La Decima.

For 12 years that phrase has become etched in the minds of Real Madrid fans describing their desperate longing for their beloved club to claim its 10th European trophy. As the Champions League final headed into extra time, it seemed that the obsession would be prolonged. But then Sergio Ramos scored a huge goal in extra time to salvage the game and the team would never look back.

On the flip side of things was an Atletico Madrid side that looked to have a fairy tale ending to its wondrous season. But it was not meant to be.

Here is a look at why Real Madrid are the kings of Europe and why Los Colchoneros were second best in this game.

Why Real Madrid won

Let's look at the Champs. Throughout the tournament, manager Carlo Ancelotti has been nearly flawless. He has constantly figured out how to outcoach the opposition with brilliant tactics. Just ask Pep Guardiola and Bayern Munich.

But he made some tactical miscues to start the game. The first was the choice of Sami Khedira to replace Xabi Alonso as the deep midfielder. Khedira had been injured for months and was still not in shape. And it showed. He was out of position throughout his time on the field and looked slow in his decision making with and without the ball. His poor play forced fellow midfielders Luka Modric and Angel Di Maria to constantly track back and help recover the ball. The result? Less offense from Los Blancos. Moreover, they slowly lost the grip on the game as the first half wore on.

Goalie Iker Casillas' blunder on the goal was not Ancelotti's fault, but one could feel that he was imagining the worst after his lineup experiment failed and his captain made a huge mental mistake. By the way, Casillas would make the same exact mistake later on that did not cost him, but easily could have. It is safe to say that Casillas was not one of the major reasons that Real Madrid won this game.

Returning to Ancelotti, he redeemed his mistake by making a pair of early second half substitutions. Khedira was taken off in favor of the offensive-minded Isco and Fabio Coentrao, who brought little throughout his time on the pitch, was removed in favor of Marcelo.

Marcelo took some time to get going, but as the game wore on he became a major reason for Los Blancos regaining the momentum. He constantly used his speed and skill to create space and unsettle Atletico's defense. His big goal was the result of Juanfran's injury (more on that later) giving him more time and space to run at the net and fire it in.

Isco was also solid throughout his time on the pitch and helped the team find a more fluid passing game in the offensive half; something that Khedira was simply unable to do.

Another one of Ancelotti's big errors was to start the unfit Karim Benzema. The Frenchman was invisible throughout the game and was eventually taken out in favor of Alvaro Morata. The Spaniard did not have a major impact on the game, but was more noticeable than the man he replaced nonetheless.

Sergio Ramos proved to be a big game hero for Madrid for the second straight Champions League match. He scored two big header goals for Los Blancos against Bayern Munich and repeated the act here with more dramatic flair. The game was well into the third minute of extra time when a corner cross from Di Maria was met by Ramos' head and past goalie Thibaut Courtois. He was solid on the backend throughout the night and rarely made any major mistakes that cost his team.

Ramos defensive partner Raphael Varane had a big night and was steady on the backend. Dani Carvajal was prone to defensive mistakes throughout, but also made some solid offensive plays.

The other big hero on the night was Gareth Bale. The Welshman was brought over this summer for a record transfer fee. His early performance this season made that purchase questionable, but Bale has proven to be a big-game player for Los Blancos. He was electric during the Copa del Rey Final and scored one of the finest goals of the season. On Saturday, he looked poor throughout. He missed a number of golden opportunities to score (two semi-breakaways), but it seemed like he was bound to eventually get lucky. And he did. After a brilliant play from Angel Di Maria that resulted in a rebound from Courtois, Bale nodded the ball home with uncanny timing and athleticism to give Madrid the game winner. He has now scored two game-winners for Los Blancos in two Cup finals. That is the kind of thing one would expect from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Speaking of which, Madrid's talisman was largely absent throughout the night despite assisting on Marcelo's goal and getting a few chances to win the game. He had one free kick stopped by Courtois, but was harassed by Atletico's ever physical defense. The goal on the penalty was a consolation for him on an otherwise forgettable night.

The "Real" heroes of the game were certainly Di Maria and Modric. Di Maria, as he has been most of the season, was relentless in the attack and his speed and smarts caught the opposition off guard throughout. He created the second goal and could have had one himself. Modric improved as the game developed and Atletico allowed him more room.

Who were Real Madrid's top players? Di Maria, Modric, Ramos, Bale, Varane

Who were Real Madrid's biggest busts? Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Iker Casillas, Sami Khedira.

Why Atletico Lost

The clear answer here would be: Real Madrid was better. But that would be too simplistic an answer for a really complicated situation. While Real Madrid were admittedly better as the game wore on, this was not always the case.

Los Blancos started off dominating possession and not allowing Atletico to see the ball. But manager Diego Simeone adjusted quickly and had his team close off more space in order to unsettle the opposition. And it worked. Atletico just looked more imposing physically and seemed to have Real Madrid confused tactically. Atletico looked like it could score on any corner and eventually did when a nervous Casillas stepped into No-Man's land and Diego Godin got enough of his head on the ball to put it past the goal line.

As he did against Chelsea, Simeone did not seem intent on just sitting on the lead but had his troops continue to attack. And for the first 10 or so minutes of the second half, Los Blancos struggled to retain possession. Atletico looked like it would score a second. But then Simeone's tactics imploded slowly and all of his previous mistakes came back to haunt him.

The first mistake he made will be documented for years to come. Diego Costa was supposedly ready to play and understandably got the start. But nine minutes in, Simeone was forced to sub him for Adrian Lopez. The experiment had failed, but did not initially seem to hurt the team too much. Lopez did his job well and Atletico was in control. But fast-forward to the end of the game when the team looked tired and injuries were starting to pile up; that decision loomed large. Atletico needed a substitution and had none. But the substitution crisis was of Simeone's own making for a different reason.

One aspect of his tactics seemed to be to attack Madrid with tremendous aggression. And attack they did. Los Colchoneros' fouls quickly caught the attention of referee Bjorn Kuippers. Raul Garcia was given a card 27 minutes and was eventually replaced by Jose Ernesto Sosa in the 66th minute. That burned the second substitution. And unfortunately Sosa had little to offer thereafter.

Regarding the cards, one had to wonder whether the players started to be a bit tentative as the admonitions mounted. They were clearly tired, but were they also attempting to avoid the ejection by being less ferocious? Atletico finished the night with seven yellow cards

The final substitution was used on an injured Filipe Luis; Toby Alderweireld was the replacement. Luis' injury was the result of Atletico growing increasingly tired as Real Madrid took control of the ball. Why? Because the team had played a high-pressure game without the ball for most of the opening 70 minutes and was quickly fatigued by the end. Luis was not the only injury the team incurred. Juanfran also suffered a knock late in the game and it proved a costly one.

Throughout the extra time, Los Blancos attacked on the left flank and passed around him with relative ease. Bale's goal was the result of Di Maria cutting past a lunging Juanfran who was left on the ground watching the goal. Marcelo's goal was the result of Juanfran overcommitting to the Ronaldo on the flank and not getting back into the middle in time to shutdown Marcelo. It is hard to blame a loss on an injury, but you are likely to suffer when one of your top defenders is hobbling about the pitch in the late stages of the game. This is exactly what happened to Atletico.

Koke and David Villa had solid games but the latter wore down as the game dragged on. Koke, along with Courtois, were arguably Atletico's finest players throughout the night.

One final note. Diego Costa's two implosions were unmerited and only seemed to feed insecurity to a fragile group. His threats toward Varane could prove costly for him.

Who were Atletico's best players? Koke, David Villa, Thibaut Courtois, Miranda, Diego Godin, Gabi

Who were Atletico's biggest flops? Diego Costa, Sosa, Diego Simeone