CAN ANYONE end Barcelona’s recent dominance of La Liga? After a summer of big signings and the announcement of record revenues, Barca look stronger than last year and with Real Madrid enduring a miserable pre-season and Atlético Madrid in transition, it could be a third consecutive title – and nine in 12 – for the Blaugrana. Of course, Barca will be hoping for a barnstorming … Continue reading La Liga: Barcelona may be even stronger
IF YOU’VE visited Madrid recently, you’ve no doubt flown over the gleaming new home of Atlético Madrid, the Wanda Metropolitano. It’s an impressive site, fashioned out of a stadium built in anticipation of the Spanish capital being awarded the Olympic Games. If Atléti play their cards right, they could be playing at home in the final of the UEFA Champions League in the first week … Continue reading Club of the Month: Atlético Madrid – firmly among the elite
IN THE end, it was a result that didn’t suit either team: Chelsea needed to win to top the group, Atletico Madrid had to snare three points to have any chance of staying in the UEFA Champions League. As it turned out, the most important result was in the Italian capital, where Roma beat Qarabag 1-0 to capture the group. Chelsea finished second and Atleti … Continue reading Time for Atleti to regroup
AS IT stands, UEFA could be looking at Real Madrid v Juventus and Manchester United v Ajax Amsterdam for their two finals in 2016-17. On paper, this looks like two fantastic ties featuring some of the continent’s top names. Admittedly, United v Ajax is not what it might have been 20 or 30 years ago, but you couldn’t get four bigger clubs with a greater European pedigree. … Continue reading UEFA must be rubbing their hands
THE characteristics of the free-market economy have long been adopted by football, including the once prestigious mergers and acquisitions industry. In KPMG’s Football Benchmark’s latest paper, multi-club ownership is discussed, highlighting a growing trend across the sector – at a time when the corporate finance sector is seeing a big drop in M&A activity. In recent months, Atlético Torque (Uruguay) have become part of the … Continue reading Portfolio club ownership on the rise
THE LAST EIGHT of the UEFA Champions League includes some of the usual suspects, but also highlights the achievements of some of the less celebrated European clubs. The new paper from KPMG’s Football Benchmark, The Elite Eight, highlights the different business models of the quarter-finalists, but also underlines the progress of clubs like Leicester City, Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid. These three clubs are in … Continue reading UEFA Champions League – different models, similar aims
THE OLD adage, “the more you spend, the more you win”, comes under scrutiny in the recent paper from KPMG’s Football Benchmark team. The report demonstrates that some clubs have established a strong record for balancing the books while being moderately successful. Needless to say, the big spenders are the small group of bulge bracket clubs that currently stand astride European football, but others, such … Continue reading Sevilla, Atletico impress in player trading
ONE OF the big success stories of the 21st century in European football has been the rise of Atlético Madrid, who are currently ranked number four in UEFA’s team rankings. Los Rojiblancos are poised to relocate to a new stadium, Estadio La Peineta, for the 2017-18 season. The capacity will eventually be just under 74,000 – somewhat more than their current home. The move will … Continue reading Challenging the behemoths – the welcome rise of Atléti
Oh the beauty of the dying swan! Majestic, graceful and doomed! On the night that the superficial world of showbiz hands-out slightly homo-erotic pieces of objet d’art, Atletico and Real Madrid wanted to get in on the act. No need to take a plane to Hollywood, these two teams had a passionate audience to play to. These fierce capital-city rivals lived up to the old … Continue reading On Oscars night, Madrid plumps for drama
It was billed as the game of the season in La Liga so far and it didn’t disappoint. There were no goals, but it was a high quality contest between two teams on the top of their game. There is little dispute now that the Spanish title will be decided between these two clubs, with the return match on the final day of the season … Continue reading La Liga: Atletico look Barca in the eye
Not since 1996 have Madrid’s second club, Atletico, won La Liga, and although it’s early doors in Spain, this season could see the duopoly of Barca and Real challenged for the first time in at least half a decade. When Atletico lost prolific goalscorer Rademal Falcao in the summer to Monaco, albeit for a king’s ransom, many people anticipated that the Rojoblancos may go into … Continue reading La Liga: It’s sunny in the Spanish Costa for Atletico
