#1 Field fit players only
Trending
After a gruelling domestic campaign that saw them lift the La Liga title for the first time in 18 years, Atletico Madrid went into the 2014 Champions League final with two of their best players in a race against time to prove their fitness. Diego Costa, who was fighting a hamstring injury, reportedly used horse placenta in order to expedite his recovery. He lasted all of 8 minutes in the final forcing Simeone into an early tactical readjustment.
Another of their key players, Arda Turan (now at FC Barcelona), did not even make it to the final squad. The absence of these two players clearly hampered the way Atletico played and gave their city rivals a psychological advantage very early into the tie.
Although it seems that this time around Simeone would not be faced with a similar problem as he travels to Milan with a full squad, the Argentinean has to be careful and field only his fittest as even the slightest of niggles to any player can prove decisive in such a high stakes game.
