Diego Simeone on verge of consigning Atletico Madrid’s ‘loser’ tag to history

Ever since Atletico Madrid were relegated from the first division in 2000 they have released a short video at the start of every season – the slogan has often been: ‘Papa, why do we support Atletico?’ A disillusioned child looking up at his father and basically saying: ‘The other lot seem to always win, why do we stick with the losers’.

In the last four seasons Diego Simone has done his best to ruin this ad campaign forever. This week in Madrid there have been just as many red and white striped shirts as white ones in the city. And just as many Atletico fans booking tickets to Milan.

In the last three seasons Atletico have won one league and reached two Champions League finals – small boys and girls no longer need to ask their parents why it is they stroll down Melancholics Way to the Vicente Calderon on a matchday and not up the swanky Paseo de la Castellana to the Santiago Bernabeu.

"We could have sold another 10,000 tickets," admitted president Enrique Cerezo. Atletico’s supporters snapped up their 19,500 allocation and this week another short video made by a fan was being passed around social media showing supporters looking to the heavens and urging the team to win it for those no longer here – those who like Luis Aragones have since died but were in Brussels in 1974 when Atletico were 1-0 up against Bayern Munich before conceding late in extra-time and then losing the replay 4-0. They still sing Aragones’ name at the Calderon – he was the big booted centre-forward who got the opening goal only to see it cancelled out at the last minute.

Even though they have in the main lost the nearly-men tag it came back to them two years ago in Lisbon where they were again winning deep into injury time before a late leveler. "When the board went up for five minutes of injury time I was convinced we had done it,’ Enrique told me in an interview earlier this season. ‘You would never believe they would score in the last minute."

Cerezo went into the offices of the unashamedly Real Madrid-leaning Marca this week and was pictured being ambushed by friendly columnist and mad Madrid fan Tomas Roncero grinning inanely and pointing at his specially-made T-shirt he was wearing with ‘93’ written large on the front. It was of course minute 93 when Sergio Ramos equalized two years ago.

Atletico fans are proud that not only have they reached another final but again they have done it the hard way. They beat Barcelona and Chelsea to get to the final in 2014; this time it was Barca and Bayern.

They are proud that Manchester United want their young midfielder Saul Niguez who has just signed a new contract until 2021 with a 70m euros buy-out clause. They are proud that the whole of Europe wants Antoine Griezmann and that the whole world seems to want Diego Simone.

"How much longer can the club keep him? ‘There is no expiry date," says Cerezo. "He signed for another four years [last summer] and if both sides are happy – and I think they are – then there is no need to think that the situation is going to change."

During the two Madrid clubs open media days this week both sides were very much behaving according to type. Atletico’s event seemed like a country fair with a giant marquee and a DJ playing lounge jazz. Real Madrid’s club employees are every bit – if not more – friendly and welcoming. But the training ground itself is an altogether colder place with more security checks than a border crossing.

Real Madrid have their fair share of working-class fans — "they are not all millionaires," admits Manuel Brinas — but they will always be the team of the elite; Real means ‘royal’ in Spanish, after all. Brinas is the scout, now in his 80s, who spotted Fernando Torres and who Torres ran to this season when he scored his 100th goal for the club.

Things are changing. Atletico has a Chinese partner that owns 20 per cent of the club. And in two seasons' time Atletico will move to a new stadium. "People will be more comfortable," Cerezo says of the planned 67,000-seater arena with accompanying restaurants, shops and a club museum.

Many fans feel that it’s not an Atletico supporter’s lot to get comfortable. That’s why as the clock ticks down to Champions League final there is an extra reason why they want so dearly to win the European Cup this season.

They want to bring it back to the Calderon – their home for the last 60 years. They want their richer rivals to finish the season with nothing as they celebrate at the city’s Neptune fountain. They want to be able to turn around to their children and give them the best explanation ever for why they support Atletico.