17 February 1957 - Real Madrid Gets Into The Home Security Business

On 17 February 1957, Real Madrid beat Deportivo de La Coruña to launch a record 121-game home unbeaten streak in the league.

It was Madrid's first home league match since a loss to Atlético Madrid two weeks earlier and they responded by beating Deportivo 1-0 with a goal from forward Enrico Mateos in the 25th minute. They then won their last three remaining home games and claimed the league title.

Amazingly, they continued to defend their home ground in the league for another eight years, going unbeaten over a span of 121 matches that carried them to another six La Liga titles. Of those 121 matches, only eight were draws; they won the remaining 113.

The streak's last game came on 21 February 1965 with a 6-1 win over Real Betis and it ended on 7 March with a loss to Atlético, 0-1.

30 October 1985 - Barça Won The Battle, But Atlético Won The War

On 30 October 1985, Atlético Madrid won the Supercopa de España despite losing to Barcelona.

The competition, played over two legs, matched Atlético, the previous season's Copa del Rey winners, against Barcelona, the reigning league champions. They met in Madrid for the first leg on 9 October, with Barcelona taking a 1-0 lead thanks to a 31st-minute goal from Paco Clos. But Atlético roared back with strikes from Mario Cabrera (40'), Miguel Ángel Ruiz (pictured) (52'), and Jorge da Silva (76') to end the day as 3-1 winners (video below).

Barcelona hosted the second leg at Camp Nou three weeks later and again took a 1-0 lead, this time with a goal from center back José Alexanko in the 32nd minute. But Atlético were content to defend their aggregate lead and Barça were unable to find another. So despite winning the second leg 1-0, they lost 3-2 on aggregate.

Since then, the two teams have met four more times in the Supercopa (1991, 1992, 1996, and 2013), with Barcelona winning all four. 

17 May 1974 - Bayern Delivers A Beating

On 17 May 1974, Bayern Munich won the first of three consecutive European Cups, beating Atlético Madrid 4-0 in a replay.

It was the first time in the final for both teams, who played to a 1-1 draw two days earlier, with both goals coming late in extra time to force a replay. They returned to the Heysel Stadium in Brussels on 17 May and did not have to wait long for Bayern to stake their claim to the trophy.

In the 28th minute, forward Uli Hoeness (pictured) outraced the Atlético defenders to a long ball played out of Bayern's own half, then pushed the ball between the keeper's legs to open the scoring. Exactly thirty minutes later, his striking partner Gerd Müller, the Bundesliga's top scorer for six of the previous eight seasons, powered a shot into the top of the net from a tight angle.

Müller extended the lead to 3-0 with another goal in the 71st minute. Not to be outdone, Hoeness got a second of his own in the 83rd minute to push the final margin to 4-0.

It was the completion of a double for Bayern, who had just won their third straight Bundesliga title. They went on to win the tournament again in 1975, 1976, 2001, and 2013.

26 April 1903 - Madrid Gets Athletic

On 26 April 1903, a group of students founded Atlético Madrid. They have since become one of Spain's most successful clubs, winning the league and the Copa del Rey ten times each.

The initial group of students consisted of Basques who were Athletic Bilbao and who considered the new club to be a Bilbao youth affiliate. They called the new club Athletic Club de Madrid and even adopted Bilbao's blue and white stripes, though they changed to their current red and white stripes by 1911 (reportedly attributable to their purchase that year of shirts from Southampton FC).

They joined La Liga in 1928, but were relegated to the Segunda División two years later. A few ups and downs later, and a merger with Zaragoza's Aviación Nacional, they returned to the top flight for the 1939-40 season and proceeded to win two straight titles. They won two more in 1950 and 1951 under manager Helenio Herrera. They have since added five more, including their most recent one in 2014. They won their tenth Copa del Rey in 2013.

Atlético have also enjoyed success in Europe. They won the Cup Winners' Cup over Fiorentina in 1962 and reached the European Cup final in 1974 (where they lost to Bayern Munich). They were the Champions League runners up in 2014 and 2016, losing both times to Real Madrid. In 2010, they won the Europa League final over Fulham, then claimed the UEFA Supercup by beating Inter 2-0.

14 February 2010 - No Love For The League Leaders

On 14 February 2010, Atlético Madrid did something no other La Liga team was able to do that season--beat Barcelona.

It was a result few could have anticipated. Barcelona were at the top of the league table, unbeaten on the season, while Atlético were in thirteenth, just six points above the relegation zone. When the two teams met earlier in the season at Camp Nou, Barça cruised to a 5-2 victory.

But after only eight minutes in Madrid, striker Diego Forlán (pictured) put the hosts up 1-0 after picking up a pass from José Antonio Reyes and putting it past Barcelona keeper Victor Valdes. Fifteen minutes later, Atlético doubled their lead with a free kick from Simão, taken at the edge of the box.

Despite going down 2-0, Barcelona quickly regained their composure, getting a 27th-minute goal from Zlatan Ibrahimović. Later, the Swede had two opportunties for an equalizer, but was twice denied by keeper David de Gea. The young Spanish keeper also stopped a shot by Lionel Messi near the break.

Barcelona's momentum had been rising at the end of the first half, but they could not maintain it in the second and the match ended 2-1. As consolation, it was their only loss of the season which ended with the league title. Atlético, meanwhile, improved their own fortunes and finished the season in eighth place.

4 July 2007 - Liverpool Breaks The Bank

On 4 July 2007, striker Fernando Torres completed a move from Atlético Madrid to Liverpool, becoming the Anfield club's most expensive signing at the time.

Up to that point, Torres had spent his entire career with Atlético. From 2001 to 2007, he made a total of 249 appearances in all competitions, scoring 91 times. His most prolific season there was in 2003-04, when he scored 21 goals, 19 in the league. During that season, he also made his first appearance for Spain's senior side.

His scoring prowess drew the attention of Liverpool manager Rafa Benítez, who completed the signing in July 2007. Neither club announced the fee, but it is believed to have been close to £20 million, setting a new club transfer record. Torres proceeded to enjoy the best season of his career, scoring a total of 33 goals in all competitions as Liverpool finished fourth in the Premier League and reached the semifinals of the Champions League.

After three and a half seasons at Anfield, Torres moved to Chelsea for an undisclosed fee reported to have been approximately £50 million. The move opened the door for Liverpool to break their transfer fee record on successive days with the signing of strikers Luis Suárez (£22.8 million on 30 January 2011) and Andy Carroll (£35 million on 31 January 2011).

15 May 1963 - Hot Spurs

On 15 May 1963, Tottenham Hotspur became the first British club to win a European trophy by beating defending champions Atlético Madrid 5-1 in the European Cup Winners' Cup Final. And Spurs were truly a British club - all eleven starters and manager Bill Nicholson were from the Home Countries of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

As its name implies, the Cup Winner's Cup, which was first played in the 1960-61 season, pitted the various winners of the European domestic cup competitions against each other. Spurs reached the Final with wins over previous finalists Glasgow Rangers in the first round, followed by wins over Czech side Slovan Bratislava and Yugoslavia's OFK Beograd. Atlético's road to the Final was paved with victories over Maltese side Hibernians, Bulgaria's Botev Plovdiv, and Germany's Nuremberg.

Played at Rotterdam's Feyenoord Stadium before a crowd of 49,000, the Final was close for about a half. Tottenham forward Jimmy Greaves scored first in the 16th minute, then his fellow forward John White extended the lead to 2-0 in the 35th minute. The Spanish side pulled one back shortly after the break, when forward Enrique Collar converted a 47th-minute penalty kick, but it was all Spurs after that.

Forward Terry Dyson restored the two-goal advantage with a 67th-minute strike, then both he and Graves completed braces (Greaves 80', Dyson 85') to finish the match 5-1.

Before UEFA discontinued the Cup Winners' Cup after the 1998-99 season, a handful of British clubs followed after Spurs, including West Ham (1965), Manchester City (1970), Chelsea (1971 and 1998), Rangers (1972), Aberdeen (1983), Everton (1985), Manchester United (1991), and Arsenal (1994).

9 November 1997 - Herrera's Last Departure

On 9 November 1997, 87-year old Helenio Herrera died in Venice from heart failure. Nicknamed "Il Mago," Herrera is remembered chiefly as one of the chief architects of catenaccio, the defensive strategy that helped Inter claim two European Cup trophies.

Herrera was born in Argentina to Spanish parents, but moved to Morocco at the age of four where he became a French citizen. He started his playing career in Morocco, but moved to Paris in 1932 and played for a number of French teams. In 1944, he joined Puteaux for one season as a player-manager, then retired from playing in 1945.

After undistinguished stints at Stade Français (1945-48) and Real Valladolid (1948-49), Herrera took over at Atlético Madrid where he was an instant success, winning the league in his first two seasons. After his third season, however, he left and started a journey that took him to five different Spanish and Portugeuse clubs over the next seven years, including a successful period with Barcelona (1958-60).

In 1960, he moved to Inter, where he developed the style that made him famous. He used a 5-3-2 formation called the verrou (Italian for "door bolt"), which used four fixed defenders, plus a sweeper who patrolled the area between the defenders and the keeper and who was responsible for stopping anyone who made it through the defense. The formation also used the defensive back line to launch rapid counter-attacks.

Although the formation did not originate with Herrera, it became popular after the 1964 European Cup Final in which Inter defeated Real Madrid, 3-1. It was widely adopted in Italy and became known as catenaccio.

Herrera left Inter in 1968, having won three league titles (1963, 1965, 1966), another European Cup (1965), and two Intercontinental Cups (1964, 1965). He retired in 1981.

16 September 1992 - The Original Black Pearl

On 16 September 1992, Moroccan-born French international midfielder Larbi Benbarek died in his home in Casablanca at the age of 75.

Nicknamed "the Black Pearl," Benbarek has been hailed as the first African football star. He was born in Casablanca in 1914 and played professionally for his hometown clubs Idéal Club Casablanca (1930-34) and US Marocaine (1934-38) before moving to France to sign with Marseille at the age of 20. He stayed with Marseille until 1939, scoring 10 goals in 30 league appearances, before the onset of World War II forced him back to Morocco. Before he left, he had made four appearances for the French national team.

He stayed with Marocaine for the duration of the war, but moved back to Europe when the war ended to play for Stade de Français (1945-48), Atlético Madrid (1948-53) and again with Marseille (1953-55). He also resumed his career with the French national team, making a total of 17 appearances between 1938 and 1954.

In 1955, he again returned to Morocco, where he played for Sidi-Ben-Abbes for a season. He retired from playing in 1956. He briefly managed to Moroccan national side in 1957, and again in 1960, before retiring from football completely.

Soccer legend Pelé reportedly once said about Ben Barek: "If I am the king of soccer, then Larbi Benbarek is the god of it." In 1998, FIFA posthumously awarded him its highest honor, the FIFA Order of Merit.

7 March 1965 - The Closing Bookend On A Very Long Shelf

On 7 March 1965, Atlético Madrid walked off the pitch with a rare 0-1 victory over Real Madrid at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu. Before that match, Atlético's Madrid rivals had rattled off a record-shattering string of 121 unbeaten league matches at home - a streak that stretched back over eight years to the 1956-57 season. Coincidentally, Real's run started after a 0-2 home loss to Atlético on 3 February 1957, making Atlético the bookend for both ends of the streak.

The first match of the 121 was a 1-0 victory over Deportivo on 17 February 1957, followed by wins over Barcelona (1-0), Valencia (2-0), and Celta (4-1) to close with season with Real at the top of the table for their fifth league title. They went unbeaten at home for the next seven full seasons, again winning the league in five of them, with their biggest margins of victory coming against Las Palmas (10-1 on 4 January 1959) and Elche (11-2 on 7 February 1960).

Real's dominance was so complete that, of the 121 unbeaten matches, all but nine were wins, with those nine draws coming against eight different teams. Sevilla was the only one to avoid defeat twice, with a 1-1 draws on 2 October 1960 and 12 April 1964.

Atlético's win was not enough to keep Real from winning the title for a fifth consecutive time - their 11th league title overall - but they did not finish the season empty-handed, either, beating Real Zaragoza 1-0 to claim the 1965 Copa del Rey.

29 January 1950 - And People Say Draws Aren't Exciting

On 29 January 1950, a flurry of late goals led Atlético Madrid and Athletic Bilbao to the highest-scoring draw in La Liga history.

At the time, both teams were challenging for the title. Hosts Madrid, playing in their first season under manager Helenio Herrera (pictured), were four points behind leaders Real Madrid, while Bilbao were five points back. The visitors struck first, with Agustín "Piru" Gaínza scoring in the first minute. But Madrid quickly rallied, taking a 2-1 lead into the break after goals from Henry Carlsson (3') and Larbi Benbarek (16').

In the second half, Bilbao surged back ahead with scores from Gaínza (47'), Rafael Iriondo (52', 57'), and Telmo Zarra (65') to take a 2-5 lead, then the teams swapped strikes from Madrid's Diego Lozano (68') and Iriondo (69') to push the margin to 3-6.

The score remained there until the 84th minute, when Madrid received a lifeline in the form of a penalty, duly converted by Benbarek. One minute later, José Lloret cut the margin to 5-6, then Madrid's Alfonso Aparicio scored with one minute left to set the final scoreline at 6-6.

The draw proved crucial, as Madrid went on to win the league by a single point over Deportivo de la Coruña. It was the first major honor for Herrera, who won La Liga with Madrid again the following season, then went on to claim multiple trophies with Barcelona, Inter, and Roma. But Bilbao didn't finish the year empty-handed, as they won the Copa del Rey over Real Valladolid.

17 July 1975 - I Guess We Know Where Their Priorities Were

On 17 July 1975, UEFA adopted the use of penalty shootouts instead of replays to decide the finals of the European Cup, Cup Winners' Cup, and European Championship.

FIFA had approved the use of shootouts five years earlier, but UEFA stubbornly held on to the tradition of replays for its major competitions. In their defense, the need of either procedure rarely arose, with only four replays through 1971--three in the Cup Winners' Cup (1962, 1964, 1971) and one in the European Championship (1968).

Then in 1974, Bayern Munich and Atlético Madrid went to a replay in the European Cup Final (which the Germans proceeded to win 4-0). It turned out to be the last replay in a major UEFA competition, as they decided the following year to go with shootouts instead.

It didn't take long for the new procedure to make an appearance, as Czechoslovakia used it to beat West Germany at Euro 1976. Although it remains the only shootout in a European Championship, there have been ten in the European Cup/Champions League and six in the Cup Winners' Cup/UEFA Cup/Europa League.

12 July 1973 - He Must Have Lived In An RV

On 12 July 1973, Italian striker Christian Vieri--who set a world transfer fee record in 1999--was born in Bologna.

In a career that spanned from 1991 to 2009, Vieri played for thirteen different teams in Italy, Spain, and France (technically, Monaco, but in the French league), generally staying no more than a single season at each one. The lone exceptions were Torino, where he made nine appearances in his first two seasons as a professional, and Inter, where he remained for an unprecedented six seasons, making 190 appearances and scoring 123 goals.

After winning the La Liga scoring title with Atlético Madrid in 1997-98, he moved to Lazio and won the 1999 Cup Winners' Cup. That attracted the interest of Inter president Massimo Moratti, who paid a then-record £32MM for his services. (Coincidentally, it was Lazio who broke the record in 2000 by giving £35.5 MM to Parma for Hernán Crespo).

He left Inter for Milan in 2005, but suffered a knee injury shortly afterward and made only 14 appearances before moving to Monaco in early 2006. He finished his career with Atalanta in 2009, having played there before in two different spells.

10 April 1975 - A Cup Out Of Time

On 10 April 1975, Atlético Madrid won the Intercontinental Cup, beating Independiente over two legs.

It was the third straight appearance (and fifth overall) for Independiente, whose brutal play in the 1972 tournament against Ajax led the Dutch side to decline participation in 1973 even though they qualified by winning that year's European Cup. Their place in the Intercontinental Cup went to runners-up Juventus, who were beaten by Independiente in the competition's first single-match final.

The 1974 tournament returned to a two-legged final, played in early 1975. Bayern Munich qualified as European Cup champions, but also chose not to participate, opening the door for runners-up Atlético.

Independiente won the first leg in Argentina, 1-0, on 12 March, then traveled to Spain for the second leg. Playing before a crowd of 65,000 at Madrid's Estadio Vicente Calderón, Atlético drew level on aggregate with a 34th-minute strike from Javier Irureta. Then, in the 85th minute, with time close to expiring and a replay looming, striker Rubén Ayala scored to put the hosts up 2-1 on aggregate and they held on for the victory.

The 1976 Intercontinental Cup was played that November, so while it was played twice that year, 1975 officially did not have an Intercontinental Cup.

17 February 1957 - Real Madrid Gets Into The Home Security Business

On 17 February 1957, Real Madrid beat Deportivo de La Coruña to launch a record 121-game home unbeaten streak in the league.

It was Madrid's first home league match since a loss to Atlético Madrid two weeks earlier and they responded by beating Deportivo 1-0 with a goal from forward Enrico Mateos (pictured) in the 25th minute. They then won their last three remaining home games and claimed the league title.

Amazingly, they continued to defend their home ground in the league for another eight years, going unbeaten over a span of 121 matches that carried them to another six La Liga titles. Of those 121 matches, only eight were draws; they won the remaining 113.

The streak's last game came on 21 February 1965 with a 6-1 win over Real Betis and it ended on 7 March with a loss to Atletico, 0-1.

30 October 1985 - Barça Won The Battle, But Atlético Won The War

On 30 October 1985, Atlético Madrid won the Supercopa de España despite losing to Barcelona.

The competition, played over two legs, matched Atlético, the previous season's Copa del Rey winners, against Barcelona, the reigning league champions. They met in Madrid for the first leg on 9 October, with Barcelona taking a 1-0 lead thanks to a 31st-minute goal from Paco Clos. But Atlético roared back with strikes from Mario Cabrera (40'), Miguel Ángel Ruiz (pictured) (52'), and Jorge da Silva (76') to end the day as 3-1 winners (video below).

Barcelona hosted the second leg at Camp Nou three weeks later and again took a 1-0 lead, this time with a goal from center back José Alexanko in the 32nd minute. But Atlético were content to defend their aggregate lead and Barça were unable to find another. So despite winning the second leg 1-0, they lost 3-2 on aggregate.

Since then, the two teams have met three more times in the Supercopa (1991, 1992, and 1996), with Barcelona winning all three.

17 May 1974 - Bayern Delivers A Beating

On 17 May 1974, Bayern Munich won the first of three consecutive European Cups, beating Atlético Madrid 4-0 in a replay.

It was the first time in the final for both teams, who played to a 1-1 draw two days earlier, with both goals coming late in extra time to force a replay. They returned to the Heysel Stadium in Brussels on 17 May and did not have to wait long for Bayern to stake their claim to the trophy.

In the 28th minute, forward Uli Hoeness (pictured) outraced the Atlético defenders to a long ball played out of Bayern's own half, then pushed the ball between the keeper's legs to open the scoring. Exactly thirty minutes later, his striking partner Gerd Müller, the Bundesliga's top scorer for six of the previous eight seasons, powered a shot into the top of the net from a tight angle.

Müller extended the lead to 3-0 with another goal in the 71st minute. Not to be outdone, Hoeness got a second of his own in the 83rd minute to push the final margin to 4-0.

It was the completion of a double for Bayern, who had just won their third straight Bundesliga title. They went on to win the tournament again in 1975 over Leeds United and in 1976 over Saint-Étienne, then once more in 2001 over Valencia.

26 April 1903 - Madrid Gets Athletic

On 26 April 1903, a group of students founded Atlético Madrid. They have since become one of Spain's most successful clubs, winning the league and the Copa del Rey nine times each.

The initial group of students consisted of Basques who were Athletic Bilbao and who considered the new club to be a Bilbao youth affiliate. They called the new club Athletic Club de Madrid and even adopted Bilbao's blue and white stripes, though they changed to their current red and white stripes by 1911 (reportedly attributable to their purchase that year of shirts from Southampton FC).

They joined La Liga in 1928, but were relegated to the Segunda División two years later. A few ups and downs later, and a merger with Zaragoza's Aviación Nacional, they returned to the top flight for the 1939-40 season and proceeded to win two straight titles. They won two more in 1950 and 1951 under manager Helenio Herrera. They have since added five more, including their most recent one in 1996, part of a league and Copa del Rey double that season.

Atlético have also enjoyed success in Europe. They won the Cup Winners' Cup over Fiorentina in 1962 and reached the European Cup final in 1974 (where they lost to Bayern Munich). In 2010, they won the Europa League final over Fulham, then claimed the UEFA Supercup by beating Inter 2-0.

14 February 2010 - No Love For The League Leaders

On 14 February 2010, Atlético Madrid did something no other La Liga team was able to do that season--beat Barcelona.

It was a result few could have anticipated. Barcelona were at the top of the league table, unbeaten on the season, while Atlético were in thirteenth, just six points above the relegation zone. When the two teams met earlier in the season at Camp Nou, Barça cruised to a 5-2 victory.

But after only eight minutes in Madrid, striker Diego Forlán (pictured) put the hosts up 1-0 after picking up a pass from José Antonio Reyes and putting it past Barcelona keeper Victor Valdes. Fifteen minutes later, Atlético doubled their lead with a free kick from Simão, taken at the edge of the box.

Despite going down 2-0, Barcelona quickly regained their composure, getting a 27th-minute goal from Zlatan Ibrahimović. Later, the Swede had two opportunties for an equalizer, but was twice denied by keeper David de Gea. The young Spanish keeper also stopped a shot by Lionel Messi near the break.

Barcelona's momentum had been rising at the end of the first half, but they could not maintain it in the second and the match ended 2-1. As consolation, it was their only loss of the season which ended with the league title. Atlético, meanwhile, improved their own fortunes and finished the season in eighth place.

4 July 2007 - Liverpool Breaks The Bank

On 4 July 2007, striker Fernando Torres completed a move from Atlético Madrid to Liverpool, becoming the Anfield club's most expensive signing at the time.

Up to that point, Torres had spent his entire career with Atlético. From 2001 to 2007, he made a total of 249 appearances in all competitions, scoring 91 times. His most prolific season there was in 2003-04, when he scored 21 goals, 19 in the league. During that season, he also made his first appearance for Spain's senior side.

His scoring prowess drew the attention of Liverpool manager Rafa Benítez, who completed the signing in July 2007. Neither club announced the fee, but it is believed to have been close to £20 million, setting a new club transfer record. Torres proceeded to enjoy the best season of his career, scoring a total of 33 goals in all competitions as Liverpool finished fourth in the Premier League and reached the semifinals of the Champions League.

After three and a half seasons at Anfield, Torres moved to Chelsea for an undisclosed fee reported to have been approximately £50 million. The move opened the door for Liverpool to break their transfer fee record on successive days with the signing of strikers Luis Suárez (£22.8 million on 30 January 2011) and Andy Carroll (£35 million on 31 January 2011).