surprised if Atletico’s doggedness and determination reap dividends once more.
