Despite the minor injury concerns surrounding Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Atletico Madrid skipper Diego Godin, the Champions League final is set to feature two full-strength teams from the Spanish capital.

 

If Diego Simeone were to win Saturday’s final, it would rank as his greatest victory as player or manager. The feisty Argentine has never been shy to take up a tough challenge in his career and this one so far seems to be a mountain that he has almost climbed, where the only thing left to do is scale the peak and hoist the flag.

Opportunity not revenge

With the theme of the Champions League final set as a one of revenge, Diego Simeone has been consistent in downplaying the fact that his team is not looking for retribution. He considers this final as an opportunity to erase the memories of that painful 2014 Champions League decider which left fans and players alike heartbroken. Simeone has won a lot of silverware in his days as a player, but a Champions League title is the only trophy that eluded him.

The Atletico Madrid manager has also reiterated the fact that a lot has changed in his squad since 2014, after which he had to deal with players leaving and new attacking options being established within his side’s ranks. Simeone believes that his squad has evolved mentally and that aspect of the game is now a considerable strength for his team.

Full strength squads ready to clash

Real Madrid training
Zinedine Zidane would be breathing a huge sigh of relief as his ace forward Cristiano Ronaldo declared himself fully fit after a slight injury scare in training. With Raphael Varane’s long-term injury — one that will see him miss Euro 2016 as well — Real Madrid need to be particularly careful with their defensive duties as Atletico are a team who are known to absorb pressure and hit the opposition on the counter.

Casemiro is expected to be drafted into the Real Madrid line-up again to bolster their defensive aspect of the game and to give them a more balanced approach heading into a tricky encounter. Atletico fans will be excited with the prospect of seeing Tiago back in the squad and possibly in the line-up after an absence of six months from the Atletico squad due to injury.

Zidane will count on his experience of winning the Champions League with Real Madrid both as a player and an assistant manager to push his team across the line and win a record 11th Champions League title.

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