Spanish newspaper MARCA ran an article this week on how footballers recover from damaging defeats, with former Portuguese international Tiago Mendes taking part and speaking for the first time in depth about losing two Champions League finals while playing for Atletico Madrid.
The heartbreak for Tiago and his teammates was made worse by the fact both occasions saw them beaten by city rivals Real Madrid. First Atleti – who have lost all three European Cup finals they have played – conceded a stoppage-time equaliser in Lisbon before losing 4-1 in extra time in 2014, before suffering a penalty shootout defeat to the same opponents at San Siro two years later.
"This is the first time that I've spoken about this and it's because I think it can help other players who are suffering from something similar, who can believe that this is easy and that you win more than you lose,” Tiago said. “It's not like that.”
Recalling Sergio Ramos’ 93rd-minute equaliser in Lisbon after Atleti had led 1-0 for an hour, the memories are clearly painful for the former Seleção man. “Ramos met the ball before me. It doesn't matter who scores: it was my job to attack the ball and I didn't do it.
“I was on the ground and I remember that he came to console me. It was a very tough blow. After the season we’d had, winning La Liga the week before, and having an incredibly good Champions 
League campaign. We didn't lose a game in 90 minutes!
"You have to prove you can overcome"
"That hurt me a lot. The days afterwards are horrible: you don't want to be with anyone, you don't want to turn on the TV - especially when your opponent is celebrating in the same city! Can you imagine? It was difficult not just for the players but also the fans. We really felt the weight of the defeat because it was also against Real Madrid, because we know that the fans suffer more.
"It's the first time I've spoken publicly about it because, when you're a player, you don't look back at what you suffered. It's something that stays inside of you: better leave it alone it and carry on. The moments when you lose and when you suffer serve as an obstacle because you know you have to get out of there. You prove to yourself that you can overcome it. You know that you're going to be able to get out of it.
"All this is going to help me in difficult times, I'm sure. In professional sport, losing affects you more than winning. It's the people that keep it together after a defeat that make the difference. I think that's why people value [Diego Simeone] and all the players that were together for so long: we fell, we fell into turmoil. Two Champions League finals!
“But we never stopped giving our all for the club and that will define my career, also as a coach, there's no doubt.”
By Sean Gillen
Via MARCA
