THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

The Atlético Madrid players had switched to their usual defensive playing style. Fortunately for them, their defensive efforts weren't passive as they fell back. Instead, they played aggressive, hard-tackling football to terrorize the Juventus players that tried to cut through their ranks.

For the next few minutes, it was as if they were fighting a war. As such, ruthless sliding tackles, borderline aerial duels, shirt-pulling incidences, and body slams became the order of the night as the game proceeded into the late stages. And soon, it became clear to all that the Atlético Madrid players were out for blood, as not even the four yellow cards displayed by the referee could curb their ruthlessness.

More minutes passed, and the game approached the 70th-minute mark. And just then, Claudio Marchisio was on the ball after having intercepted a loose pass close to the center circle.

Taking the ball in his stride, Marchisio skipped past Gabi, Atlético Madrid's captain, as he navigated his way through the middle, hoping to find a passing angle. But just as he was about to flick the ball to his left to find Simone Padoin, his counterpart in midfield, something unexpected and unfortunate transpired.

Mario Suárez, Atlético Madrid's other central midfielder, came sliding in with a ruthless impetus. His boot skidded over the green like a deadly viper traversing the jungle, and he caught Claudio Marchisio on the ankle.

"Aaahhh!"

With an agonized cry, Claudio Marchisio went down immediately. He then started rolling around on the ground while holding onto his ankle. Anyone could tell he was clearly in pain and most likely injured by the ruthless challenge from the Atlético Madrid midfielder.

*FWEEEEEEE*

The referee blew the whistle and immediately rushed to the scene. Then, he quickly summoned the medics, who soon began offering first aid to the injured Claudio Marchisio.

The medics focused all their attention on Marchisio's ankle, hoping to relieve his pain so he would return to action immediately. However, all their efforts were fruitless, and they soon realized that the worst-case scenario had transpired. For sure, Claudio Marchisio, one of Juventus' midfielders, had suffered an injury after being on the receiving end of a ruthless tackle. He was in great pain, and they would thus have to ferry him out of the playing field on a stretcher.

*FWEEEEEEE*

In the meantime, the referee, who happened to be crowded by raging Juventus players, blew the whistle again. He then pushed himself out of the mass of bodies in striped black and white jerseys before showing a yellow card to Mario Suárez, the player that had committed the foul. After that, he blew a whistle again and started marking out the spot for the free-kick. As for the complaining Juventus players, he clearly chose to ignore them.

-----

"Damn it!" Coach Allegri exclaimed while running toward the fourth official after noticing that the referee had only shown Mario Suárez a yellow card for the foul.

Narrowing his eyes slightly, he yelled at the official, "Mario Suárez went for the leg instead of the ball. He should receive a red card instead of a yellow card. What's wrong with you, referees?"

"Calm down. Calm down, coach..." The fourth official said, trying to soothe Coach Allegri's flaring temper.

"Don't you dare say that to me!" Coach Allegri cut off the fourth official mid-sentence. "Don't tell me to calm down when my player has just suffered a ruthless tackle that took him out of the game."

"Calm down. Calm..." the fourth official continued. "It's unfortunate that your player has suffered an injury and can't continue the game. But that was Mario Suárez's first challenge. Surely, do you really believe that we should show him a straight red card for such a challenge?"

"Of course," Coach Allegri stated with anger. "His intent was clearly to injure Claudio. Based on that, the referee should show him a straight red card. It's that simple..."

"Coach, let's head back!" Maurizio Trombetta, one of Juventus' assistant coaches, said, pulling his boss away. "There's no use arguing with the referees as they won't change their decisions. Instead, we should calm down and decide on who to bring in place of the injured Marchisio."

"Okay."

Coach Allegri sucked in a long breath and followed after his assistant. He returned to his technical area in seconds and started thinking about the most appropriate substitute to introduce into the game.

Both Andrea Pirlo and Zachary were still on the bench. They were all highly gifted players who could enter the pitch and change the game situation quickly. Any of them could work as a substitute for the injured Marchisio at that moment.

But as the coach was about to select a substitute, his heart skipped a beat as a series of thoughts manifested within his mind. What if Zachary or Pirlo also suffer an injury? Is it worth it for a match that is clearly not that important in the bigger picture of our plans this season? Should I risk them to win the game?"

The gears in Coach Allegri's mind kept on whirling and rotating as he predicted a few unfortunate possibilities that could happen if he introduced an important player into the game. And for seconds, he couldn't decide what to do until his gaze landed on Coach Diego Simeone, the Atlético Madrid coach, who happened to be watching him with a teasing smile at that very moment.

"Wait!" He thought with a frown. "Could this bastard have predicted this? After injuring one of my players, does he think I won't dare to introduce one of my other creative players since this is not a must-win game for us? What a cunning bastard!"

After thinking of the possibility, Coach Allegri couldn't contain his anger. He turned his gaze away from the Atlético Madrid coach and returned his attention to Maurizio Trombetta, his assistant.

"Coach Trombetta," he said with narrowed eyes. "What's the score for the game between Olympiacos and Malmö?"

"The last time I checked, Olympiacos was still leading by two goals to one," Coach Trombetta answered dutifully.

Coach Allegri smiled. But his smile was a bit sinister. "Seems there's a possibility of Olympiacos winning. Doesn't that mean that Atlético Madrid will drop out of the Champions League if we force them to a draw or win against them?"

Coach Trombetta thought for a short while before saying, "Both Atlético Madrid and Olympiacos had seven points before today's games. So, if Olympiacos wins and Atlético Madrid draws or loses, Coach Diego and his men will drop out of the Champions League. But why ask all this? What are you thinking, boss?"

"Just some minor stuff," Coach Allegri said, still maintaining his smile that was not a smile. "Coach Trombetta. Go ahead and prep Tevez, Pirlo, and Zachary as substitutes. Let them start warming up immediately! I want them on the pitch in five."

"Boss..." Maurizio Trombetta seemed like he was about to argue.

"Don't say anything," Coach Trombetta cut him off. "Just carry out my instructions. We need to make the substitutions quickly. Or else, we might concede another goal."

"Okay, boss," the assistant said with a helpless sigh. "I'll do as you say."

------