Real vs. Atlético: Battle for Madrid

What luck: first week in Madrid and the city's two biggest soccer teams squared off in the quarterfinals of the Copa Del Rey. It's not the most important tournament for the clubs but anytime these two get together, there's pride and bragging rights on the line. Some of us headed to a bar near the stadium to watch the game and there were definitely some interesting characters cheering their teams on. Since the bar was next to Real Madrid's stadium, everyone in the place was rooting for Los Galácticos. We arrived a little late and Atlético had already taken a 1-0 lead (through a goal by Diego Forlán of World Cup 2010 fame). The guys in the bar were clearly getting a little antsy--one hombre near us nearly punched a hole in the wall after Real missed on a goal scoring opportunity. Real eventually tied it up, added another early in the second half and scored a final goal in the last minute to head into next week's second leg up 3-1. The atmosphere in the bar was easily the best part of the night: everyone singing and chanting in unison, oooh-ing and ahhh-ing at each chance narrowly missed. Goals were greeted with primal screams, kisses for loved ones, running outside en la calle and more singing. The riot police pulled up shortly before the game ended and the flood of people made getting home via the metro a little rough. All in all a great experience though: looking forward to seeing some Real (think the Yankees to Atlético's Mets) and Atleti games from inside their stadiums soon.