This is an updated version of a piece first published in March.

“Proper rival wanted for a worthy derby,” read a banner held by Real Madrid fans before their team hosted Atletico Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in November 2011.

At the time, Atletico had gone more than 13 years and 25 matches without any ‘derbi’ win against their richer and historically more powerful neighbours from across Spain’s capital city.

The visitors went 1-0 up that day, but their on-loan Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was soon sent off, and Madrid’s 4-1 victory made it more than 5,000 minutes of action filled with resounding disappointments for one side and predictably amusing victories for the other.

That narrative changed with the 2013 Copa del Rey final, held at the Bernabeu, when Diego Simeone’s side shocked Real Madrid 2-1 in extra time. Victory was made even sweeter for Atletico fans when their captain Gabi received the Copa trophy from Spain’s (now former) King Juan Carlos — a Real Madrid supporter.

Since then, the record has been much more even. Including games in the Supercopa de Espana and UEFA Super Cup, there have been 43 derbis — 16 Madrid wins, 15 draws and 12 victories for Atletico.

It has been particularly tight recently — the three meetings before last season’s Champions League round-of-16 tie were all hard-fought 1-1 draws. Real Madrid won the first leg of that European encounter 2-1 at the Bernabeu and were taken to penalties at the Metropolitano following a 1-0 win for Atletico in the return game. Carlo Ancelotti’s team then triumphed in a controversial shootout (of which more later).

Simeone has made Atletico far more competitive after years of Madrid dominance (Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)

As the clubs’ on-field power relationship has balanced out, their rivalry off the pitch has become more tense.

The previous attitude of condescending superiority from Real Madrid fans — and sometimes players, coaches and directors — has hardened into an obligation to keep their neighbours down in their perceived place.

At the same time, a new sense of self-confidence from the Atletico side has been soured by some disgraceful and even criminal acts by some of its more radical ultras supporters (acts which are generally condemned by most on the Atletico side).

As Real Madrid prepare to travel to the Metropolitano for Saturday’s La Liga match against Atletico, this is the story of the Madrid derby — and what it means to both sides.

The first La Liga clash between the teams in 1929 was won by Real Madrid, with both goals scored by former Atletico forward Monchin Triana. But the idea of the derbi as a meeting of the city’s aristocratic elite against its plucky outsiders took decades to solidify.

Real Madrid became the dominant force in the Spanish capital mid-century, when president Santiago Bernabeu built a team packed with galacticos including Alfredo Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas, winning five successive European Cups from 1956 until 1960.

As the area around the Bernabeu to the north of the city grew increasingly affluent, and the team became a dominant force domestically, the stadium’s VIP ‘balcony’ became a meeting place for Spain’s business, social and political leaders.

Meanwhile, Atletico fans were often drawn from working-class areas, including near their old Estadio Vicente Calderon to the south of Madrid’s city centre. An outsider ethos was cultivated, especially in the 1980s and 1990s during the presidency of Jesus Gil y Gil — a self-made businessman who entered politics and later spent time in prison.

Although the two clubs were now often operating on different levels, financially and talent-wise, fans in the city were still split pretty evenly. The derbi was often more important, locally, than El Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona.

“In my time, the rival was Atletico,” Di Stefano recalled in a 2014 interview with Marca. “Barcelona was further away, games against them lasted 90 minutes. Derbis against Atletico lasted a whole week. You wanted to beat them at all costs. If not, the following day in the office, the bar, on the street, their fans would be laughing at us.”

Under current president Florentino Perez, Madrid have made further leaps forward since 2000 — signing global stars such as Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo Nazario and David Beckham in his first term, and more recently Cristiano Ronaldo, Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe. It now claims around 500million supporters worldwide and has an annual turnover of more than €1billion (£870m, $1.2bn).

Ronaldo leaves Atletico players trailing in 2011 (Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

“We’re like a big blockbuster movie,” Madrid director Jose Angel Sanchez told The Times in 2004. “Like Men in Black — or, in our case, Men in White. We’ve a great story to tell, a great production, and the biggest box-office stars.”

During the 2000s, Atletico spent some time in Spain’s second division and built up debts of €500m. Yet, the derbi offered a chance — at least twice a year when in the same division — to get one over the richer neighbours.

“The first thing all Atleticos did was look at the calendar to see when we played them,” club legend Adelardo Rodriguez told AS. “There were people who preferred to beat Madrid, even over winning a trophy.”

Even after Simeone’s team ended their long run without a derbi win in 2013, many people associated with Atletico continued to see their underdog status as a strength.

“These are difficult times, and people identify with us, as we are fighting against many adversities,” midfielder Tiago Mendes told AS in 2014. “We’re like Robin Hood.”

Progress during Simeone’s 14 years as Atletico coach has seen the club move quite far from their hard-up history, helped by a 2017 move to the shiny new Estadio Metropolitano. Spain’s current King Felipe VI and city mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida are both Atletico fans. Yet, the financial division remains stark — the club’s income in the 2023-24 season was €459m, less than half that of their rivals.

King Felipe VI watches Perez congratulate Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane on winning the 2016 Champions League against Atletico (Photo: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, the Madrid derbi has become a regular fixture on the continental stage — with both teams regularly making it to the closing stages of the Champions League.

In 2014, Simeone’s Atletico were seconds from winning what would have been a first ever Champions League or European Cup, only for Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos to head a 93rd-minute equaliser. Madrid then overran their demoralised opponents to win 4-1 in extra time.

Two years later in Milan, Atletico faced Madrid again and came even closer to the trophy. The game finished 1-1 after extra time, and the decisive penalty in the shootout was missed by Atletico right-back Juanfran, who was on Madrid’s books as a teenager.

Madrid also edged derbi clashes in the Champions League knockout rounds in 2014-15 and 2016-17 while last season’s last-16 tie ended in the cruellest of circumstances for Atletico. Julian Alvarez’s converted penalty in the shootout was disallowed after the Argentina forward was ruled to have touched the ball twice as he slipped. Real Madrid went on to win when Antonio Rudiger slotted home, with the German centre-back and his team-mates celebrating in front of Atletico fans.

Rudiger and Mbappe were both fined by UEFA and given suspended one-match bans for “violating the basic rules of decent conduct” following those celebrations, while Dani Ceballos was fined for the same reason. Rudiger appeared to make a throat-slitting gesture in the direction of the home crowd on the pitch and footage showed Mbappe and Ceballos making lewd gestures towards fans as they headed to the dressing rooms.

The controversy over Alvarez’s penalty went on — Atletico filed a complaint to UEFA and in June the game’s law makers, IFAB, ruled that in the same situation, a ‘double-touch’ spot-kick like the Argentine’s would be retaken rather than ruled out. By then, it was too late for Simeone and his side.

Alvarez’s ‘double-touch’ penalty (Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

All this has not stopped players from representing both clubs over the years. Former Real Madrid president Bernabeu himself played for Atletico in 1920-21 during a row with the Real Madrid hierarchy of the time.

Others to have worn the two shirts include Mexico’s Hugo Sanchez, Argentina’s Santiago Solari and Spain’s Alvaro Morata.

Current Atletico player Marcos Llorente came through the Bernabeu youth system, won the 2017-18 Champions League with Madrid (having played 21 minutes in the group stage), then moved across the city and won the 2020-21 La Liga title with Atletico. Llorente’s father Paco played for Atletico and Real in the 1980s and his grandfather Ramon Grosso represented both in the 1960s. Llorente’s great-uncle was Paco Gento — who won six European Cups for Madrid in the 1950s and 1960s.

Tensions between the two clubs have increased in recent years. Atletico becoming a serious rival in domestic and European competition is one reason. Another is Madrid regularly tempting youngsters from Atletico’s academy into their setup. The intense focus in a city where football is the No 1 sport by far makes the rivalry hard to escape.

Courtois discusses objects being thrown at him by Atletico supporters (Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Not every crossing of the divide is without rancour. Real Madrid goalkeeper Courtois was bought by Chelsea in 2011 but loaned to Atletico until 2014, then spent four years at Stamford Bridge before joining the Bernabeu club. Atletico fans have interpreted various comments from Courtois since then as showing a lack of respect to his former team. Anger boiled over when objects thrown at the keeper from the Metropolitano stands during last October’s derbi saw the game suspended for 20 minutes.

Even more serious has been the abuse suffered by star Madrid forward Vinicius Junior. Racist chants were directed towards the Brazil international before, during and after a September 2022 game at the Metropolitano. The following January, a mannequin dressed to resemble Vinicius Jr was hung from a bridge near Real’s Valdebebas training ground. Atletico club figures have condemned the racist abuse, but not always in the strongest possible terms.

The weeks before their most recent Champions League meeting saw the issue of fairness in refereeing become a public debate between then-Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti and his Atletico counterpart Simeone, after claims from the Bernabeu that Spanish officials are biased against their side.

Vinicius Jr has endured horrendous abuse from some Atletico supporters (Photo: M Gracia Jimenez/Soccrates/Getty Images)

Simeone scoffed at this idea (as many Atletico supporters do) — saying there were “100 years of decisions” going Madrid’s way at the Bernabeu. Ancelotti responded by saying “maybe there are some thorns which still hurt” — an apparent reference to Atletico’s Champions League final defeats in 2014 and 2016. The Alvarez penalty shootout incident is unlikely to have helped matters.

There were big changes at both clubs this summer. Xabi Alonso replaced Ancelotti as Real Madrid manager and has led his team to six wins from six in La Liga following a €180m transfer spend. Atletico also invested heavily in their squad, but a €200m overhaul has not translated into the kind of start they wanted, with dropped points against Espanyol, newly promoted Elche, Alaves and Real Mallorca.

One thing remains, however — the ferocity of El Derbi Madrileno. Whatever happens in this latest chapter in one of Spanish football’s oldest rivalries, the debates and tensions are sure to keep simmering on.

(Illustration: Dan Goldfarb/The Athletic; Photos: Ian MacNicol, Giuseppe CACACE/AFP, Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto, Jasper Juinen, Angel Martinez, Denis Doyle, Harry Langer/DeFodi Images/Getty Images)