Atlético vs Porto: The Preview, Calling “EuroAtleti” To The Pitch

By: Al | February 23rd, 2009

I’m excited and worried about tomorrow. I can’t lie.

As I type this preview all while chewing on a Fruit Roll Up and cranking my “Now! That’s What I Call Music” collection through my headphones, I’m bothered by the fact that I really don’t know how tomorrow is going to turn out. It’s been a really long time since the last Champions League match, and our team has changed and underperformed so much that it’s difficult to make a prediction for the game. I’m just hoping that we can pull a Liverpool and play like there’s only one competition that matters, because this is the only trophy that we realistically have a chance of winning, and even then the chances aren’t too good.

What’s my point? I don’t really have one. I’ll just shut up and get on with the preview.

Atlético Madrid vs. FC Porto: The Preview. (Dun dun dunnnnnnn)

Easily one of the least-anticipated fixtures of the Round of 16. When you have clash of giants such as Man U vs Inter, Juve vs. Chelsea, etc, Atletico vs Porto doesn’t seem too appealing. Then again, I wouldn’t want it any other way, because I’m kind of glad, actually, extremely glad that we get to avoid those other group winner teams.

Is it rude to consider Porto a weak team? Yes, because they are far from being one. They are without a doubt a very talented team, oozing with Portuguese pride and South American flair. They’ve been very unfortunate ever since they won their last Champions League in 2004, only because they haven’t found a manager that could manage their resources as well as Mourinho could. They’re good enough to dominate the league standings but not to excel where it matters more. Their inability to go far into the competition is a bit relieving for Atleti.

They won their CL group, thanks to Arsenal’s inconsistency and the ease of the other teams (Dynamo Kiev and Fenerbahce). On paper, they are no slouches. They are also in first place in the Portuguese Liga (again) and are dying to go far into the Champions League again.

Here’s a rundown of how far they’ve gone since they last won the trophy:

04/05 – Round of 16, lost to Inter

05/06 – Group Stage, ended in last place of their group

06/07 – Round of 16, lost to Chelsea

07/08 – Round of 16, lost to Schalke on penalties

Yeah, I’d be annoyed if I were a Porto supporter. Reaching as far as the round of 16 must get irritating. Fortunately, they have easy competition this time around, right?

Wrong. The fixture is very close. Both teams have been hailed as being evenly-matched and to be honest, you can’t really make a prediction. Last year, Schalke was the team that knocked them out of the CL on penalties. They had the “easy draw” and still didn’t go through.

I absolutely hate using stats to make predictions, but I’ll still compare both teams’ performances:

League points:
Porto 41 (after 19 games)
Atlético 36 (after 24 games)

League position:
Porto 1st
Atlético 7th

Champions League group points:
Porto 12
Atlético 12

You can’t really tell much from these stats. Porto has squeezed more points out of less matches than Atlético has, which might have to do that the Portuguese league isn’t as good. Porto didn’t have to play teams as good as Sevilla, Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Villarreal for 5 consecutive games (their true challenge comes from mini derbies with Sporting and Benfica). So basically, 1st place Portuguese team vs. 7th place Spanish team. That’s how it is.

As for Champions League results, they have both done just as good, tied at twelve points. I’d arguably say that Atlético has put on a better performance. Porto won 4 times and lost twice (0-1 to Dynamo and 4-0 to Arsenal). Atlético had as many points but they didn’t lose. They gave Liverpool a fight to remember (twice), and gave PSV and scuzzy Marseille a piece of their mind. Should we fear a team that has lost 4-0 in this competition?

Nope, we shouldn’t be afraid of Porto. We’re at home for this leg, and we haven’t lost at home so far into the competition. The results at home for us have been:

4-0 over Schalke (CL qualifying)
2-1 over Marseille
1-1 to Liverpool
2-1 to PSV

We may not prove it in the league, but the Vicente Calderon is absolutely lethal in matches like this. It’s a guarantee that the supporters will show up for the match and act as the twelfth man (idea that I borrowed from PSV, “De Twaalfde Man”). Therefore, I don’t expect a home loss for Atlético.

O Dragão

Porto, Porto, Porto
És a nossa glória
Dá-nos neste dia
Mais uma alegria
Mais uma vitória
Porto, Porto, Porto
És a nossa glória
Dá-nos neste dia
Mais uma alegria
Mais uma vitória

“Great club” is the best way that I can describe Porto. They have very very strong support and they aren’t one of the biggest clubs in Portugal for nothing. They are on a good streak. What am I saying, they’re on an excellent streak. They haven’t lost in any competition since November 1st, to “Naval 1º Maio”. Goddamn.

Like I mentioned before, they have talent up the ass. The captain, Lucho Gonzalez, is a player that makes a real difference in the game. He leads the midfield, circulates the ball well, and scores often as well (tied for top goalscorer). I think he’ll be key for Porto tomorrow.

They also have a striker named “Hulk”. Hulk. That’s what Givanildo Vieira de Souza goes by, and I can’t deny that I laughed and skimmed the Porto roster for an “Iron Man” or “Spiderman”. The other striker, Lisandro Lopez, is also a danger in the box. Both strikers have 12 goals in the league, as many as Diego Forlan has alone.

As for their defense, their standout is center-back Bruno Alves, who has made the most appearances out of any of the defenders, and is a member of the Portugal national team. Porto has conceded 8 goals in the Liga and 8 goals in the Champions League. Seems to me like they’re more vulnerable in Europe than in domestic competition.

Atlético, How You Break My Heart

Oh man, where do I start to talk about my beloved colchoneros?

<— Yes, that’s a still of Forlan’s amazing miss against Sevilla

I can easily say that no other team in Spain has done so little this season with so much talent. Ever since Aguirre got sacked after a string of draws and losses, we thought that hiring Resino, a man of the club, would be the solution to our troubles. It still could be, but so far we’ve won, lost, and drawn twice under him. Still too early to judge the man, because he could lead the team to great things of he obviously plays his cards right.

What was so great about Aguirre’s Atlético was their absolutely dominance in the Champions League. I’ve compared our team to Liverpool often, because we haulled ass in the CL but aren’t doing that good in the league. The Atlético of the Champions League has been a real danger. We were the 4th seeded team in the group, and on the opening match of the group stage, we thrashed the defensive-minded Dutch champions 0-3. I haven’t seen the team play with as much balls since, but that was a different team with a different mentality and coach. I can’t comment on how Resino’s Atlético will fair tomorrow, but I do expect to see a fight.

Our league form is absolute crap, with 1 win, 4 losses, and 3 draws in the last 8 matches. We deserved more against Sevilla on Saturday and that 1-0 loss made us 8 points from 3rd place. The race for the Champions League spots is very tight, because when one team slips, the others seem to slip as well. In this case, our direct rivals for 4th place are Valencia and Villarreal (maybe Deportivo), who have succumbed to silly mistakes so far into the season. This battle for 4th place is driving me nuts, because no one team can just be consistent and snatch that place. All the better for us.

This fixture will be a trip down memory lane for Maniche and Assuncao, who were both Porto players. Maniche won everything at Porto and after moving to Russia, then England, then Spain, then Italy, then Spain again, he’s settled again. Assuncao, the manhated by the Porto supporters, will secretly be hoping for a big “F YOU” to the supporters that made the end of his Porto career hell.