Championship Final : The Beauty & The Beast
Two images endured for me in the aftermath of last saturday’s champions league final in Milan, both taken in the final minutes of a less than memorable encounter .The first that of Atletico de Madrid’s Juan Fran, the other of Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo, just after the two had taken their respective shots at goals during the death by penalty.
Juan Fran’s shot hit the bar and his subsequent drowned dog look and pose was that of a man who for ever would carry within him the memory of defeat. Ronaldo by contrast did what Ronaldo likds to do best-show the world that he is the best- not just the best goal scorer but the physically most beautifully crafted. The championship goal with Ronaldo’s sculptured pectorals and biceps displayed as shimmering golden tan relegated the priestly unshaven pale Juan Fran to the level of an ordinary mortal.
And lest we forget, Ronaldo told us that he had always known he would score the winning goal, which is why he had asked Zidane to have him take the final penalty. A man of destiny,the hand of God.
No matter that up to and including extra time, Ronaldo had utterly underperformed, barely touching the ball during much of the game , and making a hash of the one previous shot at goal. No matter that Juan Fran had assisted in Atletico’s equaliser and worked his socks off for the rest of the game, helping defend against Bale’s relentless assaults and could have been candidate for man of the match had his team won.
But as Simeone remarked later, in these kind of games noone remembers the loser, nor do memories endure about the game itself, beyond the final winning goal that is, not least when it is scored by Ronaldo, the ultimate narcissist, celebrating his own image.
