Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are separated by 10 miles and 10 European Cups... but since Diego Simeone took charge the brotherly rivalry has taken a turn
- It is a repeat of the 2014 finale which saw Real triumph 4-1 after extra-time
- The friendly rivalry has intensified since Diego Simeone arrived in 2011
- He wants Atletico to stop being the Spanish capital's plucky underdogs
- The club have lost their only two European Cup final appearances
The Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane Real Madrid shirts hanging proudly in the entrance to the huge club shop at the Santiago Bernabeu already carry the logo: ‘Final Milano 2016, Stadio San Siro 28 May’ on the front.
The cars parked around Atletico Madrid’s Vicente Calderon ground all have fliers tucked beneath the windscreen wipers offering package trips to Milan with flights, tickets and accommodation.
The city has been thinking of nothing else now for the last two weeks. Madrid is the undisputed epicentre of the beautiful game, the capital of European football.
Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane shares a joke with Karim Benzema ahead of the Champions League final
It’s the only city to have been represented by two teams in a European Cup final, and now it is about to happen for a second time.
Whoever lifts the trophy in Milan on Saturday they will be back here to celebrate it. It’s a ten minute stroll down Paseo del Prado from the Cibeles fountain where Real Madrid supporters celebrate their successes, to the Neptune fountain where Atletico Madrid celebrate theirs.
There will be thousands dancing around one of the two landmarks in the early hours of Sunday morning, whatever happens at the San Siro.
In many ways it’s a fraternity more than a rivalry, they are all Madridlenos after all. But the brotherhood has always been based on a clear hierarchy with Madrid dominating and Atletico only piping-up to win something every now and then.
Ever since Atletico became the noisy neighbours under Diego Simeone there has been far more needle between the rivals.
He appears to want the city’s smaller club to cease being plucky underdogs and browbeaten last-minute losers.
Simeone remonstrates with referee Bjorn Kuipers during the Champions League final in 2014
Simeone clashes with Raphael Varane as Real Madrid triumphed 4-1 during the final in Lisbon
He wants dominance and it’s a measure of how far he has come to achieving that, that in the eyes of many supporters in Spain, Atletico Madrid will be the favourites ahead of the final and not Real.
Stuck out on the city’s southern border and visible from the suburbs that house thousands of working families who don’t have the means to live in the heart of the capital, the Vicente Calderon has long been the heartbeat of football in the Spanish capital.
Paseo de Melancolicos snakes around Atletico’s ground and runs down to the shallow Manzanares River. In two years they move to a shiny new stadium and so it’s fitting that there is very little melancholy around the place these days.
Ten miles across the city the Santiago Bernabeu, rises up from the city’s most emblematic avenue, the Castellana, not far from its wealthiest neighbourhood, Salamanca.
The two stadiums are separated by 10 miles, but also by 10 European Cups – that’s a short taxi ride but one hell of a lot of trophy cabinet space.
Atletico goalkeeper Miguel Reina saves from Gerd Muller during the 1974 European Cup final
After the tie ended in a draw, Uli Hoeness put Bayern Munich on their way to a 4-1 win in the replay
No one understands more than the difference between being an Atletico supporter and Real Madrid supporter than Manuel Brinas. While working as a kids’ coach he spotted a 10-year-old boy by the name of Fernando Torres playing parks football back in 1995 and persuaded the club to give him a place in their youth academy.
Brinas is in his eighties now and he is a veteran of two Atletico Madrid final defeats.
The first came 42 years ago against Bayern Munich when they went 1-0 up against the Germans in extra-time thanks to a goal from Luis Aragones only to concede an equaliser in the last minute from Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck and lose the replay two days later 4-0.
He watched that final at home in Madrid but went to Lisbon for Heartbreak II two years ago when in injury time Sergio Ramos equalized Diego Godin’s goal and Real won 4-1 in extra-time.
Sergio Ramos and Gareth Bale celebrate their goals that saw Real triumph in the final two years ago
Arda Turan is shown a red card during Real's 1-0 win over Atletico at the quarter-final stage in 2015
‘You might not have the budget to compete but you can beat them with a togetherness and a work ethic that no-one else can match,’ he says.
Real Madrid have their fair share of working-class fans — ‘They are not all millionaires,’ admits Brinas — but they will always be the team of the elite; Real means ‘royal’ in Spanish, after all.
Simeone thrives on that class divide – even if it is slightly exaggerated. He loves coaching the so-called smaller club too.
‘It’s not a question of who has the bigger army, more a case of who organizes his troops better,’ he says.
Real Madrid players celebrate their eighth Champions League triumph at the Stade de France in 2000
Goalscorers Fernando Morientes and Raul celebrate after Real Madrid's 3-0 win over Valencia
He has already delievered Atletico Madrid’s tenth Liga title, were he to give them their first European Cup they might just name the new stadium after him. To do it by beating Real would make it twice as sweet.
‘Life is not about revenge’ he has said in the build-up to the game. ‘It’s about second opportunities.’
What an opportunity this is to become kings of Europe on May 28; and what an opportunity for Madrid, as a city, in the days leading up to the game to revel in its status as the centre of the football universe.
Fernando Hierro lifts the trophy in 2002 following Real's 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen at Hampden Park
Post a Comment