Rivalry between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid

The crosstown rivalry that pits Real Madrid against Atletico Madrid can be traced back during dictator Francisco Franco's era. While the Los Colchoneros paraded as Franco's favorite team during early periods of his era, the Los Blancos gradually became the preferred entity as years progressed. For a long time, Real Madrid has been viewed as the "Establishment club" whilst Atletico Madrid has been associated with a rebellion stance. In real sense, Franco only wanted to gain from Real Madrid's European conquest by associating with the club - a move that quickly galvanized Atletico Madrid fans to label their rivals as "darlings of the administration, shame of the country". This coupled with the rise of ultras in football and the fact that Rayo Vallecano - another Madrid based football club, had also adopted a leftist stance, made certain that the Vicente Calderon outfit too instilled a leftist culture in their day to day operations. Simply, its the Vikings - as Real Madrid is known, versus the Indians - as they refer to Atletico Madrid. Lest we forget, Atletico Madrid was formed by Basque students as the capital's branch of Athletic Bilbao - no coincidence that both wear the white and red strip!Atletico Madrid's fan base is hugely drawn from the South of Madrid, whereas Real Madrid boosts of international recognition attributable to their huge resources and rich history. The Copa del Rey clash today between the two Madrid supremos at Vicente Calderon offer a chance for augmentation of the rivalry - augmented by the return of Fernando "El Nino" Torres. Both Diego Simeone and Carlo Ancelotti are aware of the stakes involved - the bragging rights as well as the pride associated with a win for either team. Atletico Madrid will be aiming at Los Blancos' scalp after the occurrences of last year's UEFA Champions League final - heroic acts by Sergio Ramos, Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcelo and Gareth Bale saw the Santiago Bernabeu outfit triumph in Lisbon. Despite the rivalry, several players have donned the strips of both teams among them Jose Antonio Reyes, Juanfran, Santiago Solari, Luis Aragones, Hugo Sanchez and Bernd Schuster. It should be noted that Raul Gonzalez too joined Real Madrid after Atletico Madrid's academy folded up. The rojiblancos will have to reach for more tricks so as to contain the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Toni Kroos, James Rodriguez, Isco et al. However, that doesn't mean that Simeone's lads are pushovers either - what with having Diego Godin, Koke, Mario Mandzukic, Antoine Griezmann, Miranda, Arda Turan, Mario Suarez and the likes in one lineup? The clash at Vicente Calderon is likely to provide an impetus for Diego Simeone under the hope that Real Madrid's loss to Valencia at the Mestalla may be a sign of better things - from an Atletico point of view. Over the years, Real Madrid's dominance over Atletico Madrid has considerably waned and that coupled with the return of a prodigal son may be just what the ultras need to belt out anti Real chants with the sole aim of intimidating the players. As opposed to when Fernando Torres was the darling of the Vicente Calderon stadium, the club has now transformed to being serial winners - an action spurred by Torres' former teammate - Diego Simeone. While Ancelotti will be eager to unleash the dreaded "BBC" - a connotation meaning Bale, Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo, Diego Simeone will hope that Mario Mandzukic - a master of set pieces and near post goals, will brighten the mood at Vicente Calderon. Expect endless gloats should the white and red strip win over Real Madrid. In such a derby game, tactics matter less - the end justifies the means! Win ugly, but make sure that you win! In short, Atletico Madrid versus Real Madrid is the populace vs. the power/establishment, loyalty vs. success and humility vs. arrogance! May the best team win - sorry, I meant Hala Madrid! I just let my emotions betray me