Real Madrid will be the underdogs in the Champions League final

The Champions League final is set, with Real Madrid squaring off against Atlético MadridLos Merengues come into the match as the underdogs in Milan on May 28th.

 

It's an unfamiliar position for Real Madrid to be in. As one of the traditional best teams in the world, Real are almost never the lesser side in a match. Even in El Clasico against Barcelona, they're often on a relatively even footing. So for Real Madrid to look at this matchup against their cross town rivals Atlético -- in many ways their tempestuous younger brother as a club -- and see themselves as the underdog has to be something stunning.

And make no mistake, Atléti are absolutely the favorites here. Real have more pure talent, but on the weight of their season and the quality of their performances, there's little question that Diego Simeone's team are favored  for the match. It's especially apparent when you compare the semi-finals -- Atlético countered nearly every move Bayern Munich made, one of the few teams definitely more talented than Real, while Real struggled to do much of anything against a Manchester City side that was playing poorly over two legs.

Two years ago, Real Madrid were the easy favorites in their Champions League final against Atlético Madrid, and while Simeone and company fought hard, things fell apart in extra time to give Real a resounding win and La Decima -- their tenth Champions League title. That win was a huge moment for Real -- but it also proved to be a turning point in this rivalry.

The following season, things started to even out significantly. Atléti won both league matches against Real last year, just edging them in a brutal battle of a match at the Bernabeu, and then absolutely shellacking Real at the Calderon to the tune of a 4-0 pasting that could have been much more. Real Madrid gained the upper hand in the Copa del Rey and Champions League quarterfinal, though, a trade Los Merengues were happy to make.

This year Atlético have a win and a draw against Real in the league, but they've taken another clear step forward in quality and ability as a team, while Real took something of a step back. They got off to a terrible start under Rafa Benitez, and while Zinedine Zidane has restabilized the squad, his inexperience has lead to something of a lack of a cutting edge for the squad. Sure, they've overwhelmed a few lesser teams under Zidane, and they got a huge upset over Barcelona, but too often they've looked flat when they needed fire, looked lost when they needed just one moment of inspiration.

That fire and that inspiration is ever-present at Atlético, and they've ridden it to wonderful success. Real have found results -- they're only a point behind Barcelona and Atléti in the league and they did make the final -- but they've rarely made you go "WOW" like Atlético do. The Rojiblancos don't always play the prettiest football, their style is more of a "do whatever it takes to win" approach, but almost every game there's a play they make at one end of the pitch or the other that makes you sit up and pay rapt attention.

That's been a big part of them surpassing their cross-town rivals Real, and Atlético are the favorites in the Champions League final because of it. Hopefully they get to enjoy the position they're in -- it might not last forever, and if Real Madrid have their say, it won't last long at all. They don't like being in this unfamiliar turf, and Real will do anything they can they get back on more comfortable footing -- and they'd prefer to do it by upsetting the odds and winning the Champions League for the eleventh time.