Luis Suarez puts Atletico on brink of thrilling La Liga title as Barcelona regret letting him go

Wait, what? You suppose it’s over? You actually suppose that as a result of Atletico Madrid solely have to beat bottom-three Actual Valladolid to win their third La Liga title in 44 lengthy years, and that as a result of they Harry Houdini-ed their approach out of frightful peril on the weekend, we’ve already had our final Glenn Shut “She’s not useless but!” twist within the story?

The place on earth have you ever been these previous few years? Are you critical? That is Spain. Actually something may occur on Saturday when the reigning champions, Zinedine Zidane’s Actual Madrid, host the Yellow Submarine out of Villarreal and champions-elect Atleti drive 120 minutes northwest to creaking, crumbling Valladolid. A win would assure them being topped champions — the place, in truth, any outcome that matches Madrid’s could have the identical impact.

The subplot to which I hope to be the primary to put declare is that Florentino Perez, Madrid’s haughty billionaire president, calls the president of Valladolid, one Ronaldo Nazario de Lima, and tells him: “Ronnie, it’s Atleti, and I want Valladolid to beat them. Get your boots out and pull these shorts on once more!”

Ronaldo stays one in all Perez’s nice offers. Straight off the “Galactico” conveyer belt, the Brazilian striker was a mesmerisingly sensible footballer who used to chop corners in coaching and who put the “When can we’ve got the subsequent one?” in fiesta. He additionally stays somebody for whom Madrid’s president has huge affection. Little surprise.

I’m telling you proper now, Ronaldo (as soon as “O Fenomeno” however now “El Presidente” on the 92-year-old membership he owns) was so gifted that if he registered himself in time and donned one of many reasonably extra roomy first-team strips, he most likely may nick a purpose or two in opposition to Atleti subsequent weekend regardless of being 44 and gently transferring in physique form in direction of his completely larger-than-life persona. That is Spain, don’t rule it out.

And in case you suppose that I’m being too fanciful, then let me simply add gasoline to your hearth by saying it’s solely a bit extra ridiculous than the Luis Suarez state of affairs. I solely hope that the halfwit who pressured the Uruguay ahead out of Camp Nou final August, former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu, was watching because the Blaugrana made a disaster out of dropping at residence to Celta Vigo whereas Suarez produced one in all the nice moments of latest Spanish soccer.

One in every of this sport’s true beauties, one of many issues that makes us so addicted, is that it creates theatrical drama that cinema and TV wrestle to realistically emulate. And that’s what occurred on Sunday.

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The morning dawned with headlines throughout Spain quoting Suarez complaining that in his previous few months at Barcelona, he continuously needed to take heed to those that employed him telling him — or, worse, making snide remarks behind his again — that: “I wasn’t in a position to compete for essential trophies and that I used to be not match for the highest stage.”

Mingled in with Suarez’s gleeful but-look-at-me-now! tone got here the phrase from his current supervisor, Diego Simeone: “We’re coming into the Luis Suarez zone.” Atleti’s supervisor was underlining that his meaty, built-for-battle ahead was exactly the form of participant upon whom you’d stake your life when the chips have been down. The Argentinian coach would show to be proper, too.

Throughout Osasuna’s downright cussed, unmannerly determination to attempt to break not solely Atleti’s weekend however their complete season, issues obtained down and soiled. Early within the match, Suarez was merely transferring by means of the gears to ramming velocity, it will transpire, however he hit the keeper, hit the submit and was caught offside in scoring positions which did Simeone’s blood stress no favours.

Up in Bilbao, Madrid have been drawing. No objectives had been exchanged and Athletic Bilbao have been wanting as if they’d be simply delighted to journey up Los Blancos once more, having knocked Zidane’s aspect out of the Spanish Supercopa semifinal in January.

Then, out of the blue, a cascade of lava-like drama erupted and stored on sputtering out fiery goblets for the ultimate 22 minutes of Sunday’s soccer.

At San Mames, a very elaborate nook routine finally discovered younger Rodrygo, who’d scored final week from the same place, on the ball in Athletic’s penalty space. Figuring out his place within the hierarchy, he shunted the ball about three metres proper to Casemiro as a substitute of taking pictures. The Godfather of Madrid’s Brazilian clan slashed a Hail Mary effort throughout the entrance of Unai Simon’s goalmouth. Karim Benzema, vastly offside, was momentarily tempted by his predator instincts however, as a substitute, let his sensible analytical mind dominate innate reactions. He stayed inventory nonetheless and didn’t contact the ball, thus retaining out of the motion and rendering his offside immaterial, permitting Nacho to neatly knee the ball in.

There’s a momentary hiatus whereas the VAR computer systems have one other of soccer’s “2001: A Area Odyssey” moments, however “Hal” says: “It’s OK, Dave, the purpose should stand.” As soon as all that reviewing is finished, there are fewer than 22 minutes left.

At that stage Madrid and Atleti are tied on 81 factors, which means Los Blancos are prime and can win the title if it stays tied the next week as a result of they’ve an mixture 3-1 lead over Atleti within the two derbies they performed this season. The baseline numbers, 37 weeks into the season, are simply exceptional. With Madrid 1-0 up and Osasuna drawing 0-0 at Atleti, La Liga’s prime two sides have an identical video games received, drawn and misplaced whereas their goals-scored/conceded reads: Madrid 65/27, Atleti 63/23.

Then, out of the blue, Ruben Garcia unleashes his left boot. He’s terrifically gifted off that foot, however you may not really it contemplate his particular one. And why not? On the surface of his proper thigh he’s obtained a surprising tattoo of Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck — the Joker.

The Valencian identifies with Phoenix’s model of Joker as a result of, as he defined this season, “Arthur Fleck was a sufferer despised by society. The conclusion from that movie is that we should assist those that undergo from a psychological sickness or who’re extra weak”. Garcia additionally occurs to be one of the strident and bravest soccer voices with reference to empathy and tolerance: “I need all girls and boys to be handled with gender equality and never have to have a look at whether or not the individual they’ve fallen in love with is male or feminine. Maybe no footballers have ‘come out’ as a result of they’re afraid of not being accepted. If a teammate advised me that he was gay, I’d encourage him to talk out publicly and assist normalise it.”

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Gab and Juls imagine Zinedine Zidane can go away Actual Madrid with “his head held excessive” if he departs in the summertime.

Bravo, Ruben. That is a day for particular footballers.

His booming cross soars over Stefan Savic and Renan Lodi on the again submit, the place the “Swan of Zenica,” Ante Budimir, is gliding in. The Croatia worldwide signed on mortgage from Mallorca final summer time, instantly contracted COVID-19, didn’t play or prepare together with his teammates till the tip of October and, on debut, scored in a 3-1 defeat to Atleti. He then scored 9 extra occasions earlier than Sunday, eight of them coming in victories, one in a draw, making him the principal purpose Osasuna are comfortably staying up.

As I discussed, this afternoon is for particular gamers.

Budimir smashes a header in in direction of Jan Oblak’s right-hand submit and the man who’s confronted probably the most photographs but conceded the fewest objectives per minute this season is overwhelmed. We require soccer’s model of Hal the Laptop to substantiate it however VAR proves that the ball is clearly over the road earlier than Oblak paws it away.

Madrid 1-0 up, Atleti 1-0 down. All of a sudden it appears to be like like utter catastrophe for Simeone, Suarez and Los Rojiblancos. Banana-skin match? A complete plantation.

Up in Bilbao, Madrid’s subs, seated within the San Mames tribune above the dugout, have a good time and attempt to talk to the remainder of the squad. “Atleti are dropping!” Again in his Barcelona penthouse overlooking the south of town, ex-President Bartomeu is praying — Atleti stumbling and Suarez not scoring is partial redemption for him.

Sadly for Barto, Simeone has shrugged off his straitjacket of conservatism. For as soon as, Atleti’s supervisor makes not solely shrewd however attacking substitutions. On come Joao Felix and Lodi, plus Hector Herrera and Moussa Dembele. Wit, width, knowledge and “be careful, right here comes an enormous bear of a centre-forward.”

With eight minutes left and the title slipping out of view, Atleti stage it. Lodi rampages ahead down the left wing and Joao Felix dinks a beautiful little sand-wedge ball into his path. The Brazilian instinctively appears to be like for Suarez however he’s offside. Lodi pretends he’s going to centre it however, as a substitute, launches a shot excessive into the Osasuna web and it’s 1-1. Mayhem erupts. Suarez doesn’t waste time remonstrating with the teammate who hasn’t handed to him (for as soon as) and rushes to gather the ball nestling behind Sergio Herrera.

Simeone’s subs have tipped the sport, and the title chase, on its head. However, to this point, we haven’t been within the Suarez zone — “El Pistolero” has hit the keeper, hit the submit and picked the ball out of the opposition web to rush issues up.

5 minutes later, Lodi erupts ahead once more. The place has this been all season?

The ball flows from left to proper on the pitch and, out of the blue, Yannick Carrasco is within the penalty space — threatening. They key right here is that Dembele is within the centre-forward place, tying up two Osasuna defenders. Suarez, his lizard mind working with out thought, pure intuition, has held again — his place is ideal if the Belgium winger delivers a in the reduction of … and he does.

Who amongst you is shocked that the person Barcelona pushed out, the person who Lionel Messi believes may have helped the Blaugrana win this league, merely stepped onto the possibility and buried it within the backside nook? Nobody? Thought not.

All of a sudden, everybody who’s accumulating a wage from Atleti is operating and shouting and bumping into each other. Suarez is on the backside of a dangerous-looking pile-on — it’s a heap of writhing limbs, a collision of 5 octopi would most likely seem like this. Simeone out of the blue assumes his “minimise threat” persona once more. He’s screaming at his assistant, Nelson Vivas, to get Geoffrey Kondogbia stripped and able to come on with a view to dissipate a while. Vivas, within the bedlam, is totally confused.

Madrid win, Atleti win and Osasuna stumble off wanting bemused and unimpressed by future intervening. La Liga strikes ahead to its “And Then There Was One” weekend. And right here’s the factor about all nice sporting drama: Like the strain in a Hitchcock film, it’s not finest when it’s sudden; it’s finest whenever you need it to come back, you see the way it may come nevertheless it appears implausible — maybe even unimaginable.

The factor about this explicit drama is that everybody noticed it coming — Suarez, Simeone and me, to call however three. Everybody besides Bartomeu.

Final summer time he was selecting senior gamers on the Camp Nou to inform: “You received’t should put up with Suarez anymore, I’m in cost and he’s out.” It was an act of ego, an act of soccer vandalism and it has performed an enormous half in costing Barcelona the title. The Uruguay worldwide’s 23 mixed objectives and assists throughout 2,400 La Liga minutes imply he’s created or scored one each 105 minutes on common. That’s a exceptional return for a man who his former membership handled like grime and pushed out the door. Extra idiot Bartomeu, extra gasoline for Atleti.

It’s not completed but, however except Valladolid have the shock of all surprises in retailer for us on Saturday (with or with out President Ronaldo up entrance), then there might be red-and-white ribbons on the trophy and it’ll be Suarez 1-0 Bartomeu.

See you on the winner-takes-all weekend. It received’t be for the faint of coronary heart — or pals of Barcelona’s former president.