Diego Godin is Atletico Madrid's defensive stalwart and he'll be central to their success in Champions League final with Real Madrid
- Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid meet in the Champions League final
- Saturday's match is a repeat of 2014 final which Real won in extra time
- Diego Godin will be hoping to exact revenge on Atletico's arch rivals
- The defender will be central to Diego Simeone's side's success in Milan
It's easy to forget just how important Diego Godin is. Who scored the goal that won Atletico Madrid the league at the Nou Camp two seasons ago? Who scored the goal that took them to within seconds of winning the Champions League the same season?
Who scored the goal that meant Uruguay qualified for the last-16 of the World Cup in Brazil in a game against Italy that was overshadowed by Luis Suarez's bite? Who marshals the defence that has consistently been the most difficult to break down over the last three seasons? Who did Manuel Pellegrini urge Manchester City directors to sign when he was manager at the Etihad?
Who is the one player Diego Simone insisted never be sold? Godin is the answer to all those questions.
Atletico Madrid defender Diego Godin (left) is preparing for Saturday's Champions League final in Milan
The Uruguayan defender will be central to Diego Simeone's side's success when they face Real Madrid
The Uruguayan arrived in Spain in 2007 having scrapped hard in his homeland to convince coaches he could become a top defender. He showed early signs of becoming a supreme athlete, setting junior national swimming records and playing 'baby-football' with Estudiantes, at first as a striker.
But leading Uruguayan side Defensor ditched him when he was only 16 after he had spent two years at the club's academy in Montevideo. He called his parents back in his home town of Rosario in tears and even considered quitting for good.
His father, Julio, assured him that it was just a set-back and that some good would come of the bad news. A couple of months later Cerro came calling and offered him a trial and after three seasons there he moved to Nacional – the Uruguayan club that shares No 1 status with Defensor.
He did enough in just one campaign to persuade Manuel Pellegrini to make him the foundation of his Villarreal side in La Liga. Tell the former City manager that can sign any central defender in the world and he would pick Godin.
He would never publicly admit it but he believes his trophy haul at City would have been far more impressive than it was had director of football Txiki Begiristain signed Godin instead of Eliaquim Mangala and then Nicolas Otamendi. Godin certainly helped kick-start a golden era for Atletico Madrid.
They signed him in 2010 for £6.5million from Villarreal and he has won the European Super Cup twice, the Europa League once, the Copa del Rey once, the league once and the Spanish Super Cup once. His impact has already put him among the club's greats.
Godin looks on during a press conference last weekend ahead of his side's crunch European final on Saturday
Godin celebrates his goal in the 2014 Champions League final which Real Madrid went on to win in extra time
Had his goal against Real Madrid in 2014 ended up as the winner, they would be naming one of the stands at the club's new stadium after him. Surely he has thought about that game and how close they came, many times since?
He towed the party line on Saturday at the club's media day saying: 'This is a different game and another chance,' - nothing more.
Atletico were singing to the same tune ahead of the semi-final against Bayern Munich when they were also settling an old score.
It was the chance to get their own back for the way Bayern beat them with a late equaliser and a comprehensive thrashing in the replay of the 1974 European Cup final. But players and manager alike spoke not of revenge but of 'new opportunities' and it's the same against Real.
Godin will be central to Atletico's success. Before Saturday's media day there was a 40-minute practice game between the first team and the B-team who lined up in a 4-3-3 designed to mimic Real Madrid's.
The 30-year-old wheels away to celebrate a La Liga goal in 2014 - the season Atletico lifted the league title
The Atletico Madrid players huddle around manager Diego Simeone during a training session this week
Predictably the game finished 0-0. Clean sheets are in the DNA of Simeone's Atletico and Godin's reliability is the key to that. He seemed to tower above his team-mates in the training session as they gathered around before to be addressed by fitness coach Oscar 'the professor' Ortega.
He will need to stand tall against Real Madrid, who have the forward who has scored more headed goals than anyone else in Europe's top leagues playing for them in the shape of Gareth Bale.
Just as Bale can beat you in the air, he can also beat you on the ground. Godin will need his pace whenever the Welshman comes into a more central area. Real have one of football's most feared forward lines but that will not fluster Godin – La Liga's most unflappable central defender will be ready for Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema too.
Simeone, who is preparing for his second Champions League final in three seasons, appears in high spirits
Godin will be tasked with keeping Real Madrid's Gareth Bale quiet when the two teams meet at the San Siro
Nothing has been too much for him over the last three seasons. The friends who grew up with him in Rosario, a town of just 10,000 inhabitants, remember a country boy who liked nothing more than to go out hunting and fishing in the wild around his home and who used the predatory instinct to find the weakness in his opponents and capitalise on it when he became a top sportsman.
He was once caught by the omnipresent Spanish television cameras rejoicing with a clenched fist in a game against Barcelona when Lionel Messi began rubbing the back of his thigh, appearing to have injured a hamstring. Some said it was unsporting, but most agreed it was the most natural thing in the world to do.
He's a born competitor and he will be ready to go into battle on Saturday in Milan.
Godin played under Manuel Pellegrini at Villarreal and the Chilean tried to sign him as Manchester City boss
The centre back (pictured with Luis Suarez) has also been a consistent performer for Uruguay over the years
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