Atlético Madrid's relegation
A curious thing about football is that there are promotions and relegations, elements that can bring great happiness and great sadness, respectively. Football also tends to be about eras, and the same club doesn't always win and remain at the top forever. While there are those who tend to be regulars in those positions, there are always down moments. In Atlético Madrid's history, there are great moments, both in its recent history under Simeone and in other eras when they were Spanish and even world champions. However, they also have some sad pages in that history, and possibly the saddest was that famous relegation at the beginning of the 21st century, which clearly marked a turning point for the club.
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History of Atletico de Madrid
In April 1903, a group of Athletic Club de Bilbao fans living in Madrid decided to form a branch of the Basque club in the Spanish capital, thus forming Athletic Club (Madrid Branch). This also explains why the shirts and colors are so similar to those of the Basque club. The fact that it was a branch and not an independent club prevented the new Madrid club from participating in official competitions, although its players could play in some competitions with Athletic Club de Bilbao, as they were considered part of the same club. In fact, in the Copa del Rey that the Basque club won in 1904, there were more players in the Madrid reserve team than in the Basque first team.In 1907, the Madrid reserve team separated from the Basque club and became a separate football club named Athletic Club de Madrid. For the 1907-08 season, it began participating in regional competitions. In 1928, it was one of the founding teams of the Spanish League, and in its second season, 1929-30, it became the first team in the history of the competition to be relegated, finishing last in the league table. It is important to note that there were no relegations in the first season. In 1934, they achieved promotion again, finishing second in the Second Division.
After the Spanish Civil War prevented the league from being played for three years, Atlético Madrid won the first edition after the conflict, in 1939-40. A year later, they would repeat the title, beginning an era of inconsistent performances that saw the club mix good seasons with some not-so-good ones. Between the 1960s and 1970s, with players like Luis Aragones, they would enjoy one of their best eras, winning four league titles, three Copa del Rey titles, and the 1974 Intercontinental Cup. In 1996, with Jesus Gil as president, Radomir Antic as manager and players like Diego Simeon on the pitch, Atlético Madrid won the double (League and Copa del Rey).
Claudio Ranieri was de manager in the beginning of the season
The 1999-2000 season
For the 1998-99 season, the club made a significant move by hiring legendary Italian coach Arrigo Sacchi and signing several key players, including Chamot and Jugovic from Lazio, Juan Carlos Valeron from Mallorca, Ruben Baraja from Valladolid, and Santiago Solari from River Plate. However, the Italian manager would only last a few months, and while the team reached the Copa del Rey final (losing 3-0 to Valencia) and the UEFA Cup semi-finals (eliminated by Parma, with Buffon, Crespo, Veron, Chiesa, Cannavaro, Asprilla...what a team), they finished 13th in the league, far from their initial expectations.In the summer of 1999, Jesús Gil again made a strong push into the transfer market, bringing in names such as Celso Ayala, Joan Capdevila, Toni Jimenez, Veljko Paunovic, and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, as well as hiring Italian Claudio Ranieri as manager. The expenditure was around 35 million euros, a lot for the time, and the mix of new players and those already in the squad suggested it would be a very good season. However, from the start, doubts were seen around the team, starting with Ranieri himself, who seemed unsure of some decisions regarding tactics or the starting eleven.
The league's start was quite poor, with three defeats in the first three rounds and a record of two wins, one draw, and five losses in the first eight, placing them in the bottom region of the table. After that, the team reeled off three home wins, just before facing Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, where they won 3-1 with two goals from Hasselbaink and one from Jose Mari to overturn Morientes's opening goal. This was Ranieri's club's first away win in the league and allowed them to climb several places to tenth in the league. However, far from serving as motivation for improvement, they repeated their initial record of two wins, one draw, and five losses in their next eight matches, which led them back to the bottom of the table, specifically to 17th.
As if the sporting situation wasn't bad enough, on December 22, 1999, the National Court ordered the dismissal of Jesús Gil and his entire board (including Enrique Cerezo) as part of the investigation into the possible fraud they may have committed when they converted the club into a SAD (public limited company). This led to the club being placed in the hands of a judicial administrator. While at the beginning of this transitional administration there was an improvement in the sporting situation, this was not the case in the medium term, and the team began to fall apart. On March 3, 2000, Ranieri was fired, and Atlético Madrid hired Antic, who had led them to the double a few years earlier.
The team was one point away from relegation but still in the Copa del Rey and UEFA Cup, though not for long, as Lens thrashed the Spanish club 4-2 in the second leg of the quarterfinals of the European competition just six days after Antic's arrival, effectively ending their elimination. On April 13, 2000, Jesus Gil and his board were again authorized to manage the club, although the situation was already quite complicated. The league's form didn't improve, and May 7, 2000, was the day the 36th matchday of the championship was played, and Atlético Madrid faced Oviedo at the Carlos Tartiere Stadium in Oviedo. Interestingly, the home team was managed by Luis Aragones.
The Madrid club arrived with a need to win to avoid relegation. In the 63rd minute, they were losing 2-0, but in a spirited burst, they managed to equalize within five minutes. In the 84th minute, they had a penalty in their favor that Hasselbaink couldn't convert, effectively sealing the team's relegation. Despite the nightmare they endured in the league, Atlético still had the Copa del Rey final against RCD Espanyol to look forward to, having reached it after a difficult semifinal against Barcelona. What could have been a small consolation became even worse, as they lost the final 2-1 and ended the worst season in their history.
The sporting and managerial disaster led to financial problems that forced the sale of players such as Hasselbaink, Valeron, Capdevila, Solari, and Baraja, as well as laying off 100 club employees. The "passage through hell" would last two seasons and, ironically, it would be Luis Aragones himself who would manage the club back to La Liga in that year of promotion.