Atletico have not won at the Bernabeu in 10 years. The last time October 30th, 1999 when Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink with his brace and Jose Mari won a now historic victory. Sergio Aguero was 11 years old.
Hasselbaink was virtually unstoppable and so was Joan Capdevila, now at Villareal. That year Atletico was relegated even as Hasselbaink scored 24 goals in his 34 appearances. After those heady days at Leeds, Atletico and Chelsea, his career devolved into ever briefer tenures at smaller clubs. He's now linked with Woking FC, a non-league team.
Some familiar names associated with Real: Raul, Guti, and Casillas in the present squad. Long time Bolton midfielder Ivan Campo, Liverpool bust Fernando Morientes, Milan's Clarence Seedorf whose Bernabeu return a fortnight ago ended badly for Real, long time nemesis Samuel Eto'o now at Inter, set piece extraordinaire Roberto Carlos now at Fenerbahçe.
The two teams meet today in the Madrid derby. Atletico is struggling to reproduce its sparkling form last season and is in the relegation zone. Real has questions of its own but a win will give them first place over Barca who have also not looked assured and face a tough opponent in Mallorca this weekend.
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