There are hundreds of soccer games a year, and it is virtually impossible to truly catch every single one.

But there are a number that stand out and make themselves must-watch events. And then of those, there are some that become instant classics to be revisited for years to come.

Both David Salazar and Edwin Molina picked the same game as the standout to kick off this year's "Best in Soccer" feature series. Here are their takes on the same event:

The Derby of All Derbies
By David Salazar

In 2014, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid met a total of seven times, including the Copa del Rey semifinal, two Spanish League tilts and the Spanish Super Cup. But the most prominent showdown between these two rivals was the Champions League final.

To put this into some perspective: Prior to the 2013 Copa del Rey Final, Atletico had failed to defeat its markedly richer rival for over a decade. A decade! But after that victory, the rivalry has turned into a more balanced affair, though one could argue that Atletico actually has the edge.

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Real Madrid ran to the final led by a historic run from Cristiano Ronaldo of 16 goals as well as five victories over German competition (a known Achilles Heel for Los Blancos over the years). Meanwhile, Atletico had battled past three historic teams in AC Milan, Barcelona and Chelsea and had not suffered a single defeat in the entire tournament.

Up to that point in late May, the teams had met three times. The first two meetings were in the Copa del Rey, where Real Madrid bullied a "B-team" Atletico. Then when the two teams met again in the Vicente, Calderon Atletico forced Madrid to a 2-2 draw.

The stage was set for some inspiring drama. Would Ronaldo lead his club to the fated Decima in his home country? Would Diego Simeone and his surprising Spanish League champs continue their Cinderella season? Would the horse placenta make Diego Costa ready for the final?

The strategy for one team in the final was simple. For Atletico, it was about attacking Madrid aggressively, tiring them and earning a goal off a set piece, another Real Madrid weakness. Thirty-six minutes into the game, Los Colchoneros had succeeded in this plan. Real Madrid captain Iker Casillas came out far from his goal off a corner to try and catch the aerial cross. Diego Godin got his head on it and lofted it over the Spanish keeper, who did his best to keep it out, but failed. It was a chink in Casillas' seemingly impenetrable armor that would be further exploited for months to come.

At that stage in the game, Atletico had frustrated Madrid, made Ronaldo invisible and had defended its net well. Gareth Bale had the best chance to score for Madrid but fired the shot wide in one of his many miscues on the night. In the midfield, Carlo Ancelotti chose Sami Khedira to fill in the defending midfielder position that would usually go to Xabi Alonso. But with Alonso being suspended from the final, Khedira, back from a six-month injury for the first time, looked slow and overwhelmed by the physicality of Atletico. He picked up a yellow card, making him all the more cautious.

The second half went almost exactly as the first half had gone until Sergio Ramos showed up. With seconds left in the four minutes of added stoppage time, Ramos met a corner cross and redirected the ball past Thibaut Courtois on the far post. Tie game.

And then cue the unraveling of Simeone and Atletico.

Simeone made a fatal mistake early in the game. He opted for playing Diego Costa as his striker, but 10 minutes in he had to sub him off. It looked like the failed experiment would not matter, but this decision would come back to hurt him in the extra time.

With the game tied at one and Casillas' error wiped away, Real Madrid looked a new team in the extra session. The team attacked at full force, making an already exhausted Atletico team vulnerable. Juanfran picked up a knock, but was unable to leave the pitch because Simeone had used up all of his subs. Angel di Maria exploited him on the left flank and fired a brilliant blast that Courtois could not completely control. Enter Bale, who had scored the game winner in the Copa del Rey a few weeks earlier. He met the ball with a header to put his team ahead for good. And then the flood gates opened.

First was Marcelo, who again exploited the left wing and an injured Juanfran to shoot one past a reeling Courtois. In the waning seconds, Ronaldo earned a penalty and put in his 17th goal of the Champions League campaign.

Casillas lifted the trophy, and Madrid was the champion of Europe for the 10th time in its history. And it achieved the feat by overcoming the odds and stingy rival in a game that had tension to the final seconds when Ramos' head connected on the tying goal. For thrilling drama, no game was better in 2014.

Runner-up: The best match of the World Cup was not even a contest after 30 minutes. But there was never such a display as Germany's 7-1 embarrassment of Brazil before its fans. For pure shock value, no game was better in 2014.

El Derbi Madrileño Goes Prime Time
By Edwin Molina

While certainly not as big as "El Clásico," the Madrid Derby ("El Derbi Madrileño") took center stage in May with Real Madrid taking on Atlético Madrid in the UEFA Champions League Finals.

The teams had traded the La Liga lead in the standings several times (along with FC Barcelona) with Atlético having traveled to Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in September, defeating their crosstown rivals 1-0, and Real Madrid managing a 2-2 draw at Vicente Calderón Stadium in March during La Liga's regular season.

While Real Madrid would go on to win La Copa Del Rey during the 2013-2014 season, beating Atlético Madrid in the semifinals by an aggregate score of 5-0, Atlético broke Real Madrid's and Barcelona's stranglehold on La Liga's championship reigns and won La Liga's 2013-2014 championship in the last week of the season, with Real Madrid finishing the season in third place.

But those events help set up the intensity of the 2013-2014 UEFA Champions League title game at Lisbon's Estadio da Luz that featured the first time two clubs from the same city would determine the championship.

While Real Madrid was led by a highly experienced coach in Carlo Ancelotti, who had won two UEFA Champions League titles in three appearances with Serie A club AC Milan, Atlético had the brash Diego Simeone behind the helm of "Los Colchoneros"' unlikely championship run. With his slicked-back hairstyle and the fashion sense of a Tony Soprano lieutenant, Simeone, after pestering the powerhouse clubs in Spain, was making his debut in a Champions League final after defeating AC Milan in the Round of 16 (5-1 aggregate), Barcelona (2-1 aggregate) and English Premier League (EPL) club Chelsea (3-1 aggregate).

Simeone, however, would make a rookie mistake that may have cost him adding a Champions League to his La Liga title when he decided to insert an injured Diego Costa into the starting lineup. Costa suffered a grade-one hamstring tear during Atlético's last game of the season against Barcelona that gave them the La Liga championship. Costa traveled to Serbia to visit Marijana Kovacevic, hoping that treatment entailing horse placenta ointments and electric shocks would speed up his recovery to be fit for the match against Real Madrid seven days later.

Costa did not last long in the game, forcing Simeone to use one of his substitutions early in a match that would be decided in overtime. Diego Godín would put Atlético ahead 1-0 in the 36th minute, managed to rainbow a header over Real Madrid keeper Iker Casillas's head to take the lead.

Simeone and Atlético seemed like they were on the verge of shocking the world in the 90th minute until Sergio Ramos killed any potential "Colchoneros" celebration the third minute of stoppage time, heading a Luka Modric's corner kick past Atlético Madrid keeper Thibaut Courtois to tie the game 1-1.

The wheels would fall off Atlético's bandwagon soon after Ramos tied the game with Real Madrid's highly paid megastars taking over in overtime. Gareth Bale would head in Angel di Maria's shot that Courtois managed to deflect in the 110th minute, while Marcelo and Cristiano Ronaldo would add to more goals to give Real Madrid their historic "La Decima" -- the clubs tenth Champions League title -- at the expense of their crosstown rivals.

The final 4-1 score may not reflect how close the game was up until the 90th minute, how close Atlético was on the verge of upsetting their much more prolific neighbors. But to those who watched the game, considering the long history between the two intra-city rivals, the intensity for the battle to win La Liga championship as well as the match-up between a veteran leader playing with a loaded lineup full of star power versus smug, upstart head coach looking to take championship hardware away from his richer neighbors, "El Derbi Madrileño" that took place in the 2013-2014 UEFA Champions League world stage proved to be one of the best and most hotly-contested matches of the year.

What was your favorite game of 2014? Let us know in the comments section below.

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