Monday's Good Day, Bad Day - Round 37

Good Day

Atlético Madrid


"We Are De Champions" was the erroneous attempt at an English headline on the front page of Monday's Marca.

"We are in fourth place but will probably balls it up in the qualifying rounds" was the less catchy but more accurate banner that should have been published.

One man who refused to join in the jamboree after Atleti's 1-0 win over Deportivo and call their achievement a terrific triumph was the strangely subdued Javier Aguirre.

After the game, the Mexican manager merely muttered that he had "fulfilled his obligation" for the season. "They hired me to get into the Champions and we did it."

For this reason there was no celebrations at the Neptune statue, one block south of Cibeles, with Marca reporting on Saturday that it was only reserved for "celebrations not obligations."

It was a nervy affair at the Calderón with Atlético nearly blowing it in the final moments when Deportivo hit a post when the now traditional chaos broke out in the rojiblanco back line.

But that's the way it had to be writes Iñaki Díaz-Guerra in AS - "suffering to the end, the fans on the brink of a nervous breakdown, unable to watch the game and fearing a disaster."

And it looks like being repeated on a much grander scale next season. And amen to that.

Jerzy Dudek

Unless you are an AC Milan fan or the Zaragoza forward line, you gotta have a lot of love for dizzy old Jerzy Dudek. Having Bernabeu bench warmed all season, waiting for his moment of league glory, the Polish stopper did not disappoint with a fine display to shut out Sergio Garcia and co.

But 'come in Jerzy, your time is up!' as, third choice keeper, Jordi Codina is set to play next weekend's Levante game - if Levante turn up - firstly as a "deserved reward" according to Bernd Schuster and also to ensure that Iker Casillas' Zamora prize is not blown in a freakish goalfest.

Dudek: Rare cameo appearance for the Grobbelaar impersonator 

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