La Liga: Icons of the Madrid Derby
Both Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid have been fixtures in the very top echelon of world football for years, and as a consequence, some of the world’s finest players have played in this iconic cross-city derby. Here are some players who have really stood out over the past few decades.
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Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, 2009-2018)
Real Madrid’s all-time top scorer, the talismanic Portuguese captain always turned up against Atletico Madrid. He has haunted the Atletico defence time and again as he has notched up a massive 25 goals in 35 games in his career. He has grabbed four hattricks against Los Colchoneros and also scored in Real Madrid’s Champions League final victories against the cross-city rivals. He also came back to toy with the red and whites after his move to Juventus as he netter thrice in a second-leg Champions League encounter to send Diego Simeon’s men crashing out of the UCL in dramatic fashion after Atletico had seized a two-goal advantage in the first leg.
Raúl (Real Madrid, 1994-2010)
He may have been in Atlético de Madrid’s academy as a kid, but Raúl crossed the capital city divide as a teenager and, after finishing his footballing education at Real Madrid, haunted his former team in the derby for over a decade and a half. Until Cristiano Ronaldo came along and pushed up the goal record in the fixture to 22 times, Raúl was the derby’s joint-top scorer along with the legendary Ferenc Puskás with 11 goals. One derby from the 1996/97 season was even named after him. It was labelled ‘La Noche de Raúl’ – ‘The Night of Raúl’, in English – after he scored twice and provided two assists in a 4-1 victory.
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, 2009-present)
The French number ‘9’ is one of Real Madrid’s all-time greats: the foreign player with most appearances and the second-top goalscorer in the club’s history. He left his mark on the history of the Madrid Derby with an iconic play in the very last derby played at the Vicente Calderón, in the 2017 Champions League semi-finals (2-1). Real Madrid booked their place in the final after Benzema dribbled past three world-class defenders in Godín, Savić and Giménez in just an inch of space on the byline. An unforgettable moment in the very last European game at Atleti’s iconic long-time home.
Paulo Futre (Atlético de Madrid, 1987-1993 and 1997-1998)
Signed in 1987, Ballon d’Or runner-up Futre became an Atlético legend. The derby seemed to bring out the best in him. Not only did he score in his first Madrid Derby in a 4-0 win at the Santiago Bernabéu, he also scored in the 2-0 victory over Los Blancos in the 1992 Copa del Rey final while wearing the captain’s armband.
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