There is more to Madrid than Real you know. Second stop on el Camino de La Liga was the Vicente Calderon stadium, 14 kilometres across the city and home to Atlético de Madrid. This was my first trip to see Atlético, so I wasn´t sure what to expect in the stadium although I was pretty sure that it would be very different to a day out at the Bernabéu. While the Bernabéu stands proudly on the plush Castellana street, surrounded by expensive apartments, bars and restaurants, the Vicente Calderon is hidden among cheaper looking buildings on the banks of the Manzanares river. While the Bernabéu can boast 80,000 seats all covered by a roof which includes central heating for those chilly December and January matches, the Vicente Calderon has to settle for 54,000 seats, three quarters of which have no roof covering whatsoever. So, when it comes to style, comfort and beauty, the Bernabéu wins hands down. However, we are football fans and those things don´t matter to us. Only one thing matters to the hardcore football fan, atmosphere, and when it comes to atmosphere, Atlético can confidently say they are number one in Madrid.
While Ultrasur, the Madrid Ultras, make up a tiny proportion of the Real match day crowd, the Atlético Ultras, known as Frente Atlético, make up a significant portion of Vicente Calderon on match day. While Ultrasur make a wee bit of noise every now and again, the Atlético Ultras carry on singing and make a lot of noise for the full 90 minutes. Now don´t get me wrong, the atmosphere in the Bernabéu can be fantastic but the supporters need to be motivated to bring it about. In the Vicente Calderon the supporters need no such motivation, even in a match like yesterday´s with less than glamorous opponents Racing de Santander.
So why are the two sets of supporters so different? One possible reason is that Real supporters are predominately middle class while Atlético supporters are working class. It´s an argument I have heard banded around several times and I´m sure there is more than a little bit of truth to it. However, another equally plausible reason is that Atlético supporters have suffered more disappointment and heartache than their city rivals. The life of a Real Madrid fan is characterized by seeing their team win. The life of an Atlético fan is characterized by seeing their team underachieve. While the supporter of let’s say Huelva can accept that their team has neither the means nor the potential of ever winning the league or challenging the big clubs, the Atlético Madrid supporter has good reasons to believe that his club has both the means and potential to win the league but is almost always left disappointed. In most cities, a club with a 54,000 seater stadium and a support that can fill it and can boast players such as Kun Aguero, Maxi Rodriguez, Diego Forlán and Simao would be considered the number one team. However in Madrid this means nothing when your rivals are Real Madrid. This feeling of being considered small despite feeling big must have an effect of the psyche of the Atlético supporter. This makes them more and more determined and desperate to win and more upset and heartbroken when they lose. If only they could win the league, perhaps the attention and money might start moving in their direction and they could rise up and knock Real Madrid of their perch. But they never manage it and yesterday´s match was another reminder of their short comings.
After losing 3-0 in Malaga on day one, yesterday´s home match against bottom club Racing de Santander seemed the perfect match to kick-start their season. However, Atlético proved once again to be a complete enigma. Fair enough, Racing defended well and are pretty decent going forward but Atlético´s inability to motivate themselves to win the more winnable matches was obvious. Despite Racing being reduced to 10 men for the entire second half, Atlético couldn´t find the performance needed to win the match and ultimately challenge the big teams point for point over a whole season. The match finished 1-1, a result which will please Racing much more than it will please Atlético.
Next up for Atlético is the daunting trip to the Camp Nou to face Barcelona. Knowing Atlético Madrid they might well win that match but it is matches like yesterday´s that they need to address if they are to live up to their big club feeling.
While Ultrasur, the Madrid Ultras, make up a tiny proportion of the Real match day crowd, the Atlético Ultras, known as Frente Atlético, make up a significant portion of Vicente Calderon on match day. While Ultrasur make a wee bit of noise every now and again, the Atlético Ultras carry on singing and make a lot of noise for the full 90 minutes. Now don´t get me wrong, the atmosphere in the Bernabéu can be fantastic but the supporters need to be motivated to bring it about. In the Vicente Calderon the supporters need no such motivation, even in a match like yesterday´s with less than glamorous opponents Racing de Santander.
So why are the two sets of supporters so different? One possible reason is that Real supporters are predominately middle class while Atlético supporters are working class. It´s an argument I have heard banded around several times and I´m sure there is more than a little bit of truth to it. However, another equally plausible reason is that Atlético supporters have suffered more disappointment and heartache than their city rivals. The life of a Real Madrid fan is characterized by seeing their team win. The life of an Atlético fan is characterized by seeing their team underachieve. While the supporter of let’s say Huelva can accept that their team has neither the means nor the potential of ever winning the league or challenging the big clubs, the Atlético Madrid supporter has good reasons to believe that his club has both the means and potential to win the league but is almost always left disappointed. In most cities, a club with a 54,000 seater stadium and a support that can fill it and can boast players such as Kun Aguero, Maxi Rodriguez, Diego Forlán and Simao would be considered the number one team. However in Madrid this means nothing when your rivals are Real Madrid. This feeling of being considered small despite feeling big must have an effect of the psyche of the Atlético supporter. This makes them more and more determined and desperate to win and more upset and heartbroken when they lose. If only they could win the league, perhaps the attention and money might start moving in their direction and they could rise up and knock Real Madrid of their perch. But they never manage it and yesterday´s match was another reminder of their short comings.
After losing 3-0 in Malaga on day one, yesterday´s home match against bottom club Racing de Santander seemed the perfect match to kick-start their season. However, Atlético proved once again to be a complete enigma. Fair enough, Racing defended well and are pretty decent going forward but Atlético´s inability to motivate themselves to win the more winnable matches was obvious. Despite Racing being reduced to 10 men for the entire second half, Atlético couldn´t find the performance needed to win the match and ultimately challenge the big teams point for point over a whole season. The match finished 1-1, a result which will please Racing much more than it will please Atlético.
Next up for Atlético is the daunting trip to the Camp Nou to face Barcelona. Knowing Atlético Madrid they might well win that match but it is matches like yesterday´s that they need to address if they are to live up to their big club feeling.
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Nice one dood!
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