Madrid Derby
El Derbi Madrileño, or simply El Derbi, is the name given to football matches between Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid, both from Madrid. Originally it referred only to those fixtures held in the Spanish championship, but nowadays the term has been generalized, and tends to include every single match between the two clubs: UEFA Champions League and Copa del Rey, etc.
The two clubs met in Lisbon for the 2014 UEFA Champions League Final, making it the first time two clubs from the same city played in the final. After facing off a second time in the 2016 UEFA Champions League Final in Milan, with Real Madrid winning as they had two years earlier, they also met in the 2018 UEFA Super Cup, again the first time two clubs from the same city met in that event; it was won by Atlético.
History
The rivalry between the two clubs started at the very beginning of the twentieth century. Madrid Foot-Ball Club, the most powerful club in the Spanish capital, kept on making mergers and acquisitions of the best smaller clubs in the city, which subsequently disappeared. At the same time, Madrid FC also signed the best players from the clubs it did not absorb, which also made those clubs defunct when they were unable to compete against the Whites. The main exception to this pattern was Athletic Club Madrid, who were able to keep most of their best players thanks to the financial aid of their "parent", Athletic Club Bilbao, and so became the last stand against the Madrid FC supremacy in the capital. Many supporters of the clubs that had vanished due to The Real therefore became supporters of the Red-and-whites, many harbouring dislike towards the meringue club and triggering the rivalry. However, regarding competitive honours won, Real Madrid were far above Athletic Madrid until after the Spanish Civil War.After the war, during the early Francoist period, Atlético became associated with the military air force, although the alleged preference of the regime for the club is subject to discussion. In any case, during this period Atlético became the most successful club in Spain, reducing the historical gap between the two clubs, until the regime preference shifted towards Real Madrid in the 1950s as Franco sought to make political capital out of Real Madrid's multiple European Cup titles at a time when Spain was internationally isolated; one minister said, "Real Madrid are the best ambassadors we've ever had." Thus, Atlético fans regularly chanted that Real were "El equipo del gobierno, la vergüenza del país" – "The team of the government, the shame of the country" – and allegedly adopted a more left-wing slant.
In the 1970s, Atlético took again the lead as the most successful Spanish club of the decade, which prompted the Real Madrid fanbase to look down on Atlético calling them and their supporters "Indios". It is worth noting that by then, Real Madrid was not very keen on signing non-Caucasian players. Atlético's supporters accepted the new "Indian" nickname joyfully and have been using it until today.
The Santiago Bernabéu, Real Madrid's stadium, is alongside banks and businesses on the upper class Paseo de la Castellana street, while the Vicente Calderón could be found near a brewery, alongside the Manzanares River and a motorway. Real draw greater support all across the region because of their historically greater resources and success, while Atlético have a relatively working class fan base mainly from the south of the city, with some fans also scattered throughout the city. In fact, the Atlético crest includes the Coat of arms of Madrid, whereas Real crest has no such a reference to the city.
In the modern era, the Madrid derby is the second biggest derby in Spanish football, behind El Clásico, and although Real Madrid have the larger worldwide fanbase, Atlético Madrid have also amassed a significant worldwide fanbase, due to their level of success in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League in the early 21st century. Real Madrid is the most successful club in the Champions League, having won it thirteen times. Atlético have never won the Champions League, though they have reached the final on three occasions, and they have also won the Europa League three times since 2010 and the UEFA Super Cup three times.
On 27 July 2019, Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid faced off in an off-season exhibition match at the 2019 International Champions Cup in the United States, marking the first time the two clubs faced off in a Madrid derby held outside their home country. It wound up setting a record for the highest-scoring Madrid derby, and a blowout win for Atlético Madrid, as they routed Real Madrid 7–3; Atlético Madrid lead 5–0 at half time, and Real Madrid only began to rally from behind in the second half of the match.
All matches
| Matches | Wins Real Madrid | Draws | Wins Atlético Madrid | Goals Real Madrid | Goals Atlético Madrid | |
| League Matches | 166 | 88 | 39 | 39 | 290 | 216 |
| Cup Matches | 42 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 57 | 45 |
| League Cup Matches | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 7 |
| Super Cup Matches | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Champions League Matches | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 7 |
| UEFA Super Cup Matches | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Total matches | 225 | 111 | 58 | 56 | 371 | 281 |
Primera División matches
Head-to-head ranking in La Liga (1929–2020)
• Total: Atlético Madrid with 20 higher finishes, Real Madrid with 63 higher finishes.Domestic cups
In domestic cups, the two have been finalists on five occasions in the Copa del Rey in 1960, 1961, 1992, 2013 and 1975. In 1985, they met in the two-legged final of the Copa de la Liga with each winning their home leg, although Real Madrid winning on aggregate. In 2014, they met in the two-legged final of the Supercopa de España: the first leg, at the Santiago Bernabéu, finished in a 1–1 draw, while the second leg, at the Vicente Calderón, ended in a 1–0 Atlético victory. With a 2–1 aggregate score, the rojiblancos won the title. They would once again meet in the one-legged final of the Spanish Super Cup in the 2019–20 season, with Real Madrid prevailing 4–1 on penalties following a 0–0 draw after extra time at the King Abdullah Sports City stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.Copa del Rey matches
| Real Madrid wins | 17 |
| Draws | 14 |
| Atlético Madrid wins | 11 |
| Real Madrid goals | 57 |
| Atlético Madrid goals | 45 |
| Total matches | 42 |
Copa de la Liga matches
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