Another of European football’s biggest names will pitch up at Emirates Stadium for Champions League action on Tuesday when Atletico Madrid head to north London.
It will be just the third meeting between two sides synonymous with red and white shirts, 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 a tasty-looking fixture, 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 Athleti into double winners for the first time, but that success was short-lived, and relegation occurred 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 Diego 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.
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, 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 continues to be a major player, and last month hit his 200th goal for Atleti to stretch his lead at the top of their all-time goalscoring charts. However, the majority of goals last term came from a pair of former Premier League strikers in ex-Manchester City man Julian Alvarez and Alexander Sorloth, who spent time at Crystal Palace. Connor Gallagher is another well-known face to English fans.
Club icon Koke captains the side, having spent his entire 16-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, and Nahuel Molina was Argentina’s right-back in the 2022 World Cup win. Young striker Giuliano Simeone, the son of the manager, is a current Argentine international.
The season so far
A summer recruitment drive saw long-serving Cesar Azpilicueta, Axel Witsel, Angel Correa, Saul, Rodrigo De Paul, and Thomas Lemar all depart, allowing Simone to refresh his squad. As well as Baena, American international midfielder Johnny Cardoso, Argentine playmaker Thiago Almada, Euro 2020 winner Giacomo Raspadori and Slovakian defender David Hancko arrived for big money, while Nico Gonzales was loaned from Juventus.
Blending those new faces into the side initially saw Atletico struggle, as they were victorious in just one of their first five La Liga games. However a 3-2 win over Rayo Vallacano courtesy of an Alvarez hat-trick was followed by a 5-2 demolition of Real Madrid, the first time they’d hit five against their bitter rivals for 75 years, with Alvarez bagging a brace. On Saturday, a goal from Almada was enough to beat Osasuna on what was Simeone’s 750th game as their boss, moving them up to fourth in the table but eight points behind the leaders.
The Champions League campaign began with a thrilling 3-2 defeat at Liverpool, as Atleti recovered from being 2-0 down after six minutes to draw level, only for Virgil van Dijk to score a stoppage-time winner. They responded with a 5-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt when Griezmann netted his 200th strike.
The previous meetings
The only previous meetings between ourselves and Atletico Madrid in Europe came in the semi-finals of the 2017/18 Europa League. Things were looking promising for us in the home leg when Sime Vrsalijko was sent off 10 minutes in and Alexandre Lacazette put us in front, but his international teammate Griezmann struck eight minutes from time to level things up heading to Spain.
There, Diego Costa’s finish put the hosts ahead just before half-time, and they held on to their lead to extinguish Arsene Wenger’s final hope of finishing his legendary tenure with a first European trophy. Atleti went on to beat Marseille 3-0 in the final, with Griezmann scoring twice.
