La Copa fue una vía de escape porque además era una competición que se nos daba bien”, señala Santi Denia recordando la semifinal que le ganó el Atlético al Barcelona en la temporada 1999 – 2000. “Fue un punto de inflexión deportiva y mentalmente para nosotros y para el club, concretamos algo muy importante y empezamos a creer que de verdad podíamos ir a por LaLiga y la Champions. Empezamos a mirar de tú a tú a equipos como Real Madrid o Barcelona deportivamente hablando”, recuerda Diego Godín, uno de los héroes de la final del Bernabéu en 2013.
Y es que el torneo del K.O. ha sido fundamental en la historia del Atlético de Madrid y en la trayectoria de este equipo con El Cholo Simeone al frente.
Cambios de tendencia
Más allá de los diez títulos que hay en las vitrinas del Metropolitano, no hay que olvidar que en momentos más complicados de la historia del club ha aparecido este torneo para dar una alegría a su afición. De hecho, en la peor temporada de la historia del Atlético, la del descenso, se logró llegar a la final ganando de forma brillante en semifinales al Barcelona en el Calderón. Es cierto que el choque de vuelta fue el famoso día en el que no se presentaron los culés, pero la renta de la ida era más que importante.
“Estaba siendo una temporada dura y en Liga no estábamos nada finos”, señala el hoy seleccionador sub 21 y, salvando las distancias, la situación de hoy puede ser similar a la de entonces. “La Copa es diferente, estábamos a las puertas de la final, como ahora, y sabíamos que ganando podíamos luchar por un título. En LaLiga hay más opciones de equivocarse, pero aquí es una final. Se cambia el chip, jugamos muy bien y hubo un ambientazo en el Vicente Calderón en un año que estaba siendo muy sufrido”.
Respecto a la cita de hoy, uno de los héroes del Doblete como Denia, señala: “Los veo al mismo nivel. En Liga hubo un traspié en cada equipo, pero en Copa 4-4. Las plantillas de los dos equipos son muy buenas y se decidirá por detalles”.
El día que cambió la historia reciente
Más allá de los títulos conseguidos en épocas pasadas, la cita con la Copa en 2013 es sin lugar a dudas la más especial de todas. Ya se había logrado el título en el Santiago Bernabéu jugando ante el eterno rival, pero nunca se había conseguido en Chamartín, ante los blancos y tras sumar catorce años sin ganar un derbi. Sobre esos momentos habla Diego Godín: “La preparamos desde lo espiritual, desde los psicológico, desde lo no tangible. Recuerdo que unos 15 días antes de la final jugamos un partido contra el Madrid en el Calderón en el que el Madrid jugó prácticamente con suplentes y no recuerdo si nos ganaron o nos empataron. Hasta ese momento llevábamos casi 14 años sin ganar un derbi y pesaba bastante. Cuando la inercia es negativa, con poquita cosa valía para ganarnos. Me preguntaba cómo íbamos a hacer para ganar una final en el Bernabéu si no pudimos ganar un partido en Liga con suplentes en el Calderón”. Pero el resultado fue muy diferente a las citas anteriores, algo que podría repetirse hoy teniendo en cuenta que el Barcelona asaltó el Metropolitano ganando 2-4 en Liga dos semanas atrás.
Cuidado siempre de hasta el más mínimo detalle…
A la hora de preparar el partido, la leyenda uruguaya del Atlético cuenta que cuidaron todo tipo de detalles y desvela una anécdota del día de antes: “Nos concentramos unos días en Los Ángeles de San Rafael y fuimos un día antes a entrenar al Bernabéu. Recuerdo que el Mono Burgos y el Cholo nos decían pisen fuerte, pisen fuerte. Háganse dueños del campo, siéntalo propio. Nos fuimos a entrenar a una banda y a hacer unos ejercicios en el lado donde jugaba Cristiano Ronaldo y decía, ‘Vamos a entrenar acá, vamos a correr bastante acá y así le dejamos el campo más picado para que no tenga tanta facilidad“.
Así, todos los colchoneros esperan vivir un nuevo punto de inflexión esta temporada.
This news was originally published on this post .
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