They don't have a single world class ball-playing central midfielder, their main striker will be 31 next month and despite winning the Pichichi and the European Golden Shoe twice is still regarded in some quarters as a flop. Their main goalkeeper at the moment is just 19 and he replaced their reserve custodian who is just 20.
Their best player this season has been an Arsenal reject and their most consistent midfielder for two years is not in his twenties any longer. Their central defenders are usually bad and on occasions shambolic and their fullbacks - well, let's just that selling John Heitinga to Everton in the summer was actually a good thing for them.
Eternally known as El Pupas, 'the jinxed one', Atletico Madrid have a history of promising great things but failing to achieve even the small ones. But still Atleti boast themselves as the third biggest club in Spain and the second biggest in Madrid, but the last time they won the league was in 1996 and four years later they went down to the Segunda Division.
Atletico had shown hints of a revival in recent years, having featured in the Champions League for two years in a row. In fact, last season Atleti could have reached the quarter-finals of Europe's most prestigious club competition had their coach at the time, Abel Resino, not decided to start the eventual Pichichi winner Diego Forlan on the bench against Porto on the road. This season, Atletico started disastrously in La Liga, finding themselves in the bottom three for a while.
Which is why Atletico Madrid's Europa League run has been such a marvel to behold. Which is why their progress to the semi-finals has been such a joy. Hailing from a city that hosts the world's biggest and most media-scrutinized club, Atletico are often relegated to the role of Cinderella-like stepsister. In the summer everyone was talking about Madrid and by Madrid they meant Real, and not Atletico. In fact, the city of Madrid is so synonymous with Real that for someone not well versed in Spanish football, it would seem that Madrid has just one club. And that club is not Atletico.
But Atleti's progress in the Europa League should dispel that myth, if there is anyone who still fosters it. Real Madrid got blown away in the Champions League from the last 16 stage for the sixth miserable year in a row and in spite of topping the table in the Primera Divsion are being considered second favorites after Barcelona. Atletico are in a with a chance of winning two trophies: the Copa del Rey and the Europa League.
Atletico are in the final of Spain's version of the English FA Cup and now they are in the semis of the Europa League. Of course, with a little bit of luck Valencia could have won at the Vicente Calderon on Thursday night and, in fact, they probably should have had not there been a certain David de Gea between the sticks. Atleti got knocked out of the Champions League in the group stages but in the Europa League they have skipped past Galatasaray, Sporting CP and now Valencia.
True, their defense still resembles the backline of a relegation side (although Sanchez Flores has drilled some sense, tautness and discipline in them) and they often lack penetration down the middle, but in Reyes the Rojiblancos have a renaissance-man, in Simao they have a truly excellent wide player, in Forlan a striker who doesn't fear to do a Lionel Messi-esque chip and in Aguero Atleti have the Argentinian Romario.
In an editorial after last week's game at the Mestalla, yours truly argued that Barcelona's style of football is actually a more advanced, better equipped, more subtle and improvised version of the football played in La Liga augmented with a stronger identity. While Barca are flying La Liga's flag high in the Champions League, Atletico are doing the same in the Europa League. Atleti's football is not Barca-esque seductive or overpowering, but for a side that has been involved in all sorts of scorelines over the past three years, entertainment is guaranteed.
Atletico Madrid will probably remain the second club of Madrid but in 2009-2010 at least the Mattress Makers have a chance to put one over their big rivals. Real can win just one major trophy this season, Atletico two.
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