A league in red and white

A historic Liga comes to an end. Everything that has happened in 38 rounds will be remembered. Empty stadiums, Real Madrid in Valdebebas, the best Sevilla ever, Koeman's debacle, Betis in Europe... And it still remains to be seen if it will be the last League played by icons like Ramos or Messi. 

But the real story of this league is the one written by Simeone's Atlético de Madrid. The second championship they have won together. The second they have taken from Real Madrid and Barcelona. Match by match. In the good times when they were looking in the rear-view mirror at their neighbours with an 11-point lead on matchday 21 and when they were preparing the "pupas" shirt because Madrid and Barça had a shot at taking the lead from them. Cholo's Atlético is capable of all that. Because this team and this coach are called to understand each other as they do and in no other way. Miguel Ángel Gil has never had an employee who earns every euro of his contract. 

It is difficult to recognise the merit of Atlético without talking about the demerit of Barça and Real Madrid. This time it is more gory. The red and white club was in its sporting right to go through a slump in play and results like the one in December. Out of the Champions League and dropping points in the Spanish championship. In the last ten games, they were hopeless. With no chance of lifting their eleventh title, the first they could win at the Metropolitano. Barça had the calendar in their favour, and Koeman had managed to play some interesting football. Real Madrid had a chance, but they could not pull on their courage and guts in every game. They never had the football and neither did they have the firepower. 

Barcelona could have taken the lead on a Monday in May. Real Madrid, on a Sunday of the same month. Granada came from behind to sink Koeman's side. Real Madrid didn't eat Sevilla and the VAR was just another flea on the skinny dog. Simeone watched it all from a distance. He didn't even flinch. His project always has football. It always has a goal. It may not work out every season, but there is an identity to come back to when the going gets tough.  

Atlético finally healed the wound that has been open since the dawn of time. Their rivals didn't want the league and they weren't willing to let it slip away a third time. The goalless draw at the Camp Nou was a moral victory. The moment to show Barça that Luis Suárez was not a poisoned gift. The Uruguayan's goals were falling off at Liverpool, Barça and, of course, Atlético de Madrid. His age and his knee have not been a problem for Simeone and his coaching staff. They have dosed his minutes little because injuries and the COVID he imported from an asado with Uruguay forced the striker to stop and he took advantage of that to come back rested.

An accelerated season. With matches every three days. With the European Championship on the horizon. The COVID protocols have also altered the teams' habits. Atletico Madrid suffered the contagions of almost all their players. The schedules. And the VAR. What was once a great invention as demonstrated at the World Cup in Russia is now a constant source of complaint and a nail to be grasped when you don't want to see the sporting shortcomings. 

Oblak is the player of the 20-21 season. The best Atlético de Madrid player and the one who has played the most important role in La Liga. He saved a penalty against Elche that could have meant giving up the lead. He has pulled out miraculous hands and has developed a penalty-saving technique that borders on the norm, but doesn't break it. And that is what elite football is all about. Llorente has earned his doctorate at Atlético de Madrid under Simeone. A thesis on how to arrive from Real Madrid with the label of good player, a stint in the stands and on the bench and a stellar comeback to become the future Koke. 

With Luis Suárez (21 goals) and Costa out of the game, Correa has been the surprise package of the Red and Whites' forward line with nine goals. Many of them scored in the matches in which Suárez was absent. Simeone sent Carrasco to China in 2018 and brought him back in 2020 with his military service done. The player who scored in the Champions League final in Milan against Real Madrid returned. Incisive, quick and with a goal. Six goals this season.

Atlético de Madrid takes the league that was played after the pandemic. The one that the referees decided to muddy up with the absurd hand rules. They also win a deserved league because they have been more consistent than their rivals. And that is what this competition rewards. Also, perhaps, it has won the last league in which its eternal rivals competed with squads that lacked quality and were unbalanced. It doesn't matter. You had to compete and win and Simeone's team did it better and better. 

The future of the red and white team depends on Simeone and that squad. With few departures. With few signings. Squeezing Suárez's goals. The decision of the summer is what to do with Joao Felix. Atleti's franchise player can't find his place and Simeone can ask for a sale or a loan so that he can return more committed. The other unknown will be to keep Oblak in goal. Europe fights for strikers, but the great coaches know that a team is formed from the goal. 

And don't miss Simeone. The past is still there to remind Atlético that any time in the past was worse.