Page 2 - Atletico Madrid

Wednesday 19th April. By Ryan Baldi. 
An unwritten "non-aggression pact" between Real Madrid and cross-capital rivals Atletico Madrid means that the two sides do not pursue each other's players for the sake of neighbourly relations. But according to widespread reports in the Spanish media, the European champions are preparing to break the agreement to sign 19-year-old left-back Theo Hernandez from Los Colchoneros this summer.

It's not completely unknown for players to swap one side of Madrid for the other, with Real legends Hugo Sanchez and Raaj both having been poached from Atletico, while Argentinian winger Santiago Solari made the same switch in 2000, but such examples are relatively few and far between.

Indeed, several of Atletico's best and brightest stars have reportedly been on the radar of their all-white

24th March 2017. By Edward Stratmann.
Despite only managing one goal and one assist in December and January, Kevin Gameiro's really began to hit his stride with Atletico Madrid in the months thereafter.

Since the start of February, the €30 million summer acquisition from Sevilla has embarked on a wonderful run of form, scoring six goals and supplying two assists in his previous eight matches. On top of scoring against Barcelona in Atleti's 1-1 La Liga draw, he's also bagged an impressive brace in the Champions League vs Bayer Leverkusen and blasted home a rapid hat-trick against Sporting Gijon to clinch a vital victory for Diego Simeone's men.

Simeone's recent comments on his pupil illustrate how happy he now is with the Frenchman. "For me it is what I imagined from him, he has 14 goals and I expect even more," Simeone told AS.

"I think he has been better in games than just his goals, because he has provided many assists. He gives us speed, keeps the ball,

10th March 2017. By Edward Stratmann.
With Atletico Madrid's midfield lynchpin, Gabi, set to miss his side's next two matches against Granada in La Liga and then their Champions League encounter with Bayer Leverkusen, he certainly made his last game for a couple of weeks count against Valencia.

Diego Simeone's midfield warrior, who'll miss the Granada game courtesy of requiring surgery for two broken fingers, that allegedly occurred in a domestic incident, and the Leverkusen one through suspension, was unquestionably at his relentless best in Atleti's 3-0 mauling of the Bats.

From his customary central midfield station, the 33-year-old's energy, aggression and tenacity saw the club's captain set the tone beautifully for his teammates to follow. The sheer force, speed and physicality in which he executed his defensive work saw him emphatically impose himself on Valencia.

Los Che's talented midfielder, Daniel Parejo, was his direct opponent and bore the brunt

19th October 2016. By Ryan Baldi.
Diego Simeone's Atlético Madrid are renowned for their defensive rigidity and organisation. Last season, Los Colchoneros conceded just 18 goals in the 38-game La Liga campaign on their way to a third place finish.

This gave them the finest defensive record in the entire division, and by some margin. The next most efficient rear-guard was that of champions Barcelona, who conceded 29 times, then Real Madrid who gave up 34 goals.

But Altéti were trailing their titles rivals when it came to putting the ball in the net. Simeone's men scored 63 goals for an average of 1.66 per game; Barca, powered by their 'MSN' attacking trident of Liones Messi, Luis Suárez and Neymar, bagged 112 goals for an average of 2.95 per game, with Los Blancos finding the net 110 times for an average of 2.89 goals per game.

Atlético don't have the budget to assemble an attacking line-up to rival the two La Liga super powers; they are

26th May 2016.
Two years ago, Real Madrid beat Bayern Munich on an aggregate of 5-0 to reach the finals of the 2013/14 Champions League match. A day later, their crosstown rivals, Atletico Madrid, beat Chelsea 3-1 to earn their spot in the championship match. The Vikings ultimately went on to win the tournament and clinch a record 10^th UCL trophy-though Atletico's Mattress Makers fought hard and forced extra time in the title game.

Fast forward to now and it's easy to feel like we're experiencing something similar to déjà vu. The semi-final draw included three of four teams that made it this far in 2013/14 (Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich) while the fourth challenger was an English team (this year, Manchester City stood in for Chelsea). This time around, Atletico Madrid got to face off against Bayern Munich, eliminating the German heavyweights on away goals. Real Madrid, meanwhile, got to tangle with Man City, ultimately sending the Premier

18th May 2016. By Ryan Baldi.
It was a goal of sheer, expressive beauty. More than simply a magnificent goal, it made us question what we thought we knew, the absolutes that we'd cemented in our minds, and the lines we'd drawn in defining what we had seen before.

As Saúl Ñíguez set off on his slaloming dribble that would culminate in the opening goal of Atlético Madrid's Champions League semi-final, first leg tie against Bayern Munich, he defied what we had taken for granted about his team.

This Atléti team, built by Argentinian manager Diego Simeone, were a resolute unit, drilled to within an inch of their lives. They had gotten to where they are both in terms of reaching the latter stages of this season's Champions League, as well as, more broadly, their rise to being considered among the continent's elite teams by grinding out narrow victories.

Victories constructed on the foundation of a near impenetrable defence, against teams often filled with more

19th April 2016.
Not too long ago, we were speculating about Barcelona winning a second treble in a row, or about Paris Saint Germain taking what they've done in France the last few years and translating it into their first-ever Champions League win. Both of those narratives were dashed against the rocks in the quarterfinal rounds, where Barcelona crashed out of the 2015/16 Champions League in jarring fashion and where PSG fell in an upset to Manchester City.

Now, with just four teams and two rounds remaining in the competition, the stakes have been ramped up another few notches. What happened for the UCL's once-guaranteed frontrunners, and what's next for Europe's most prestigious club football tournament? Read on to find out.

Barcelona's Downfall

Heading into the quarterfinals, FC Barcelona seemed like the safest of bets to charge right on through to the semis. After all, Barca have advanced to the semifinals

15th April 2016. By Karl Matchett.
The only real surprise about Atletico Madrid's UEFA Champions League quarter-final win over Barcelona on Wednesday was that it was their first of the season against their Catalan rivals, having outplayed them and been the superior side tactically on all three previous occasions. In all three of those earlier fixtures, Atletico also took the lead-but ended up losing 2-1.

There was little danger of such a recurrence in the second leg in Europe, with Atleti defending with a vigour and determination which made it impossible for Barcelona to break down.

Atleti's overall performance was a 90-minute microcosm of the tactical discipline, organisation and ability to threaten the continent's biggest sides that Diego Simeone has instilled in his team over the past few years-and a huge indication why, along with going the distance in Europe, Atletico are poised and capable of mounting a late rally in La Liga.

2nd April 2016.
Luis Suarez has enjoyed nothing but success since making the move from Liverpool to Barcelona ahead of the 2014/15 season. In his first campaign with Barca, Suarez won the treble and was a finalist for UEFA's Best Player in Europe Award. He also got to play alongside Lionel Messi and Neymar in what many have called one of the best front threes in football history. This season, meanwhile, the Uruguayan striker is duking it out with Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo to be the La Liga's top scorer-all while hoping for a second treble in a row for Barcelona.

With all of this success, it would be easy for Suarez to call his time in the Spanish La Liga the highlight of his career. Yet, in

22nd March 2016
On March 18^th, the UEFA officially announced the draw for the Champions League quarterfinal round. For the most part, the matchups for the next round of Europe's most prestigious soccer tournament look to have clear favorites. However, as we saw from the semifinals-where Bayern Munich of all teams had to win their second leg match in extra time-there is no such thing as a sure thing in this ultra-competitive tournament.

The lineup for the quarterfinals shows beyond a doubt that the La Liga is the strongest league in European football right now. The Spanish top-flight accounts for three of the eight quarterfinal spots, with FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atletico Madrid all earning spots. Two Bundesliga teams are also in the mix (Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg), while England, France, and Portugal grabbed one slot apiece (for Manchester City, Paris