Long before the Champions League reforms, the G14—formed by Europe's elite clubs—had already been committed to building a "European Super League."
Their plan was to cast aside the rest of Europe and use those fourteen teams to carve up all of the world's football attention.
Platini absolutely refused to allow this to happen, even though Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain were both members of the G14.
Yet with careful analysis, it isn't hard to see that the real beneficiaries would ultimately be only a handful of superclubs.
From the perspective of French football, Platini also hoped Ligue 1 could take another step forward—perhaps even become the world's top league.
After all, if Italy could do it, Spain could do it, England could do it, then why couldn't France?
To develop Ligue 1, it wasn't enough to bring in large amounts of capital; it was also crucial to stem the loss of domestic talent.
When faced with offers from clubs like Real Madrid, Manchester United, and Juventus, no Ligue 1 team could keep hold of its future stars—and often couldn't even sell them for a good price.
The players themselves wanted to leave and would cooperate in pushing the price down.
After taking office, Platini set out to tackle all of these problems.
He wanted to expand the Champions League, giving teams from smaller leagues more exposure.
He wanted to push up the prices of young players, placing a shackle on the big clubs' unlimited "lottery-ticket" shopping sprees and driving the development of youth training across Europe.
He wanted to promote attacking football, making matches more entertaining, drawing in more fans, and ultimately selling broadcasting rights and related revenues at higher prices.
The demands were complex.
But there was one club that not only met all of these requirements, but was also willing to cooperate with Platini.
Moreover, as one of the G14, this club was even willing to help Platini split the G14 from within, leaving UEFA with no worries at all.
That club was Barcelona.
Aside from Barcelona and a small handful of others, however, most teams—this season and for many seasons to come—would frequently face powerful opponents, intense matches, constant injuries, and situations where they couldn't field their best form in the most important games.
On the surface, everything seemed to be happening naturally.
But in reality, this was an enormous game of chess.
Platini and Blatter played it extremely well, and with real results.
Barcelona's future success was part of that game.
As for Messi's future success, it didn't even really count as a piece on that board—because players carried far too little weight in this scheme.
Yet through sheer personal brilliance, Messi forced his way up from being one of countless nobodies to becoming a piece on that board—one of real importance.
It has to be said: that was truly impressive.
This chess game didn't truly end until 2016, when Platini made a disastrous misstep.
At the time, the United States and Qatar were competing to host the 2022 World Cup.
Platini was more supportive of the United States.
But after Qatar expressed its intention to make massive investments in France, Platini switched his vote.
In the end, the Americans lost to the Qataris.
And American fury was what ultimately sent both Blatter and Platini to prison.
Of course, the game belonging to Platini and Blatter did come to an end.
But the game of football itself has never stopped.
Platini's successor, Ceferin, and Blatter's successor, Infantino, immediately began their own game.
In fact, they played it even more outrageously.
Even more blatantly.
It's like how people used to constantly criticize NBA commissioner Stern for manipulating the league—only for Adam Silver to take over and make you realize that Stern wasn't manipulating anything. That was restraint.
...
In the second half, Real Madrid, as the side in the lead, made very few adjustments.
Bayern, however, made some targeted changes.
They believed the breakthrough lay with Real Madrid's single holding midfielder, Gago.
In the 51st minute, Gago won the ball in his own half and played a pass forward.
Su Hang received it, carried the ball upfield, and before the opposition could close him down, released it to Robinho. He then drifted wide, pulling a defender with him.
Robinho continued his run, drew a double-team, and slipped a through ball in behind.
Unfortunately, his timing was just a fraction off. Although Van Nistelrooy finished the move after receiving the pass,
the assistant referee raised his flag.
Offside. Goal disallowed.
On the surface, it looked like a very successful counterattack from Real Madrid.
The commentators were even praising Gago as the biggest contributor to the chance.
But in truth, this sequence proved that Bayern were repeatedly trying to punch straight through Gago.
Once Gago was beaten, they would have an extremely lethal opportunity.
Yet from the players on the pitch to the coaching staff, no one at Real Madrid had realized this problem.
If Zidane had been there, he would probably have spotted it immediately—this was the sharp awareness expected of a true on-field core and organizer.
This was about defense, not offense. No one associates Zidane with defending, but this was exactly the kind of thing he needed to consider on the pitch.
That's why midfield "cores" who can only shoulder attacking duties are not true team leaders.
Their control over the team is shallow.
As a result, their performances swing wildly—from brilliant one match to disastrous the next.
Later on, the Portuguese star Bruno Fernandes became a representative example of this type of midfielder.
In the 52nd minute, Kahn signaled his teammates to drop back to midfield before taking the goal kick.
Van Buyten flicked it on with a header, and Hargreaves volleyed a sideways pass to Van Bommel.
Van Bommel played it to the dropping Podolski.
After a brief adjustment, Podolski spotted Schweinsteiger on the left and immediately released the ball.
At the same time, Lahm overlapped down the left side of Schweinsteiger.
Ramos was dragged away by Lahm's run.
Seizing the moment, Schweinsteiger fired a flat pass in behind Gago.
Bang!
Hargreaves made a late, off-the-ball run, powered past Gago, and drove the ball to the top of the penalty arc before unleashing a thunderous strike.
The ball smashed off the post and bounced into the net, leaving Casillas helpless.
"Oh! They've equalized again!"
"Bayern really are a giant club—their resilience is incredible!"
"Two–two! Hargreaves' goal was an absolute screamer!"
"Real Madrid are in real trouble now, especially at home."
"Even if the match ends level, Bayern's two away goals could very well decide the final outcome."
"That goal was conceded far too easily by Real Madrid—they've really let Su Hang down after all his fighting up front!"
After this goal, the match opened up into a full-on exchange of attacks.
In the 60th minute, Guti's cross-cum-shot was gathered by Kahn.
In the 68th minute, Makaay cut inside and fired wide.
In the 75th minute, Bayern made two substitutions.
Scholl replaced Schweinsteiger, and Pizarro came on for Podolski.
Both were like-for-like changes.
Real Madrid also used this moment to make a substitution.
But they only brought on Cassano for Raúl.
In truth, Real Madrid should have adjusted as early as the 60th minute. Being pulled back twice in a row clearly meant there were defensive problems that needed fixing.
But Capello was constrained by a bench with no usable options.
Compared to sending on those "demons and monsters," he felt the players already on the pitch were the best Real Madrid had to offer.
Modrić: Damn it!
Mata: What the hell?!
Higuaín: For fuck's sake!
Marcelo: Are you kidding me?!