Can Atletico Madrid finally rejoin Spain’s elite?
Yesterday I wrote of the poor starts enjoyed/endured by Real Zaragoza and F.C. Barcelona respectively. Another team well acquainted with under-achievement is Atlético Madrid (formerly Athletic Club de Madrid, before a 1941 decree issued by the Franco government put paid to the foreignness implied in the name “Athletic†). When Javier Aguirre was appointed head coach at the Vicente Calderón, the news was greeted with enthusiasm in nearly all quarters. Here was a man with experience in La Liga, who brought with him a proven track record without the massive profile of a Ranieri or a Trappatoni, and who had moulded out of a relegation-fighting Osasuna squad a team which had qualified for the Champions League. Aguirre was a known disciplinarian, and would surely get the most out of the always-expensively-assembled rojiblanco squad. These optimistic prognostications appeared to be justified after Aguirre’s Atlético made an excellent start to the season, finding themselves in the Cham
