It’s first against second in La Liga, as REAL MADRID lead ATLÉTICO MADRID by just a point at the top of the table. Barcelona have fallen away somewhat from their hot start under new boss Hansi Flick, and now Spain’s capital quarrel may answer quite a few questions around who will be crowned champions in May.
It’s all happening just as managers Diego Simeone and Carlo Ancelotti—egged on by the tempestuous football media in Spain—trade barbs over refereeing controversies and Real Madrid’s repeated shattering of Atléti hearts in recent times. This one goes way further back, though. It's a dispute with roots in Spanish football’s earliest history and then—crucially—the Spanish Civil War and the subsequent dictatorship of Francisco Franco.
For much of the ‘60s and ‘70s, as now, Atléti fought their way into the reckoning at the summit of Spanish football, forcing Real Madrid and Barcelona to take notice. The Colchoneros started out as a satellite of Athletic Club de Bilbao, gained then shedded associations with the Spanish military, and then the Madrid derby took on its modern shape: Real Madrid as the establishment club, the continental giants and serial winners. Atléti as the leftist, working-class outfit that proudly embraced a spirit of rebellion.
Here to trace it all and preview this weekend’s encounter is Graham Hunter, storied scribe of Spanish football for ESPN.
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