Atletico Madrid Look to Recapture Spirit of Calderon Against Buoyant Barcelona
Barcelona have made an incredible start to the season in La Liga, sitting top with a 100 per cent record and quickly making new boss Ernesto Valverde look the part.
On Saturday, though, they face their toughest challenge yet: a visit to Atletico Madrid, the usual modern challenger to Barca and Real Madrid's dominance of Spain's top flight, and their stadium, the Wanda Metropolitano.
Not only will it be Barca's biggest league game of the season so far, but it will also be a first opportunity for the Catalan outfit to prevent Atleti finding dominance and home comforts in their new ground. Atletico have won both their league games there but lost 2-1 to Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League in their most recent home fixture.
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Will Barca struggle in the Metropolitano? Or are Atletico still working out how to make it a cauldron that opponents fear to come to? We spoke to journalists and fans to find out what to expect, both on Saturday night and going forward this season.
Historical Edge
Recently, Barcelona haven't done badly when visiting Atletico. Three wins on the spin and six wins out of the past seven meeting meant Los Rojiblancos have been the frustrated ones after this fixture more often than not of late. It was Atletico who emerged triumphant on home soil in Europe, though, winning their Champions League home ties in both 2014 and 2016.
Go back further, and Atletico have long been capable of seeing off their esteemed visitors; worldfootball.net tallies 37 wins from 80 home league matches for the Madrid side compared to just 24 victories for Barca.
In all competitions, 94 games on Atletico's turf have yielded 43 wins for the home team, 21 draws and just 30 Barca successes, with Atleti also outscoring Barca 162-138.
In recent years, Atletico's best run came between 2003 and 2010, when they lost just once in eight meetings on home turf, winning five of the encounters.
Barcelona turned that around before the Vicente Calderon's time as Atletico's home ground came to an end, but it's safe to say it still wasn't a favourite venue of theirs.
The Wanda Metropolitano
So what about the new stadium? How are Atleti getting on under the new lights?
Tania Martin, a Madrid-based journalist, told B/R that only a few games in it was difficult to draw conclusions.
"Both the team and the fans are still adapting," she acknowledged. "When the fans are onside, the atmosphere is impressive—it can make any football fan's hairs stand on end—but I'm sure the best is still to come. It's very different from the Calderon but only because the people haven't yet adapted."
Spanish football journalist Robbie Dunne agrees and cites the newness as a factor to be considered.
"I think Atletico fans are still finding their feet in terms of the new stadium," Dunne said. "The acoustics are impressive but that might be based on the design of the stadium, as the architects wanted to create a 'pressure cooker' environment that kept the noise inside the ground.
"There was a nice, safe feeling of routine at the old Calderon, with people knowing instinctively what to expect. It's still all so new that it still has a very touristy vibe.
"It's like your friends inviting you to their brand-new house for dinner, neither of you is entirely comfortable, and while it is technically Atletico's house, it's not yet their home. The fans seem to be enjoying it so far. What they gave up in terms of atmosphere, they got back in luxury. And while some might be happy with that, others obviously aren't."
That lack of happiness is perhaps echoed most of all by local fan account Atleti Sphera, with Juanan Mota from the site talking to B/R about the changes.
"Moving to the Metropolitano has changed the routine drastically," Mota said. "No longer do fans visit bars on the way, incorporating a walk and talk for hours before the match into their day—the access is poor, there's little on offer outside the stadium and we've lost the atmosphere of the exterior of the Calderon.
"Inside, people have lost those they used to sit near or sing with. We have to have patience. It will take time to recover what was lost from the Calderon, but it's a question of time."
It's perhaps a problem encountered by many teams around Europe over the past 10 years: the soul, the familiarity and the comfort of home is lost. A newer, better stadium might be waiting, but it has to be remoulded to the supporters' liking, far more than just steel beams and bright lights can manage.
Welcome Party
Two league games, two wins, though.
Above all else, winning will help the psychological battle for players and fans alike, and Atletico haven't yet conceded a goal in La Liga on home soil.
Fan social account Into the Calderon believes time will see Atletico's dominance at home become more apparent and that teams will quickly come to fear travelling there—including Barcelona.
"As Atletico and the supporters become more comfortable with the stadium, it will be difficult for opposing teams to play in," it's suggested. "The pitch is still soft in spots, and the awkwardness of seeing Atleti in a stadium as big and opulent as this one hasn't quite worn off.
"But it's still gotten loud on several occasions during the three games Atleti have played there, and with 15,000 extra seats compared to the Calderon, a huge top-four clash like this one will get quite noisy.
"It's not hard to imagine the Wanda becoming an intimidating place to play in relatively short order."
It's a feeling echoed by fan and writer Sierra Godfrey, who suggests there's a certain turning point that can be looked forward to in January.
"The Wanda is near the airport, so the feeling of the neighbourhood changes, where the Calderon was in a working-class area of Madrid," Godfrey said. "That's going to be a challenge. I do worry that Atletico will suffer from 'new stadium slump.' That takes a toll mentally.
"Although their position in the table isn't terrible, Atleti's performance so far this season has been lacklustre. I do think we're going to see a bump in morale when Diego Costa finally makes his appearance in January, and I also think he'll be the perfect new person to usher in the Wanda era."
Bring on Barca
So the future should be in safe hands, but what about right now, in a critical game against the best side in the table?
Martin is unequivocal in her belief that big teams will continue to struggle—just as they already have.
"Neither Malaga nor a direct rival like Sevilla were capable of scoring this season," Martin said. "I don't doubt that Barcelona will come to the Metropolitano with respect, knowing Atletico is a serious rival. At the Calderon, they have to give everything to win; now in the new ground, it won't be any less.
"The most important [thing] remains the fans, if they back their own—and especially in a game as important as this one."
Similarly, Mota suggests that the players have to rediscover an ability to emerge victorious in the biggest games, particularly after the recent dip in results against Barcelona mentioned earlier.
"I don't need rival teams to fear Atletico but to have a lot of respect," Mota said. "And the best way to get that respect is to win big games like Saturday's.
"The old way of comeback victories has disappeared, and although Luis Enrique's Barca found it tough, they won all except one recently in the Calderon. Atletico have to close the gap to Barca, and this time they must do it by any means necessary—exploiting possible tiredness of Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi—to give the first big victory of the Wanda Metropolitano."
Plenty of big games lie ahead for Atletico.
They are frequently in the mix for silverware, always a favourite in La Liga for a Champions League spot, and their top players are in demand summer after summer.
But the first big game can set the tone—can set the expectation, even—for a campaign and all the most important clashes ahead.
They welcome Barcelona to the Metropolitano amid a backdrop of potential political sideshow and knowing their rivals have yet to drop a point this season.
But the biggest factor remains, for Diego Simeone and his players, fans and coaches alike, that their home ground is their fortress. Three points in this fixture, and it will begin to feel like that, even without the air of impregnable history that existed in the domain of the Vicente Calderon.
All quotes obtained firsthand.
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