Budapest is perfect for the Champions League final – but tournament remains a closed shop

Hungary’s rich footballing heritage is unlikely to make an impact on Europe’s premier club competition as clubs from small countries stand no chance

Before the Champions League final, I want to spare a thought for one of the eliminated semi-finalists. Diego Simeone impresses me. For 15 years, he has had to push the boulder up the mountain again and again with Atlético Madrid. We at Bayern Munich were knocked out by him during our peak phase in 2016. Now I read somewhere that Simeone should question himself. Yet he asserts himself time and again with inferior means. It is a pity, Sisyphus Simeone has long deserved a Champions League title.

Two other clubs remain whose coaches take a similar approach. Resembling conductors, they pedantically practise distances, sequences, passes, choreograph their defence and orchestrate their attack. Their operating system, ball-oriented zonal marking, is state of the art. Their team behaves like a swarm. Last year, Paris Saint-Germain against Arsenal was the semi-final; this year, they are determining the winner. The right teams are in the final.

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