After the match,
the entire Spanish media praised Atlético Madrid's Champions League performance.
"Atlético Madrid are already very close to the level they reached in the season when they last made the Champions League final."
Atlético Madrid have only ever reached one Champions League final in their history.
That was all the way back in the 1973-74 season, and they lost that final to Bayern Munich, missing out on the title.
This season, Atlético Madrid had beaten Barcelona and Real Madrid in the league, swept Bayern Munich in the group stage, and eliminated AC Milan in the knockout round.
Their results were genuinely strong.
So in Spain, some media outlets even believed that if Atlético's luck held, they could go all the way to the final.
"Who can stop this Atlético Madrid side?"
Someone raised that question.
And indeed,
once the Champions League quarterfinal field was set,
that question became even more interesting.
Málaga had come from behind at home to beat Porto and reach the quarterfinals.
Real Madrid beat Manchester United 2-1 at home to go through 3-2 on aggregate.
Barcelona beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 at home to advance.
There were four La Liga clubs in the quarterfinals altogether.
The other four teams were Bayern Munich, Galatasaray, Juventus, and Dortmund.
The quarterfinal draw would be held on Friday.
Since there were no longer any draw protections at this stage,
Atlético Madrid could be paired with any of the remaining teams.
If they drew one of the three other La Liga sides, that hardly needed saying.
Over these two seasons, their record against Barça, Real Madrid, and Málaga had all been better.
If they drew Bayern?
Atlético had already beaten them twice in the group stage, so they still had the upper hand.
Juventus or Dortmund?
In the eyes of the Spanish media,
those two sides were still a step below the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Bayern.
Probably around the same level as AC Milan.
If Atlético drew either of them, their chances of going through would be very high.
As for Galatasaray,
that was basically a gift in the quarterfinals.
Whoever drew them would probably be laughing to themselves.
Apart from that gift,
the rest of the teams were not easy to deal with.
UEFA quickly organized the Champions League quarterfinal draw.
These days, the Champions League involved a lot of draws: the group stage draw, the round of 16 draw, the quarterfinal draw, the semifinal draw...
The round of 16 draw would also include the yearly UEFA awards ceremony and other events.
By the time the competition reached the quarterfinals, there was less ceremony.
Just draw the pairs and get on with it.
Before the draw,
fans from every quarterfinal club were waiting to see who their team would get.
For supporters,
the weaker the opponent, the better.
A local Madrid media outlet ran a poll asking fans which opponent they wanted their team to draw.
Galatasaray, unsurprisingly, came first with 79% of the vote.
Málaga came second...
...
Atlético's players were also waiting to see who they would face in the quarterfinals.
In the Champions League, every step forward raised the difficulty significantly.
If they could draw a relatively weak team in the quarterfinals and then reach the semifinals, their chances of making the final would rise even more.
Before the draw,
the players gathered in the meeting room and watched the live broadcast on television.
"I hope we draw Galatasaray..."
"I don't think that's likely. Do you think UEFA might arrange for us to meet Real Madrid?"
"I don't want to play Bayern anymore..."
While the players were talking,
quarterfinal draw guest Luís Figo appeared on the screen.
He was the one responsible for drawing all four ties.
While everyone was still discussing it,
the first team Figo drew made the room go quiet.
"Atlético Madrid!"
The meeting room fell silent.
Being drawn first was a good thing.
It at least meant the team would play away first.
Away first, home second: the schedule favored them.
Then,
Figo drew Atlético's opponent.
"Juventus!"
That name made the Atlético players pause.
In the earlier discussion,
nobody had mentioned that name.
Maybe that had something to do with the team's personality: the old lady was very quiet.
But there was no denying it.
This was a strong team.
This Juventus side had firmly taken control of the top of Serie A this season, and under Antonio Conte, they looked like a club that had truly escaped the shadow of the Calciopoli scandal.
"Juventus..."
"Another Serie A team."
"We're really up against Italy again..."
"Last time Milan, this time Turin."
"Why didn't they give us an English team?"
"Brother, are you crazy? There are no Premier League teams in the quarterfinals this season..."
"I don't like Juventus' style."
"Their defense is pretty strong..."
The players discussed the draw among themselves.
Juventus was a fairly standard opponent.
Atlético hadn't drawn a gift,
but they also hadn't drawn a monster like Real Madrid, Barcelona, or Bayern.
Because Atlético had been drawn first,
the rest of the draw was much more relaxed for everyone watching.
Barcelona drew Málaga.
Real Madrid drew Dortmund.
Bayern drew Galatasaray.
The quarterfinal draw was a little underwhelming.
For most fans,
what they really wanted to see was a clash between Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Bayern.
Unfortunately,
at least in the quarterfinals, that sort of matchup wasn't going to happen.
Compared with the other three ties,
Atlético versus Juventus actually became one of the more watched pairings.
...
Turin, Italy. Vinovo Training Center.
Juventus head coach Antonio Conte was also watching the screen.
"Atlético Madrid..."
Conte fell into thought.
Next to him, his assistant interjected:
"They're not easy to deal with... This team has tremendous athletic ability, very strong physical play, and above all their midfield core, Shane Carter. He has almost no weaknesses and is being called the modern-day Beckenbauer..."
Hearing that, Conte took a deep breath.
As a former professional player who had grown up watching the Beckenbauer era, he naturally understood how strong a player had to be to earn the nickname "the next Beckenbauer."
"That guy is too complete."
"Excellent defensively,"
"can assist, can score, and his sense of rhythm is terrifying."
The Juventus coaching staff all began talking at once.
Listening to them, Conte also developed a headache regarding this player.
When he took over Juventus,
Shane Carter had still been a nobody. Conte had never even heard the name.
But now,
Shane Carter was being spoken of as one of the three best players in the world.
A player who had risen that fast
demanded serious attention.
"Get all of his recent match footage organized," Conte said.
There was more than a month left before the quarterfinals.
During that time,
he would study this opponent carefully.
Not drawing Real Madrid, Barcelona, or Bayern was good luck for Juventus.
Eliminating Atlético Madrid and reaching the semifinals...
that too was Conte's ambition.
If possible,
he wanted to keep going all the way.
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