Atlético Madrid vs Chelsea: More than just a semi-final

Jose Mourinho vs Diego Simeone - The managerial battle

Thibaut time he Cechs out?

Petr Cech and Thibaut Courtois - The Chelsea goalkeeping conundrum

Petr Cech and Thibaut Courtois – The Chelsea goalkeeping conundrum

Petr Cech has enjoyed cult hero status during his stay at Stamford Bridge. He has become a club legend, amongst the likes of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba. The club has loved their number one dearly, their number one who flirted with death but returned stronger than ever to become one of the greatest shot-stoppers of the modern game. Their number one who stood , austere, through all the managerial changes, capping 4 FA cups, 3 Premier Leagues, 2 League Cups, a Champions League, a Europa League and many other individual awards, which, if I list fully, will make this article too long.

But as much as every Blues supporter may hate to admit it, Cech’s time may have come. This season, concentration lapses have cost him goals, and his team matches. Despite that, he leads the PL’s clean sheets charts. Cech remains a world-class goalie – his stats this season reiterate that – but his blasé indifference in a few matches also suggest that the Czech is past his peak.

Thibaut Courtois, on the other hand, is not only the best young goalie in the world hands down (and hands up), but is also considered by many to be the best goalkeeper in the world. He has a whopping 19 clean sheets in the La Liga alone, and is past his ‘waiting in the wings’ stage. No player is bigger than the club, not even Petr Cech at six foot six inches, excluding a couple of centimetres of head gear. That is why this match will, for all means and purposes, decide the fate of both these goalkeepers.

A stellar performance from Cech coupled with an ordinary performance from the Belgian will raise doubts over Courtois’ future at Chelsea. It could mean another couple of years for Cech and an end to Courtois’ three year gameless tenure at Chelsea. However, if form is an indication of how this game will go, and Courtois does come up with an inspired performance and Cech an insipid one, then there will be no doubting the arrival of Thibaut Courtois amidst puffy eyed fans. And that is a massive, massive conflict of interests for every Chelsea fan.

Fairytale return? Nah.

On a side note, the game between Atletico and Chelsea in Vincente Calderon signifies the return of Fernando Torres to his boyhood club, the reason he is (was) as famous as he is (was). His reunion with Diego Simeone, who Fernando Torres captained during his Atletico days, will certainly be an emotional affair, and though it is not the focus of this match, it could spring surprises. If Mourinho does decide to give El Nino the nod, which is quite unlikely but possible, we could see a rejuvenated, motivated Fernando Torres leading the Chelsea brigade to victory at Madrid.

With a point to prove, we might just see a completely different number nine on display tonight. Add to that the rumours doing the rounds about Fernando Torres’ return to the Calderon and his respectable scoring record in European competitions, and you might just be in for a treat. I’m a Fernando Torres fan, so excuse my blatant lack of realism.

At the other end of things, Diego Costa, whose incredible season has seen him being tracked by a number of teams (with Chelsea leading the way), will want to impress his suitors. And that only adds to the spice of this match-up.

Overview

I hope you feel as strongly as I do about the fact that this is so much more than just a run-of-the-mill Champions League semi-final. At the beginning, I promised not to make any false predictions. Sticking by that promise, I have decided to make only one prediction about this game. A prediction that will be true.

In this mammoth match, where emotions will be running high and both teams will be playing with so much at stake, there will not be just one winner and one loser. There will be many.

And that is why this will be no ordinary Champions League semi-final.

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