"Please, no acclaim, I'm just a humble footballer... who scored twice from two incredible free kicks."

The group stage of the Champions League began on Tuesday evening, and two La Liga outfits looked to initiate the exorcism of their personal demons.

Real Madrid and its galácticos played its first Champions League match of the season against an upstart FC Zürich team who, before the match, seemed more interested in whom they would swap shirts.  It is no secret of Madrid’s lack of success in the Champions League in the past five seasons, and even more than recapturing La Liga from FC Barcelona, Madrid desperately wants to regain their status as THE team in Europe.

For the first twenty-five minutes, the team in white played as though it showed why it spent millions of Euros to bolster its squad.  The only caveat was that FC Zürich wore the white kit and did not seem the least bit intimidated by Real Madrid, the men in black.  Rather than resorting to a direct, long ball approach with physicality as the answer, Zürich displayed a flowing game of football, including an audacious attempt at a back-heeled goal in the ninth minute.

The fans chanted, the electric atmosphere buoyed Zürich to outplay their modest abilities, and they truly believed they had a legitimate chance to obtain a result against Real.  Then Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up to take a twenty-five meter free kick and struck it with venom past Zürich keeper Johnny Leoni.  From that moment, Madrid stepped on the pedal and suffocated Zürich with their relentless offensive pressure.  By halftime, Real Madrid engineered a 3-0 advantage at the Letzigrund Stadion, and Zürich looked like the long shots that the odds makers thought of them.

For the first ten minutes of the second half, it was more of the same from Real Madrid.  Then on a sliding tackle of Johan Vonlanthen, Xabi Alonso apparently injured his right ankle, and Fernando Gago replaced him in the 59th minute when it was clear that he could not carry on anymore.  Madrid lost focus as they cruised with their three-goal lead, and in a span of one minute, they conceded two goals to Zürich, which gave them life once again.  While the first goal came as a result of a dubious penalty, similar to the Eduardo situation against Celtic, Real’s concession of a second goal less than a minute later against an inferior team was inexcusable for a club that has Champions League aspirations.  Real would score two late goals, including another free kick from Ronaldo, but they still have yet to show that they can consistently keep a tight defense.  Until that happens, the demons will hang around within the team.

"We could not score against APOEL at home!?!?"

Atlético Madrid’s demons were more of a recent phenomenon.  They tried to forget a horrendous 0-3 beatdown at the hands of Málaga and a lackluster 1-1 draw at the Vicente Calderón against Racing Santander by capturing a win against the Cypriot champions APOEL Nicosia.  Even though APOEL was the bottom seed in Group D alongside Chelsea, FC Porto, and Atlético Madrid, none of those teams should underestimate this plucky side from Nicosia.  Only look to last season’s Champions League when group stage newcomers Anorthosis Famagusta wreaked havoc on a group that included Inter Milan, Werder Bremen, and Panathinaikos.

The first half was tactical with few chances.  The two best opportunities fell to the boot of Constantinos Charalambides, who made Atlético keeper Sergio Asenjo generate a terrific stop at his near post in the 8th minute and missed a splendid chance in the 43rd minute when a one bounce cross found his run inside the six-yard box and missed wide from four yards.  Sergio Agüero was the bright spot for Atlético as his tireless engine created space for his teammates as well as set himself for shots on goal.  Diego Forlán and Simão Sabrosa were held in check for the most part due to APOEL’s discipline and organization in defense.  Already under fire for their mediocre performances this season, the fans at the Vicente Calderón whistled at the players going into and out of the dressing room for the second half and deemed a 0-0 score unacceptable.

Atlético manager Abel Resino made an early substitution in the second half, sending in winger Maxi Rodríguez for the defensive midfielder Cléber Santana in the 51st minute because Maxi would bring more punch in the final third, and Atlético showed that they would be able to put the clamps on the APOEL attack without the extra defensive midfielder.  For the rest of the match, Atlético continually assailed the APOEL penalty area and goalkeeper Dionisis Chiotis.  APOEL rarely had possession, so this forced a strategy to camp ten men behind the ball in the hope that they would somehow protect a 0-0 draw and gain a point away from home.  Resino further added to the attack in the 67th minute by taking out right back Luis Perea in favor of forward Florent-Sinama Pongolle.

Atlético had seventeen shots, nine of those on target, in the second half but never breached the APOEL goal.  Man of the Match Dionisis Chiotis made some spectacular saves; the most important of those saves came in the third minute of stoppage time when his leaping save prevented another Forlán rasping bullet from heading toward the top corner of the net.  Forlán also had a free kick that struck the intersection of the post and the crossbar in the 84th minute.  Not withstanding Atlético’s poor start in La Liga, dropping points at home against APOEL when they also have to face Chelsea and FC Porto twice is the worst kind of start possible.  With Chelsea looking as the favorite to win Group D, these two points dropped could be crucial in deciding the second team in the group to advance to the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Sergio Agüero and Atlético Madrid cannot see or find their form.

Atlético Madrid prolonged their faltering start with a 1-1 draw against Racing Santander on Saturday.  Even with a man advantage for the majority of the second half, they lacked the finishing touch to nip the win from a feisty Santander side.  Racing came off a 4-1 drubbing at El Sardinero by Getafe, including a hat trick by Soldado, so Racing did not have the greatest levels of confidence leading into a match against a highly explosive offensive team.

Atlético had many of its players participate in the two World Cup Qualifying matches in the previous weekend, so they were not at full strength.  Diego Forlán sat on the bench after playing for Uruguay, Simão Sabrosa started but played in Portugal’s two qualifying matches, Maxi Rodríguez was not in the eighteen as he picked up a muscle strain with Argentina, and Sergio Agüero also participated in the two Argentina matches.  This clash with Racing also commenced an era without John Heitinga, as he made a €7 million move from Atlético to Everton, and starting at right back for Los Colchoneros was Juan Valera, who interestingly enough played for Santander on loan last season.

For the first half hour, Atlético had the better of the play, but both teams were lifeless.  Paulo Assunção fizzed a shot past Santander keeper Toño in the ninth minute but also breezed just wide of the post.  Sergio Agüero fired a shot in the 21st minute but headed straight towards Toño and was able to make the save.  Despite Atlético controlling the ball at a two to one ratio, Racing created the best chance in the first thirty minutes as talisman Pedro Munitis provided a lovely through ball into the box for Alexandre Geijo.  Geijo, however, was caught in between taking the shot and crossing the ball back to Munitis, and Geijo’s effort flashed across the six-yard box, went wide of the post, and was too far for Munitis to get on boot on it.

After this opening stanza, Atlético seemed to get their legs under them and began an assault on Toño’s goal.  Simão missed a golden opportunity in the 34th minute when he shanked a shot from twelve yards after Agüero slipped in a beautiful ball into the penalty area.  José Jurado rifled a shot towards Toño’s near post after a quick dribble and run in the 38th minute, but Toño parried it away successfully.  Florent Sinama-Pongolle made a run into the six-yard box, and if it were not for a desperate yet timely challenge by Sepsi László, Sinama would have Atlético up 1-0.  With all this attacking pressure by Atlético, that left gaps in the defensive line, and Geijo almost made Atlético pay for their men going forward in the 38th minute, but a last ditch sliding tackle in the box by Tomáš Ujfaluši took the ball from Geijo’s boot.  Racing made another foray into Atlético’s box in the 41st minute, and Oscar Serrano’s combination with Manuel Arana sent Arana towards goal, but a kick save by Sergio Asenjo stopped the attack.

Atlético finally took advantage of a goal-scoring opportunity when they scored in the 43rd minute to give the supporters in the Vicente Calderón something about which to cheer.  Off a corner kick, Racing headed the clearance out of the penalty box, but only towards Jurado, and he took the ball first time on the volley and breached the Racing defense and Toño’s goal.  As Atlético is wont to do, they conceded a goal within a few minutes of scoring themselves.  The build-up to Racing’s goal started with a hopeful long ball into the box for Geijo.  He laid the ball off for Arana who in turn laid the ball off to Serrano, and his late run gave him the space to shoot and score.  The Atlético defensive pressure was lacking, and their attempts to stab tackle the ball away from Racing were deemed fruitless as Racing equalized one minute into first half stoppage time.

To jump-start the attack in the second half, Abel Resino substituted Agüero out for Diego Forlán.  Atlético missed his prowess towards goal as well as his off-the-ball runs, and it was clear that Agüero ran out of steam by the end of the opening forty-five minutes.  When José Ángel Crespo received a red card in the 47th minute for illegally tackling Simão when he had a clear goal-scoring opportunity, Atlético’s second and third goals became inevitable.  These goals never materialized, as Santander’s defensive discipline kept Atlético out of their net.  Atlético constructed some offensive attacks but never really put their boots on Racing’s throat when they had the man advantage for nearly the whole second half.  Atlético’s best chance occurred in the 58th minute when Forlán’s swerving free kick hit the post.  Atlético played as though they already had the lead and merely tried to sit on the score line.

After being humiliated by Málaga 3-0 in the opening weekend, many expected Atlético to fight back and take out their anger on a Santander team who were embarrassed themselves by Getafe.  At the end of the match, the players were clearly frustrated, but that frustration did not compare to Los Colchoneros in the stands, who whistled, heckled, and demanded the immediate dismissals of club president Enrique Cerezo and general manager Miguel Ángel Gil Marín.  It may be hyperbole to talk crisis in the south of Madrid, but Atlético’s history shows that this type of situation is ripe for internal and external turmoil.  Soon, the chants for Abel Resino’s head will commence and all of this occurring when they kept their two stars Sergio Agüero and Diego Forlán.  Atlético Madrid has a Champions League group stage match against APOEL Nicosia on Tuesday and then a collision with La Liga champions Barcelona at the Camp Nou on the weekend.  If they do not beat APOEL and get some sort of result against Barcelona, all hell may break loose within the boardroom and the Vicente Calderón.