The top 3 football leagues in the world includes the Premier League, Bundesliga and the Premier Spanish Football League which is called La Liga. The La Liga has some of the most popular clubs in the world.
Along with that, it has also produced some of the world's most breathtaking matches. Most of them are between Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid. Each time these two teams met gives the world a spectacle to watch. They are called “the Madrid Derby”
In this article, we will provide fun facts about it that you should know. Certainly, you can go to dabong.net website to see live football, schedule and results of the full football season.
#1: The mythical meanings
The Madrid Derby divides the Madrid city into two parts. In the Madrid City Centre, there are two famous fountains. The first one is dedicated to Cibeles, the Roman goddess of Fertility and Agriculture, which is called the Mother goddess. The second one is dedicated the Neptuno, the Roman god of the sea and freshwater. These two fountains are considered to be symbols of the two teams in the city. So when Real Madrid wins, its fans will flock to the fountain of Cibeles to celebrate. Likewise, when Atlético wins, its fans will take over and celebrate the winning at the fountain of Neptune.
The two clubs divides the Madrid city into two parts
#2: Real Madrid won the very first Madrid Derby
The two clubs were formed almost at the same time, Atletico was formed in 1903, and Real Madrid was birthed just a year before, in 1902. They all had to go through the ranks from amateur to professional, but it took more than 25 year for them to have the first match. The first time they faced off professionally was in 1929, and the match brought Real Madrid the very first win of the Madrid Derby.
#3: Atletico has won for three seasons in a row
Although Real Madrid has been considered to be a better team, only Atletico has won at the Santiago Bernabéu for three seasons, from 2013 to 2016 season. This is a high point for the Rojiblancos. The scores for each win was 0-1 (2013-14), 1-2 (2014-15), and 0-1 (2015-16).
#4: Atletico didn't win a derby match between 2000 and 2013
For a long period of time from 2000 to 2013, Real Madrid totally dominated their rivals. In 13 years, they won 19 of 26 games between both teams and had 7 of those ended in a draw. During this period, the fans and players of Atletico were greatly disrespected by their Madrid neighbors. In the end, after 13 years, Atletico could exert a win over Real Madrid.
Every football clubs have their nicknames. And these two aren’t exceptions. They have nicknamed differently by fans, by Spanish royalty, and so on. In particular, Real Madrid are named as Los Blancos which means The Whites in English, Los Merengues (The Meringues), and Los Vikings (The Vikings). Another famous nickname of them is Galacticos (Superstars). This is because the Real Madrid has been spending heavy, purchasing the world’s best superstars. On the other hand, Atletico Madrid is called Los Indios (the Indians), Los Rojiblancos (The Red and Whites) and Los Colchoneros (The Mattress Makers).
#6: Some players have been switching allegiances
For about 90 years, several players have switched allegiances and defiled the rivalry between both clubs. In particular, 27 players in all have moved between both Madrid clubs between 1929 and 2019. The players are Jose Antonio Reyes, Santiago Solari, and Thibaut Courtois all had to deal with hatred from the fans after their moves. Even Real Madrid Legend, Raul Gonzalez Blanco, who is commonly known as Raul, started his career at Atletico Madrid.
#7: The impact of Ronaldo on their games
Cristiano Ronaldo is a big name in football, and he is also a fear for any team. He is the highest goal scorer of all time in the Madrid derby. In the nine seasons that Ronaldo was at Real, he scored 22 goals against Atletico Madrid. Especially, in 22 goals, there are some of the most important goals in football history. He had a hattrick in the Champions League semi-final in 2017 UEFA Champions League. Also there was the final goal in the 2013/2014 UEFA Champions League final.
Atletico Madrid fans and players must have felt relieved after Ronaldo leave Real Madrid to sign for Italian giants Juventus.
Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid contested in the UEFA champions league final In May 2014. This occasion marked the first ever derby in the final of any European competition. And they are the first teams from the same city to do it. History was made again in 2018, when Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid faced off in the UEFA Super cup. When it happened, Real Madrid was UEFA champions league winners and Atletico Madrid was UEFA Europa cup winners. We could always expect more games like this in the future.
#9: The story of Manolo Sanchis
Manuel “Manolo” Sanchis Hontiyuelo has been the most capped player in the Madrid derby. No player has ever featured in the derby more times than him. Although now he is retired, so the record can be broken. He was in 42 games in the colors of Real Madrid against neighbors. He only played for Real Madrid in his career and retired from playing football in 2001. He appeared in 710 games in total for Real Madrid, being the third most capped player for real Madrid behind Raul (who made 741 appearances for Real Madrid) and Iker Casillas and who made 725.
#10: The two teams are not so close
As they are in the same city, you would normally expect their home grounds to be close. However, it takes 13 minutes to drive from the Wanda Metropolitan to the Santiago Bernabeu. The fans of both teams are not very close, either. Real Madrid has won more games in the Derby match than their city rivals Atletico.
In 221 matches, Real Madrid have won 109 while Atletico have won 56. The rest of the matchups have ended in draws. This statistic somehow reflects the feeling of their fans, the players and coaching staffs.