In a world plagued by inequality, sportswashing and pandemics, many people seek their escape in football. However, I would like to pose the question; what is it that draws us to our specific teams? Particularly in these current times. Fans often fall in love with teams because there is something that they can identify with, whether this love is built on a historical identity, or a current state of events which has led to the love, is again purely up to the fan. In the Spanish capital however, there are two teams whose contrasting identities are as heavily historic as they are current: Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid.

It’s not only the one year between their respective inceptions, nor the ten kilometres between their current respective stadiums that divide the two most prominent football clubs in Madrid. It is the very identities of the working class versus the establishment, underdogs versus royalty and Los Colchoneros vs Los Blancos which tells the tale of the two clubs in the capital. These two clubs have had established identities which, while they may have undergone some change and adaptation over the years, have informed the very ethos of each club and are represented in their history as well as their current state.

Both clubs were founded in the early 1900s by students. Atletico’s Basque founders sought to create a branch for Athletic Club Bilbao, a club with its own rich history and identity which has been covered here. Similarly, the then named Madrid Football Club was founded by Julian Palacios, a student of mining at the time who developed his love for the sport through playing matches with his English friends. 

In the years between 1904 and 1908, Madrid won four Copa Del Reys as well as being granted the title ‘Real’ (meaning royal in Spanish) by King Alfonso XIII in 1912. At this same time, Athletic de Madrid would play their first match in their now famous red and white stripes earning them the nickname los Colchoneros (meaning mattress makers). Madrid were being identified as royalty and Atletico became known as the mattress makers, names that remain synonymous with both clubs’ identities to this day.

Shortly after adopting the red and white stripes, Atletico de Madrid broke their bond with the Basque Athletic Club and became a fully independent club. Both Madrid clubs saw success in the years leading up to the most turbulent times for Spain; The Spanish Civil War.

Just a month after Real Madrid won the cup in 1936, the Civil War broke out which led to many of their players leaving the country in exile. As well as losing most of their players, the club lost the crown on their emblem as well as their ‘Real’ title, reverting back to Madrid Football Club. There was no room for royalty in Spain. Following the war Athletic Club de Madrid saw their name changed to Athletic Aviacion de Madrid as they merged with the nationalist Air Force, gaining approval from the authoritarian government who gained power following the war. This association would now contend with their current perceived working-class identity. Following the war, due to a nationalist decree banning all other languages other than Castellano from Franco, Athletic was changed to Atletico. In 1947 the military association was dropped from the team and the name we now know as Atletico de Madrid was born. 

In this post-war period both clubs saw success, and for Real Madrid this success came through the election of club legend and former military soldier Santiago Bernabeu as president. The period which followed his election saw Los Blancos go on to win five consecutive European cups between 1956 and 1960. For Franco, the dictator saw this on field success as a symbol of what his centralised, traditional Spain would look like, a counterbalance to the cultural weight that the Catalans and Basques were placing on Barcelona and Athletic Club Bilbao respectively. This saw Franco align himself with the club, and given their European success as well as this backing, Real Madrid were Spanish footballing royalty again. The image of Real Madrid and their success was a good tool for Franco to contrast the political state his Spain was experiencing. However, though many fans would tell you that there was a steady cooperation between the two, this is as far as the association went. Real Madrid were footballing royalty all around Europe and their image of Spain was one which Franco favoured and used as a PR tool. 

Following their five European Cup wins (in a row), Madrid would win a sixth in 1966. Along with the 6 European Cups, under Bernabeu Madrid would go on to win 16 league titles and six Spanish Cups as well enlisting some of Europe’s best players such as Di Stefano and Puskas. Santiago Bernabeu is not only responsible for playing a massive part in Madrid’s success, but also in establishing their identity as European and Spanish footballing royalty. His legacy at the club has now been immortalised as Real Madrid’s iconic stadium has been named after him.

For Atletico Madrid, it was their own club legend Luis Aragonés who brought their own version of success. Before he would go on to win the Euro 2008 with Spain, Aragones would write his name in Atletico legend both as a player and manager. As a player ‘Zapatones’ (a nickname he reportedly earned for being a free kick specialist) saw success through winning two Copa del Reys, three league titles and along with this, he earned a Pichichi award for being top scorer in the league in the 69/70 season. Though it pales in comparison to the success of Madrid, it is success, nonetheless.

After retiring as the club’s top scorer (a record he still maintains) Aragones became their manager. He would see success as a manager for Atletico winning a league title and three Copa Del Rey’s across his four managerial stints. He led them out of the second division and gave Fernando Torres his debut. He would leave the club in 2003/2004 as the club’s most successful manager, until Cholo Simeone came along.

It is, however, the current era in which we see the modern-fleshed out identities of these two Madrid clubs. These stark identities are both manifested in two figures at either club. Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid and Florentino Perez at Real Madrid. In Florentino Perez, the footballing royalty of Madrid found their Galacticos, a policy which sought for Madrid to bring in one of the best footballers in Europe each season. A controversial Luis Figo transfer was the first that the Madrid president would deliver. Santiago Bernabeu oversaw the building of Madrid’s identity of footballing royalty, and Perez built the white and gold mansion which it is seen as today. Under Perez Madrid would win a further 6 Champions leagues, with one of his most famous Galacticos as a player Zidane, leading them to three in a row as a manager. Madrid now have 13 European Cups/Champions Leagues to their name and are, according to Forbes, one of the two most valuable football teams in the world. Their squad always boasts Europe’s best, and their new stadium fit for the kings will be completed in the coming months. 

Diego Simeone is arguably, along with Aragones, one of the most important managerial figures Atletico has seen. In a duopoly of high spending clubs in Spain, each with their own respective greatest player of all time, Simeone’s less spending, less flashy, but almost always hard-working team has disrupted the current order. Simeone himself has gone on to say that in his time both Madrid and Barcelona have had extraordinary squads but off of the back of ‘hard work, continuity and perseverance’ as he put it in the same Coaches Voice interview, his Atletico team managed to do the ‘near impossible’ and win the league twice as well as making appearances in the Champions League final, albeit falling short to Perez’ Madrid. It is this idea of hard work, togetherness, and perseverance that Simeone’s Atletico embody. Rarely as pretty as their Catalan and local rivals, but always giving the minimum of one hundred and ten per cent for their fans. This embodiment of ideals has won over the hearts of Madrid’s working class by beating the odds against their rich neighbours, and the rich football world. They have competed with, and on occasion beat, the Spanish elite of Real Madrid whose club is worth almost four times more than theirs. Cholo, as he (Simeone) has been nicknamed, has garnered criticism for the style in which his Atletico have played, however, for the fans, it is often the commitment and togetherness that they draw their pride from, rather than the result. 

The very identities of these two clubs are reflected almost perfectly in their two Champions League quarter-final ties. Real Madrid shrugged off their opposition through a beautiful hattrick by one of, if not, the best players in Europe Karim Benzema. Europe’s royalty quickly dispatched of the opposition, whereas Atletico Madrid struggled and just about came short against one of the best (and richest) teams in Europe - Manchester City. Both teams delivered to the expectations of their fans to an extent. Two matches of 90 minutes that can be perfectly contextualised given the current, respective identities of the so-called mattressmakers and Los Blancos.

Article by Jesse Dean-Smith