This week the two continental tournaments finally conclude: the Europa League and the Champions. After months of waiting and uncertainty due to the pandemic, both competitions could finally be played in a final-to-eight format in Cologne and Lisbon, respectively. Today the first of them will be decided in the game that Sevilla and Inter will play and on Sunday it will be the turn of the Champions League, which will have Bayern Munich or PSG as the winner.
For the people of Seville it will be their sixth European final this century, being the team that has played the most in this period together with Liverpool. In the case of the Nervión team, all of them have been in the Europa League (2005-06, 2006-07, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2019-20), while the British have played four finals of Champions (2004-05, 2006-07, 2017-28 and 2018-19) and two from the Europa League (2000-01 and 2015-16, this one lost precisely against Sevilla).
Behind them are Real Madrid and Atlético, tied with five finals each in the 21st century. The meringues played all of them in the Champions League (2001-2002, 2013-14, 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18). The colchoneros, for their part, have reached the final match three times in the Europa League (2009-10, 2011-12 and 2017-18) and twice in the top continental competition (2013-14 and 2015-16).
The first of the Atlético finals took place on May 12, 2010 at the HSH Nordbank Arena in Hamburg (Germany) and faced him with the English Fulham in the Europa League. The triumph was for the rojiblancos, trained by Quique Sánchez Flores, after winning in extra time 2-1 with a double from Diego Forlán, while the goal for the Londoners was scored by Simon Davies.
Two seasons later, Atlético repeated the final in the same competition. This time the rival was the Athletic Bilbao and the duel was held on May 9, 2012 at the National Stadium in Bucharest (Romania). The mattresses, already with Simeone on his bench, they took the title to their showcases after beating the Basques 3-0 without discussion thanks to two goals from Falcao and another from Diego. It was the first trophy in the Argentine coach's career at the club.
In the campaign 2013-14, came the opportunity for the rojiblancos to try to be European champions for the first time. They were faced with none other than their arch enemy, the Real Madrid, in a match that was played on May 24, 2014 at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon (Portugal). Atlético took the lead in the 35th minute with a goal from Godín, but in 93 'the Madrid tie came thanks to a header from Ramos, who sent the game to extra time. In overtime, the whites scored three more goals, through Bale, Marcelo and Cristiano Ronaldo (from a penalty), to conclude the match with 4-1 in their favor and left their neighbors in the capital with honey on their lips.
In the course 2015-16, the rojiblancos they had the possibility of getting revenge against the same rival in the Champions League, but the outcome was not what was expected. The meeting was held on May 28, 2016 at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium in Milan (Italy). This time, it was the meringues who got ahead on the scoreboard thanks to a goal from Sergio Ramos in the 15th minute and Carrasco achieved the equalizer in the 79 ', thus ending the 90 minutes. Previously Griezmann had missed a penalty. In extra time there were no goals and the title was decided from 11 meters. Those of Zidane were more successful in this situation (5-3) and the mattresses could not achieve the dreamed trophy.
The last of the European finals Atlético has reached in this century was in the Europa League in the 2017-18 season. The rival was Olympique de Marseille and the match was played on May 16, 2018 at the Parc OL Stadium in Lyon (France). The colchoneros did not give the Gauls a choice and they won 3-0 with a double from Griezmann and a goal from Gabi.
So, Atlético's balance in those five finals disputed in the 20 years of the 21st century It is three wins (2009-10, 2011-12 and 2017-18) and two losses (2013-14 and 2015-16).