Football. Atlético de Madrid and Arsenal, the eternal losers dreaming of the Champions League.

Atletico de Madrid – Arsenal

This Wednesday, 9:00 PM

Beyond the colors (red and white), Atletico de Madrid and Arsenal, who face each other this Wednesday (9:00 PM) in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals, share a common destiny, a common suffering. Both teams, dreaming of lifting the Champions League trophy, are considered eternal losers, doomed to touch greatness without ever truly achieving it.

For the people of Madrid, hosts of the first leg, this translates into decades of living in the shadows of the two giants, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. They have also endured three Champions League final losses (1974, 2014, 2016), including two against Real, and countless disappointments, like the recent defeat in the Copa del Rey final against Real Sociedad.

Arsenal, dreaming of reaching the final for the second time, 20 years after their first loss to FC Barcelona at the Stade de France, has also faced its share of setbacks, unable to console themselves like their opponent on Wednesday with league titles (2014, 2021) or a Europa League (2018) victory. Since their last triumph in 2004, the north London club has unfortunately developed a habit of finishing in the wrong place in the Premier League: either fourth or second, as in the past three seasons.

Arsenal facing the fear of losing everything

This year, even the title that seemed within reach for the Gunners, with a nine-point lead over Manchester City, could slip away, just like the League Cup (lost in the final against City) and the FA Cup (eliminated in the quarterfinals by Southampton).

It is against this bleak backdrop—a FA Cup win in 2020 and two Community Shields (2020, 2023)—and this culture of defeat that Spanish coach Mikel Arteta has been fighting since taking over in 2019, sometimes drawing mockery from his adversaries. “Enjoy your quadruple, mate,” for example, Southampton had taunted X, in response to the ambitions of Arsenal fans and their coach.

On the other hand, the Gunners, topping the league phase and smoothly reaching the semifinals, can still dream of a double (league and Champions League). This achievement would be remarkable after years of exiting Europe early in the knockout stages. “We have achieved something unprecedented in our club’s history, in 140 years, showing the difficulty of the task,” Arteta remarked after securing qualification for a second consecutive Champions League semifinal.

Like a first date

But the Colchoneros, who will bid farewell to Antoine Griezmann at the end of the season, joining the MLS, also want to “make history,” as emphasized by Argentine forward Julian Alvarez, who arrived in 2024 from Manchester City. “Every time a date like this approaches, you get butterflies in your stomach, like on a first date with a girl you like. But as soon as you start warming up, all that disappears and you go out to play, hoping to reach the final,” his teammate Koke (34) also expressed.

“We have come this far just as we have always done: fall, get up, and go back to battle. No one has been able to stop us. We have always had the necessary strength to keep aiming for the objectives that the club and the supporters need: play in finals,” eternal coach of the team, Argentine Diego Simeone, reassured.

“This year, we are very close. We will face a very good team, whom we already played against at the beginning of the season (lost 4-0). It will surely be very difficult, like any semifinal,” he admitted. To continue dreaming, they must avoid such a setback at all costs.