Proud and honoured is what Atlético expressed when they left Lisbon a few euros shy of winning the big one, even though it was a match they should have won.
Leading the match 1-0 going into added time must have felt good, but I wonder how it felt to lose it 4-1. Proud and noble would not be my first, second, or third reaction. Yet, cheers to being admirable losers!
2015 pays a visit to Berlin
Moving on to next year’s final in Germany, Berlin will play the host and most likely offer a genuine taste of its culture and history – a culture perhaps overlooked and a stadium soaked with war stories from the past.
Berlin’s efforts to construct a massive stadium began in 1912 and finally completed in 1916. Its creation was designed to host the 1916 Summer Olympics but the eruption and length of World War 1 nixed that idea immediately. There were no Summer Olympics in 1916.
In 1932 Berlin was again to host the Summer Olympics, this time with a rebuilt stadium (today known as Olympiastadium). In fact, Berlin was quite lucky to hold the event and popular opinion would beg to differ whether Berlin deserved it at all. But the games carried on and events that took place during and after the 1936 Summer Olympics will forever linger and silently echo within the confines of Olympic Stadium.
Arena boasts a sometimes-unpleasant history
It was a stadium once used as a launching pad for Adolph Hitler to promote his Nazi party and inspire Germans, as well as the world, to delve into the idea of creating a one-race nation, to put it simply. Fortunately, the competing nations threatened to boycott unless Hitler and his party toned it down and remove racism from the Olympic Games – and so he listened, somewhat.
Unfortunately, after the Summer Olympics, Hitler and his Nazi Party pushed on with its disturbed ideology and unstoppable military force, wreaking havoc across Europe exterminating unthinkable amounts of human beings.
Apart from the ghosts that haunt Olympic Stadium, it has since become a renowned setting for hosting major European football competitions like the 1974 and 2006 FIFA World Cup. Additionally, held here every year are German Cup Finals, an assortment of other sports, and in 2015, we get to see “this stadium” hosting UEFA.
Hertha Berlin, who played 11th place football this year, plays its home matches at Olympic Stadium in Germany’s Bundesliga.
In 34 matches, they managed 11 wins with 15 losses—the rest were draws. Chances are slim we see them in the finals. However, Bayer Munich has a terrific chance to represent Germany and even win it, possibly ridding the ghosts that loiter Olympic Stadium.
Really, with the amount of media coverage and publicity Berlin receives next summer, not only will the world witness great football talent but also get an inside look at a revitalized but still debateable Berlin.
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