Madrid is the football capital of the universe again and to say that the ‘Madrilenos’ are pleased about that would be an understatement.
The talk over the beer and tortilla on Friday morning was not just of the two finals to be played this month, but of the European Super cup final to be played next August in Tallinn, Estonia – another Madrid derby if things go to form in the coming weeks.
It maybe it shouldn’t escape the attention of the kingmakers at Arsenal that the incredible record of the city’s two big clubs over the last five years has largely been achieved with both clubs going for ‘one of our own’ coaches.
Real Madrid’s players celebrate their progress to yet another Champions League final
Atletico Madrid has reason to celebrate on Thursday night as they reached the Europa final
Real Madrid fans celebrate their semi-final triumph over Bayern Munich on Tuesday night
On Thursday it was the turn of the Atletico fans to celebrate as they overcame Arsenal 1-0
Someone like Patrick Vieira would be a huge gamble at the Emirates but then so was Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid back in 2015 and, albeit to a slightly lesser extent, Diego Simeone seven years ago. He had never coached in Europe and had not always been a success in South America.
Simeone has now made it to four finals in seven years and Zidane is on the verge of making history. Bob Paisley and Carlo Ancelotti both won three European Cups but they did not do it in consecutive seasons.
Real Madrid have more money than most of their rivals in the Champions League and Atletico are a big fish in the small pond of the Europa League but it isn’t just about the finances in Madrid.
The city breathes football and to tap into the passion both clubs have put legendary figures from their past in charge.
To see the Metropolitano Stadium turn as one on Thursday night and salute Simeone, decked out in his lucky black suit and waving a red Atletico flag above his head, was to witness once more the bond between the people and the their spiritual leader.
The breath-taking sight of a packed Santiago Bernabeu ahead of the second leg with Bayern
The Real Madrid fans hold up a giant banner celebrating former glories before the match
Atletico Madrid have gradually made the Wanda Metropolitano their home this season
The home fans put on a colourful pre-match display as Atletico made it to the final in Lyon
There is not quite the same homage paid to Zidane at the Bernabeu where players have always been more important than coaches but Zidane has an approval rating that dwarfs all his predecessors.
Jose Mourinho won a league and Ancelotti a Champions League but only every succeeded in getting half the people onside. Everyone backs Zidane.
This is the first time in 24 years two teams from the same city will contest the two European prizes. Madrid, the city, will have been represented by a team in a European final seven times since 2014.
It’s always been a fraternity as much as a rivalry and one based on big brother, little brother – at least that is the way Real Madrid fans would see it.
This season, in European competition at least, the hierarchy has been restored by the bigger club playing the bigger European competition.
Atletico remains the noisy neighbour, the upstart. For so many years they were stuck out on the city’s southern border. Their Vicente Calderon stadium easily the noisiest in Spain.
Zinedine Zidane’s success in two years as manager means all the Real fans are behind him
Atletico manager Diego Simeone, serving a touchline ban, watched on from a director’s box
The fans no longer stroll down Paseo de Melancolicos (Melancholics Way) towards the stadium set on the banks of the shallow Manzanares River. And there is some authenticity lost by the move to the out of town new-build by the airport.
But Thursday night’s win was hailed by Simeone as the first chapter of a new story – the story of the Metropolitano. The noise was not quite to Calderon levels but they still roared their team over the line.
Back, slap-bang in the centre of the city the Santiago Bernabeu still rises up from the city’s most emblematic avenue, the Castellana, not far from its wealthiest neighbourhood, Salamanca.
Atletico’s move has not changed the dynamic of the two clubs – one on the fringes of the city and one at the heart. Even though supporters of Simeone’s team will argue that it’s the club on the fringes that actually has the bigger heart.
Thousands of Real Madrid fans greet the team bus as it makes its way to the Bernabeu
Scarves, flags and other souvenirs on sale outside the Bernabeu on Tuesday evening
The curved stands of the Wanda Metropolitano, Atletico’s home since the start of the season
Those arguments about authenticity will not stop both sets of supporters wanting the other to win their particular final. That perhaps would not happen in too many cities. But then neither would the unprecedented recent success of both clubs.
And if they both win their finals, then they can have that late summer Madrid derby in Estonia with yet another trophy guaranteed to be on it’s way to Madrid. That’s the Spanish capital, and, for the time being, football’s capital city too.