GLORY!DAYS
Atletico Madrid’s success
ATLETICO Madrid have become one of European football’s powerhouses in recent years and their rise back up from the Segunda Division in 2002, after the disastrous end of Jesus Gil’s presidency, has seen some of the best football in their history.
The 1960s and 70s were their other golden era. In that time, they won their first European competition, finished runners up in another and won a world title.
While their counterparts Real were dominating domestically and in Europe in the late 50s, Atletico were building cleverly.
In 1959, Atletico appointed ex-Real manager Jose Villalonga, who had won a double and a treble there. He is still the youngest manager to win the European Cup, with the 1956 win.
This was the Atletico side that featured Enrique Collar, Miguel Jones and Adelardo.
Atletico took to the new manager with flying colours. They beat Real in the Copa del Rey in 1960 and 1961, setting them up for a run in the 1962 European Cup Winners’ Cup.
They blew through clubs at an impressive rate, scoring 19 goals and only conceding six.
They faced Sedan from France, Leicester City, Werder Bremen, and then in the semi-finals they thrashed Motor Jena 5-0.
That set up the final at Hampden Park against Fiorentina on May 10, 1962. This was the second final in the tournament’s history, and was supposed to be a oneoff final. However, it finished 1-1 after extra-time.
With Spain and Italy needing their players for the 1962 World Cup, the replay took place four months later in Stuttgart.
Miguel Jones put Atletico in front with a goal after only eight minutes. Twenty minutes later Mendonca made it two and after the half-time break Joaquin Peiro sealed the win. The 1962 Cup Winners’ Cup was all theirs.
Atletico would go back the next year to defend their title, but lost convincingly to Tottenham 5-1 in the final in Rotterdam.
The rest of the 1960s were good to Atleti as they would win two La Liga titles, 1965-66 and 1969-70, and also added another Copa del Rey in 1964-65.
Atleti continued the success into the 70s, and even took it one step further into a European Cup final. After capturing La Liga in 1973, they went on to face Bayern Munich in the European Cup final the following May.
Bayern had world-class players like Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Müller, Sepp Maier and Paul Breitner, but Atleti gave them a real run for their money.
The first meeting ended in a 1-1 draw, but Bayern triumphed 4-0 in the replay in Brussels two days later.
In 1974, veteran player Luis Aragones took over as boss and had to lead Atleti in the Intercontinental Cup.
European Cup winners Bayern Munich were due to face off against the Copa Libertadores winner, Independiente.
However due to fixture congestion, the Germans declined. The European representatives were Atletico instead. This was to be a two-legged contest for the cup.
Independiente won their home leg 1-0. Austin Balbuena put the ball past goalie Miguel Reina (his son Pepe would later star for Liverpool).
However, Atletico turned the tide with a 2-0 win in the second leg to take the trophy. Javier Irureta scored the opener and Ruben Ayala netted the crucial second five minutes from time.
Aragones led the club to two more cups during this spell as manager, the Copa del Rey in 1976 and La Liga in 1977.
In total, Aragones would manage the club four times, coming back one last time in the early part of the 2000s to bring the club back out of the Segunda Division, and in turn giving club legend Fernando Torres his debut.
In the 2000s and the following decade, the club would take flight, becoming one of the great clubs in La Liga. They would also shine in Europe, reaching the Champions League final on two occasions, winning three Europa Leagues and three Super Cups.
Many of the players developed at the club would go on to become major stars, while current boss Diego Simeone is looked upon as one of the best managers in the game right now.
It looks as though more good times are on the way.