The football course ended with a final in Paris that will be remembered because it started like never before and ended like always. The chaotic preview in Saint-Denis was unfortunate, difficult to understand and requires an explanation to the thousands of affected fans. A story that goes beyond cleaning its hands and blaming the English who tried to sneak in or were fooled with false tickets. It is not understood that in a country and stadium so accustomed to big events such nonsense could occur.
There is a close precedent that sheds some light: the Europa League final. Having been to both events, I see a noticeable difference. In Seville you couldn’t look at a point on the outskirts of Pizjuán where there were no security forces, and the final took place without more incident than four drunks beating each other. What happened in Paris was an orchestrated looting while the few authorities showed a total inability to respond. If a city offers to host a final, even if it is an emergency, it must do it well. The economic impact of the final in Paris will have been enormous when a room could cost €2,000 and a coffee in the center ten. A city and country so proud of itself would do well to learn from mistakes and sing mea culpa.
What happened 36 minutes later than planned is a movie that we have already seen many times. A pragmatic Real Madrid knew how to contain, frustrate the rival, pull hard and safe under the sticks. And you can’t question the deservingness of this Champions League from a team that never stopped fighting or being thrown on the canvas. There is no team that competes in Europe like Real Madrid does.