The two biggest clubs from the Spanish capital of Madrid could not be more different if they tried.
Real Madrid, in their shimmering, spotless white strip, were voted the club of the 20th century and are well on their way to claiming the title again in the new millennium by piling up a mountain of trophies with an air of arrogance and assumed brilliance.
Atletico Madrid may be the third-most successful club in Spain (behind Barcelona) but are defined more by their failures. El Pupas - the Jinxed Ones - have most often lived up to their nickname against their city rivals. But even when claiming silverware in recent years, they have embraced their gritty underdog status.
The long-serving Atletico coach German Burgos, a grizzled former goalkeeper who has also fronted a rock band, captured the derby's culture clash. "I couldn't play at Madrid because of how I look," Burgos once insisted without a hint of humour. "They'd make me cut my hair. Atletico is synonymous with workers. Atletico fans are brickies, taxi drivers, and churros sellers." Real also have fans in every walk of life but no representative of the club has ever openly boasted about it.
Here is everything you need to know about a fascinating rivalry which has been both an utter irrelevance and the biggest match in Spain over the years.
Memorable games
- Real Madrid 2-1 Atletico Madrid - May 1959
- Real Madrid 1-2 Atletico Madrid - May 2013
- Real Madrid 4-1 (AET) Atletico Madrid - May 2014
- Atletico Madrid 4-0 Real Madrid - February 2015
- Real Madrid 1-1 (5-3) Atletico Madrid - May 2016
Real Madrid 2-1 Atletico Madrid - May 1959
Real Madrid are indelibly linked to Barcelona but for several decades at a time, the capital derby has dominated Spanish - and even European - football.
Atletico came up against their city rivals in the semi-final of the 1958/59 European Cup. Three-time reigning champions ahead of the continental derby, Real Madrid fell behind to a goal from Atleti's Enrique Collar in the first leg at the Bernabeu. The hosts went on to win the game but again fell behind to a Collar strike in the second leg. Real couldn't rally at the Calderon and the semi-final was decided at a neutral venue.
For the third game on the spin, Collar scored, cancelling out Alfredo Di Stefano's opener. The legendary Ferenc Puskas had missed the second leg but was available again for the decisive tie, scoring the winner to finally defeat the club that he always hailed as "Real's great rivals".
Real Madrid 1-2 Atletico Madrid - May 2013
"Wanted," the banner unfurled by boastful Real fans read at the end of yet another derby win in 2013. "A worthy rival for a decent derby."
Atletico failed to defeat Real in the first 25 Madrid derbies of the 21st century, a truly psychologically damaging sequence of failure. Diego Simeone has achieved more than any other Atleti coach in history, but if he had only ended that run, it would have been enough to cement his legendary status at the club.
Real sauntered into the 2013 Copa del Rey final against Atletico on a run of ten consecutive derby wins and - somehow - had home advantage for the showpiece against their fierce rivals. Simeone recalls how it seemed as though the Bernabeu was "the only stadium in Spain" but the setting made Atletico's victory, sealed by Miranda's header in extra time, so much sweeter.
The Brazilian defender dedicated his historic goal to "all the kids who laugh at my son every day for being an Atletico fan".
Real Madrid 4-1 (AET) Atletico Madrid - May 2014
"I ran into Carlito in a restaurant," Oscar 'El Profe' Ortega, Atletico's long-serving fitness coach, remembered. "A great guy. We started to talk and he says: 'Profe, don't say anything else. You get the league, we get the Champions League.' A man with a lot of experience."
The 2014 Champions League final had ticked into the third minute of second-half stoppage time and Carlo Ancelotti's prediction still seemed to be misplaced. Leading 1-0 through Diego Godin's opener, Atletico were seconds away from their greatest triumph of all. Enter Sergio Ramos, stage left.
Real Madrid's centre-back with the soul of a striker burst to the near post to nod in a last-gasp corner, taking the match to extra time where Atletico imploded. "If I had to write a film I'd do it that way," Ramos reflected. "I'd do it all again, exactly the same way."
Atletico Madrid 4-0 Real Madrid - February 2015
The Madrid-based sports daily Marca, Real Madrid's chief cheerleader more often than not, couldn't resist the wordplay. '4tletico 0' the headline read.
Atletico sealed their first league double over Real in 64 years with a result and performance so good the crowd in the Vicente Calderon gave Simeone and his players not one but two ovations, imploring the players to return from the dressing room to be serenaded again. They duly obliged.
Real Madrid 1-1 (5-3) Atletico Madrid - May 2016
If the loss in 2014 was traumatic, defeat in the 2016 Champions League final was like a death for Atletico Madrid. Simeone admitted that he went into "mourning" after his side pushed Real to penalties in San Siro.
Ramos scored in another European showpiece against Atletico but after 15 minutes rather than 93, giving Yannick Carrasco time to equalise as a second-half substitute and celebrate by charging into the stands and kissing his girlfriend Noemie Happart.
The first seven kicks of the subsequent shootout had been converted when Juanfran stepped up. The full-back was millimetres away from continuing the perfect streak but struck the base of the post. Cristiano Ronaldo, at the end of a storyline he would certainly approve of, blasted the decisive penalty into the top corner.
Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid - Complete H2H record
- Games played: 233
- Real Madrid wins: 115
- Draws: 60
- Atletico Madrid wins: 58
Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid - Complete La Liga H2H record
- Games played: 173
- Real Madrid wins: 91
- Draws: 41
- Atletico Madrid wins: 41
Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid - Complete Copa del Rey H2H record
- Games played: 43
- Real Madrid wins: 18
- Draws: 14
- Atletico Madrid wins: 11
Top scorers in Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid fixtures
Player | Team represented | Goals |
|---|---|---|
Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 22 |
Alfredo Di Stefano | Real Madrid | 17 |
Raul | Real Madrid | 15 |
Santillana | Real Madrid | 15 |
Ferenc Puskas | Real Madrid | 13 |
