Between 1996 and 2014, when Atlético Madrid won La Liga for the ninth and tenth times respectively, Barcelona and Real Madrid dominated Spanish football. In that time Spain’s two most successful clubs amassed fifteen league titles and a staggering seven Champions Leagues between them, with some of the greatest players ever to have played the game representing both teams. During Real’s various galáctico eras of the 21st century and Barça’s spell under Pep Guardiola where they had one of the greatest teams in the history of football, it seemed that nobody would be able to quell the two sides’ dominance for quite some time.
However, in 2014 Atlético Madrid, against all the odds, won the league and, even more surprisingly, made it to the Champions League final, before being beaten 4-1 by city rivals Real Madrid, as Los Blancos won their tenth European Cup. That crushing defeat could not take anything away from the sensational season Atlético had had, as the hard work of the previous few years under manager Diego Simeone came to full fruition.
Atlético Madrid are a club with a proud and fascinating history. Very much a working-class club—their first home ground was situated in a very working-class area in the south of the city—their rivalry with Real Madrid is so fierce not only because the two clubs play in the same city, but because they are so different. Real have endless riches; money is tight for Atlético to say the least. Real Madrid’s glamorous Santiago Bernabéu is a stone’s throw from the Spanish Ministry of Defence; Atleti’s Vicente Calderón is near a brewery.
“The Mattress Makers,” as they are known, had their greatest era between the early 1940s and late 1970s. In this time they won eight league titles and the Copa del Rey five times, their first European trophy, the Cup Winners’ Cup, in 1962, and reached the final of the European Cup in 1974.
However, after those glory days little success came their way, bar a handful of Copa del Rey wins and a brilliant league and cup “double” in 1996. Years of heavy spending under the ownership of Jesús Gil culminated in the politician’s being temporarily suspended as club president and the club being relegated in 2000. In 2002, they returned to La Liga, and slowly began to climb up the Spanish football rankings.
After Gil’s resignation in 2003, the club gradually started to rebuild, but when Diego Simeone, who won that famous “double” with Atlético Madrid in 1996, took charge of the club in December 2011, things were not as positive as they are now. Though they had won the Europa League in 2010, their performances in the league in the past few seasons had been very poor indeed, and when Simeone took over the club mid-season, they had won just five of their sixteen La Liga games.
Things quickly changed. Simeone guided Atlético to fifth in the La Liga standings that year and saw his side win the Europa League for the second time in the club’s history; their third European title overall. The next season, Atleti truly announced themselves on the world stage, thrashing Champions League winners Chelsea 4-1 in the UEFA Super Cup.
That trophy came at the beginning of the 2012-13 season, which was one of incredible success for the Madrid side. Simeone’s men won twenty-three matches in the league alone, and finished third with 76 points. Radamel Falcao was in majestic form, scoring 34 goals in 41 games in all competitions. Atlético’s defence conceded the fewest goals of any team in La Liga.
That was not all: they battled their way to the Copa del Rey final, where they would face city rivals Real Madrid. The Spanish Cup knockout rounds are played over two legs, and Atleti executed the process of winning one leg and drawing the other almost to perfection in the Last 16, quarter-final and semi-final, which would stand them in good stead for the Champions League the following season. Going into the final, Atlético had not beaten Real for fourteen years, but broke the curse in a tempestuous affair, as they won 2-1 in extra time. Madrid’s working-class heroes tasted domestic success for the first time in seventeen years.
The next season provided even more glory. Though they lost Falcao to Monaco, a player within their own ranks, Diego Costa, stepped up to make it seem as though the Colombian had never left. In the league, Atlético grabbed a famous 1-0 win in the Bernabéu, and conceded just 26 goals as they won the league on the final day at Barcelona’s Camp Nou. In Europe, their performance was equally, if not more stunning. They claimed dramatic wins at home to Barcelona and away to Chelsea, and remained unbeaten en route to the final. In the final itself, Atlético were leading 1-0, but lost 4-1 after extra time, but remained proud in defeat.
How on earth did a club like Atlético Madrid topple Real Madrid and Barcelona? Perhaps the most simple answer is: tactics. In Diego Simeone, Atleti have possibly the most tactically gifted manager in the world, at least on the level of and possibly better than “the Special One” himself, José Mourinho.
Last season, Atlético lined up in a 4-4-2, which was closer to a 4-2-2-2, considering the fact that Koke and Arda Turan prefer to play more centrally. In fact, this could be closer to 4-2-3-1 when Raul Garcia, more of an attacking midfielder, played instead of David Villa. The 4-4-2 formation has become less popular in modern football; it is strong defensively, but is inflexible in attack, and the lack of a third midfielder in the centre means that the opposition midfield can take control more easily.
However, Simeone has used this formation to great effect: Atleti defend brilliantly as a unit, and rare is it that any team can penetrate through them easily; in attack, they are inventive, clinical and effective. Moreover, they are absolutely deadly from set pieces—in this current season they have scored a sensational 25 goals from them.
What was crucial in their run to the title was their performance in the “big games.” They did not lose to Real Madrid or Barcelona in the league—meaning that, with their 1-0 win at the Bernabeu, they gained points over their rivals, and, even more crucially, did not drop any points on their rivals with the three other draws.
In terms of their whole league performance, their sensational home record was the key factor in the number of points they picked up. They did not lose at home all season, and failed to win just four of the nineteen games they played. It is very hard for a “smaller” team to beat a team as clinical as Atlético Madrid at the moment, and only Espanyol, Almeria, Osasuna and Levante were able to last season. Those twelve dropped points could have destroyed their title hopes, but they only drew two other games away from home.
Atlético won La Liga despite scoring 23 goals fewer than Barcelona and 27 fewer than Real Madrid. That, above all else, proves how strong they are defensively. They have one of the best defenders in world football in the shape of Diego Godín, and with Miranda, Juanfran and Filipe Luis (now at Chelsea) alongside him and Mario Suarez in front him, it takes a lot of effort just to break through the defence. After achieving that, last season teams had to get past Thibaut Courtois, who is now lighting up the Premier League with Chelsea.
Last season was a joy to behold. Perhaps their best 180 minutes were the two legs against Barcelona in the Champions League. Drawing 1-1 away and winning 1-0 at home is in some ways the perfect way to deal with a two-legged tie, and the way Atlético grafted to success, with Simeone’s tactical genius helping them out, of course, would have had every defensive romantic the world over purring.
This season has not quite been as glorious as last—it seems that a second successive La Liga title is not on the cards—but there is still a chance of a few more miracles being achieved. Atleti did beat Real Madrid 4-0 in one of their most famous victories ever, and who knows, perhaps another victory against their biggest rivals isn’t off the table in the Champions League quarter-final. Should Atlético Madrid win Europe’s biggest competition, Diego Simeone will achieve legendary status, if he hasn’t already, at Atleti, and it will go down as one of football’s most enthralling fairytales.
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