Atletico Madrid are one of European football’s biggest names, only adding to the glamour of our Champions League semi-final.
It will be just the fourth meeting between two sides synonymous with red and white, as Diego Simeone aims to finally add Europe’s premier club competition to his club’s long list of honours after three losses in the final.
Ahead of our last-four clash, find out more about Atleti’s past, their current stars and how they’re shaping up this season:
THE HISTORY
The club were formed in 1903 by Athletic Club supporters based in the Spanish capital. Initially a youth side for the Bilbao outfit, in 1921 they broke away and enjoyed instant success, winning the Madrid region league three times. That saw them become founding members of La Liga in 1929, but after the Spanish Civil War, a merger with Zaragoza-based Aviacion Nacional saved them from bankruptcy.
A first La Liga title arrived in 1940 which was retained, a feat repeated in 1950 and 1951, while a first European triumph came in 1962 when they beat Fiorentina to win the Cup Winners’ Cup. Three more league titles arrived in the 1970s, but they were beaten in the 1974 European Cup final by Bayern Munich after conceding a last-minute equaliser that forced a replay.
Having narrowly escaped relegation in 1995, Radomir Antic was appointed manager and, in his first season, transformed Atleti into double winners for the first time, but that success was short-lived, and relegation followed in 2000 before a La Liga return two years later. In 2010 they beat Fulham to win the Europa League, but the following year brought Simeone’s appointment as manager, transforming their fortunes once again.
THE STADIUM
Atleti have played their home games at the 70,692 Metropolitano Stadium since 2017. A 20,000-seater stadium was built on the site in 1994 as part of Madrid’s unsuccessful bid to host the 1997 World Athletics Championships, and after the city missed out on multiple Olympic Games, it was passed over to Atleti as they moved out of the Vicente Calderon Stadium, their home since 1966.
After the demolition of the athletics venue, a new stadium was built in its place, and it was quickly awarded the 2019 Champions League final when Liverpool beat Tottenham in the final. It will do the same in 2027, and could be a venue for the 2030 World Cup.
THE MANAGER
Simone was a part of Atleti’s fabled double-winning team of 1995/96, and also enjoyed success with Inter Milan, Lazio and Argentina, for whom he won 108 caps and clinched two Copa Americas. His managerial career began in 2006, and he lifted titles in his homeland with Estudiantes and River Plate before returning to Madrid in 2011.
He ended his first season by clinching the club’s second Europa League triumph, and his second brought the UEFA Super Cup and a Copa del Rey. Better was to come the following season, as a final-day shootout saw them draw at Barcelona to pip the Catalan club to the championship, sealing Atleti’s first La Liga triumph since his playing days.
Weeks later, the Champions League slipped through their grasp when Real Madrid netted a stoppage-time equaliser in the final, before winning 4-1 in extra-time, and two years later their city rivals denied them Europe’s biggest prize again, this time on penalties. Another Europa League was added in 2018, while the club’s last trophy came in 2021 when after years of pushing the El Clasico duopoly, Atleti claimed their 11th league title. This season saw him surpass 750 games as Atleti’s manager.
LAST SEASON
It seemed Atleti would be title contenders when a club-record 14th consecutive victory in all competitions moved them top of the table in January. However three league wins in 10 saw them slip behind the big two, finishing 12 points behind champions Barcelona and eight behind Real Madrid.
They were also eliminated by Barca at the semi-final stage of the Copa del Rey 5-4 on aggregate, and while they finished fifth in the Champions League league phase, including beating eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain away, their city rivals were their scourge again by overcoming them on penalties in the last-16 to set up a quarter-final meeting with ourselves.
They ended the season at the Club World Cup, with PSG gaining a manner of revenge by beating them 4-0, with wins over Seattle and Botafogo not enough to advance past the group stage.
THE SQUAD
Veteran French striker Antoine Griezmann sits at the top of Atleti’s all-time goalscoring charts with 211 goals to his name, however he is the final stages of his time with the club having agreed a move to MLS side Orlando City at the conclusion of the current campaign. He shares the goalscoring burden with a pair of former Premier League strikers in ex-Manchester City man Julian Alvarez and Alexander Sorloth, who spent time at Crystal Palace.
Club icon Koke captains the side, having spent his entire 17-year career at the club and spans the entire Simome era, while Uruguayan centre-back Jose Maria Gimenez has made over 350 appearances across 12 years and Slovakian goalkeeper Jan Oblak has been between the posts for over a decade.
Winger Alex Baena and defender Robin Le Normand were part of Spain’s successful Euro 2024 campaign, while right-back Marcos Llorente also represents La Roja. There are a trio of Argentinian internationals in full-back Nahuel Molina, attacking midfielder Thiago Almada and young striker Giuliano Simeone – the son of the manager – while their ranks were bolstered with the January arrival of Ademola Lookman from Atalanta, who has netted seven times since his switch.
THE SEASON SO FAR
After a massive summer reshuffle Atletico initially struggled, winning just one of their first five La Liga games which has meant they’ve not been in the title picture all campaign. A run of nine wins from the next 10, including a 5-2 demolition of Real Madrid, the first time they’d hit five against their bitter rivals for 75 years, gave them hope heading into December, but losses to Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao set them back again.
They look locked in for a top-four spot and qualification to next season’s Champions League as they are 10 points ahead of their nearest challenger, but the past month has seen them suffer successive defeats to Real Madrid, Barcelona and Sevilla in the league, before losing the Copa del Rey final on penalties against Real Sociedad. Another reverse came next at Elche last week, but they finally got back to winning ways with a 3-2 success against Bilbao on Saturday.
Their run to the Champions League semis saw them finish 14th in the league phase, setting up a play-off round meeting with Club Brugge, where they advanced 7-4 on aggregate. They then beat Tottenham Hotspur 5-2 at home before winning 7-5 on aggregate to set up an all-Spanish clash with Barca, and after winning 2-0 at the Nou Camp, a 2-1 defeat was still enough to progress to the semis for the first time since 2016/17.
THE PREVIOUS MEETINGS
This is the second time we have faced Atletico Madrid in a European semi-final, with the first coming in the 2017/18 Europa League. Things were looking promising in the home leg when Sime Vrsalijko was sent off after 10 minutes and Alexandre Lacazette put us in front, but his international teammate Griezmann struck eight minutes from time to level things up heading to Spain, before a Diego Costa goal in the second leg settled the tie.
Back in October, we finally played each other in the Champions League when Atleti travelled to Emirates Stadium for a league phase encounter, but departed having been on the end of a 4-0 defeat, when a brace from Viktor Gyokeres plus strikes from Gabriel and Gabriel Martinelli saw us cruise to victory.
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