When the casual fan speaks of Madrid in a footballing sense, they obviously think of one team only – Real Madrid. Who wouldn’t? Real Madrid is arguably the most prestigious team in the history of football with nine European Championships, thirty-two league titles and eighteen Copa Del Reys as well as many other trophies to boot. They call themselves the “Galacticos” for a reason as they have been host to many superstar players from David Beckham to Luis Figo, Raul to Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo to well… Ronaldo. And of course there is Ferenc Puskas, who in 262 appearances netted an incredible 242 goals.
However, in recent times, the lesser of the two Madrid sides, Atletico Madrid, has risen to become one of Europe’s best teams. They have won the Europa League twice in the last five years as well as two UEFA Super Cups. They also won the Copa Del Rey last year, beating their nearest rivals Real Madrid 2-1 at the Bernabeu. This result has caused a shift in how both Madrid sides are viewed and this is what makes tomorrow’s Madrid derby the most intriguing one in recent memory.
May 17, 2013 could be the day that Atletico Madrid have taken themselves to the next level in becoming that third team which can actually challenge Barcelona and Real Madrid’s duopoly at the top of La Liga. There have been other teams which have been that “third wheel” if you want to use that cliché in La Liga’s recent history such as Valencia, Villareal and Malaga, but none has had the impact that Atletico Madrid has had in the past few years.
Currently, Atletico Madrid are one of two teams that have won all six of their league games this season, sitting second behind Barcelona only because of goal difference. Real Madrid is also unbeaten this season but they are two points behind Atletico. Moreover, Real Madrid’s performances have been hardly inspiring as of late as they were lucky to draw against recently promoted Villareal and they barely scraped a victory over relegation candidates Elche, a match with many questionable refereeing decisions in favour of the Spanish giants.
Whilst it is more likely that Real Madrid will finish in the top two between the two teams this seaon, the way that both club go about achieving success is remarkable. The biggest reflection of this can be found in both club’s recent transfer market activity with Atletico Madrid managing to pocket a net amount of £39.5m from this summer whilst Real Madrid have lost a net £51m in trying to win the La Liga title back from Barcelona.
Admittedly, the biggest reason why Atletico Madrid has gained transfer revenue of around £69m is from the sale of Radamel Falcao to the new cash-rich giants of AS Monaco. That sale prompted a spending spree of around £29m for Madrid’s second club, acquiring some massive bargains along the way. The biggest of which is the record goalscorer for the Spanish national squad, David Villa, who was bought from Barcelona for a relatively cheap £1.8m. They also have managed to keep the best goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois for another season long loan from Chelsea.
It also has to be said that Atletico has suffered a huge turnover of attacking talent in recent years: Falcao went to Monaco this summer; Sergio Aguero went to Manchester City in the summer of 2011; Diego Forlan went to Inter Milan in the same summer as Aguero departed and Fernando Torres left for Liverpool a few years before that. Despite having such a wealth of talent leave the club for pastures new, Atletico have remarkably improved with a pretty decent transfer policy.
On the other hand, Real Madrid has spent masses under club president Florentino Perez in their pursuit to be better than Barca. Since the turn of the decade they have broken the transfer record for a player three times. In 2009, Real signed Kaka for £56m from AC Milan and then later that summer that same record would be broken again as Cristiano Ronaldo was signed from Manchester United for £80m.
And this summer it was all about Gareth Bale, who cost the club £85m, a figure which only Tottenham could be delighted with. They also spent £50m this summer on Isco and Illarramendi from Malaga and Real Sociedad respectively. The amount of money Real Madrid spent on players with potential is not only eye-watering but very risky. It must also be noted of the potential impact of losing Ronaldo’s favourite set-up man, Mesut Özil, to Arsenal.
Another significant difference between the clubs is the coaches. Real Madrid have got rid of Jose Mourinho and brought in Carlo Ancelotti in an attempt to bring back Real’s glory days of constant European success. Since Vincente Del Bosque’s reign came to an end as Real’s manager, they have got rid of ten managers in a bid to replicate Del Bosque’s success of achieving two Champions League trophies.
Not that Atletico Madrid, or most European clubs for that matter, isn’t guilty for a revolving door policy for managers. However, Atletico appears to award its successful managers and that could come down to the fact that this club has lower expectations than their city rivals.
When Atletico first experienced Europa League success in 2010, then manager Quique Sanchez Flores decided to call time on his spell as manager of the club. Nevertheless if it were not for Flores’ constant clashes with his striker Diego Forlan, he would have undoubtedly stayed at the helm of Atletico.
Although as a consequence of Flores’ resignation, Atletico have now found a winning formula with Argentian Diego Simeone. Since December 2011, Simeone has guided Atletico to a Europa League trophy in 2012 and the Copa Del Rey last year and he looks set to replicate his league success with getting at least third place one again this season in La Liga. Simeone, for now, appears to be at Atletico for the long haul.
It is these couple of changes that has led to a significant change of Atletico’s fortunes whilst Real Madrid continue to be the lesser of Barcelona, a trend that has been recurring for the past decade. And this is what makes this Madrid derby so special. Atletico are no longer perennial underachievers and they recognise that if they lose to Real Madrid then there will be questions asked of them. If Atletico do lose to Real, then this would add a new sort of pressure to the club, who can no longer rely on the excuse that losing to Real is acceptable since Atletico know that they can beat this club and have a good performance whilst doing so.
The entire of Real Madrid will also be feeling the heat of the occasion too. Losing this match would see Atletico (and possibly Barcelona depending on their result) go five points clear of them and would leave Ancelotti and his team of superstars playing catch up after only seven rounds. The only thing is for certain about this derby is that it will be a six-pointer for both these clubs. If Atletico wants to be seen as genuine contenders and take their game to the next level then this is the sort of match they should be winning. On the flip side, Real Madrid needs to win these matches to prove that they can become the Kings of Spain and show why they could win that elusive tenth European title.
Essentially it’s time for both Madrid sides to put up or shut up.
Thanks for reading! You can follow me on twitter –@BrodSutherland. Give the site a follow while you’re at it – @LastWordOnSport.
Feel free to discuss this and other footy related articles with thousands of fans at r/football.
Interested in writing for LastWordOnSports? Find more info at our “Join Our Team” page.