And the day came Jurgen Klopp. The German coach, after six finals lost between national and non-national cups, lifted the Champions League to the sky and gave Liverpool the title of European champion. Pochettino's Tottenham returns to London sad, aware of having thrown away a tempting, if not unique, opportunity to win the most important trophy of all. Because the final in Madrid demonstrated to the world that this was by no means the match between the strongest in Europe and the discourse, evidently, applies above all to Spurs: excellent team, God forbid, but very distant in terms of general values from many others forced to act only as spectators.
The Wanda Metropolitano, even if they will never admit it, has taken it to the nth degree the frustrations of Manchester City and Juventus, the two who, if football were an exact science, would have at least come to terms with the Reds, not to mention making a final on their own. But since it is not, here it was Tottenham who played the final against Liverpool, with the result that the cup, after 14 years of waiting (and last year's bitter disappointment), has returned to red. This time, defending Klopp's goal, there was no wretched Karius balled by Benzema and Bale in or out of Kiev but a certain Alisson, sold at a weight of gold by Rome and became, together with Van Dijk, the symbol of a triumph.
Yes, because in the spectacular football of the German coach, officially on the podium of the world since yesterday, defense had a key component: the leap in quality compared to last year, in fact, is due to the construction of an insurmountable wall, a sine qua non to enhance the trio of wonders made up of Salah, Firmino and Mané. Then, if you look closely, in the decisive nights of this Champions League the real protagonists were others. Let's take Origi, just to give an example: the "random" hero of the epic comeback against Barça and also yesterday, not surprisingly, who started from the bench, yet capable of scoring the 2-0 goal precisely in Tottenham's best moment, when the a draw seemed to be in the air.
It must be said that this match was decided much earlier, to be precise in the number one minute: there the wretched Sissoko he gave Liverpool a penalty for a hand ball that was as naive as it was clear, allowing Salah to immediately break the impasse (2') and the Reds to set up a containment match. A real rarity for Klopp, and in fact it certainly cannot be said that his performance was unforgettable, but it will certainly go down in history because this time it ended with a triumph. Seeing the German, 20' from the end, ordering a 4-4-2 of pure management may have made the purists turn up their noses, but perhaps it is the most symbolic image possible of this sixth European Cup won by the Reds: why should it's good to have fun but winning, in the end, is definitely better.
“It was a great fight, we both dreamed of the Champions League – the joyful words of the new European champion. – It wasn't the best match in the world but we just had to win and the boys did it. What we have done is crazy, I am really proud of this club, I dedicate this joy to my family, in all the finals I have played and lost they have suffered and now the victory is for them”. Only applause instead, for the season of course, for Pochettino, forced to deal with a big disappointment: the roof of Europe, in fact, would have been a good calling card for his career, stuck at the stake as regards the item "trophies". Of course, the Argentine coach can still puff up his chest in the face of a final reached at the expense of much more titled opponents (right Guardiola?), In the hope that this, for his Tottenham, is just a starting point.
“We must be proud of the work done, we fought all the way for the victory – his analysis. – The rigor has upset all the plans, but we must still be very proud: Tottenham reached the Champions League final for the first time and this bodes well for the future”. A "nose", as they say, neither of them will leave their respective teams, which leads to them being excluded from the race for the Juve benches. It is no coincidence that the favorites have long been Sarri (yesterday his agent Ramadani obtained the go-ahead from Chelsea: the indemnity issue remains to be resolved) and Guardiola, who remains by far the favorite of the fans, although he is more detached. However, we will only think about this starting today, because yesterday was the night of Klopp and Pochettino: and it was the German who ascended the throne of Europe, delighted to shed the label of successful loser.
