Apropos, as they say, of absolutely nothing.

I've been fortunate enough to go to a lot of big matches with Keb Bridges.

Several Classicals, one Spanish Cup Final at Hamden where his team beat mine,

let's make no more mention of that, and the 2016 Champions League Final, Madrid against Atlite again. We were meeting up in my hotel,

which happened to be the same hotel as Atlet were staying in. And I bring you this anecdote

because I think it conditions a lot of the ways in which Aleti have stumbled against Madrid

in subsequent years. That night while I waited for Kev and Carl Spain his buddy from Ireland, I watched Chula

Simeone in the bar lobby of our hotel with a couple of Argentinian pals Monoburgos, Gabriel

Batis Dutta, talking at length, talking in depth, just out there in the open, not locked away in a private function room or anything like that.

And judging by the body language and by his facial expressions and by the way his friends talk to him,

and particularly given how events unfolded and what he said afterwards. I have no doubt at all that what they were

talking about was what if. Josimioni, very superstitious man and a man who believes a lot in

star signs and meteorology, all that kind of nonsense. He was saying what if. What if we lose again, two years on, to Madrid again in a Champions League final?

The tournament we've never won in a tournament they always win.

Nerves might or might not have got the better of him the next day.

Keb and Carl and I nicked over to the Piazza del Duomo to hear Geyska

Mindietta playing a DJ set. Hi Geyska, it was brilliant. Beatles, Lou Reed, prefab sprout,

primal scream, happy days. On the way to the game, walking up with Sancero, there was a right

good punchup. We avoided it, but it made good spectator sport.

Then in the match, no minute by minute again,

but remember, Grisman hits a penalty smack bang off the woodward of the crossbar it was.

Sergio Ramos scores an offside goal.

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