ATLETICO'S TITLE: ONE OF THE BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE HISTORY OF FOOTBALL

As Diego Simeone hauled an inconsolable Arda Turan into his arms – with Diego Costa quietly sobbing on the bench – the 447 away fans inside the Nou Camp could have been forgiven for thinking it was a sign of things to come. Then Alexis Sanchez crashed an unbelievable shot into the top corner to compound the visitors’ injury woes and fire Barcelona ahead in the winner-takes-all Liga decider. Atletico’s task was daunting: brush aside the loss of two key players and equalise against a rejuvenated Barcelona, all while trying to tune out a 90,000-strong partisan crowd screaming at them to fail. But, incredibly, they did just that.

It is not hyperbole to say that Atletico’s title triumph is one of the biggest achievements in the history of football. They have a wage bill that is less than QPR’s and were 66/1 to win the title at the start of the season – the same price offered on Aberdeen or Motherwell winning the Scottish Premiership. They did it with a small squad, who also managed to somehow get to the Champions League final too. Barcelona (Neymar) and Real Madrid (Gareth Bale) both spent more on one player in the summer than Atletico’s entire squad cost. This is a genuine feel good story in a new, money-driven footballing world.

Atletico Madrid travel to Lisbon for the Champions League final with an injury depleted squad that must be both physically and mentally exhausted. However, only a fool would write them off causing another big upset given all they’ve achieved this season. They will likely lose arguably their two key players in the summer to Chelsea – the on-loan Thibaut Courtois and top scorer Diego Costa - and top clubs may even court their manager too, so some sort of regression seems inevitable. But even so, nothing can take away the scale of this achievement. This is the sort of team that Atletico fans will be telling their grandchildren about in 50 years’ time.

Atletico Madrid are champions of Spain, for the first time since 1996. That does not come close to capturing quite what an achievement this is, though, for their coach, Diego Simeone, for their players, a mixture of cast-offs and has-beens and late bloomers. This is a club that exists in a state of almost perpetual chaos that toils in the shadow of Spain’s big two, that has a fifth of their financial clout. They are precisely the sort of club, in other words, who are not supposed to win titles in the harsh capitalist reality of modern football. And yet, thanks to a mixture of courage, talent, nous, guile and a bloody-minded refusal to give up, here they are, on top of a table that includes Barcelona and Real Madrid, and with a Champions League final to look forward to next week. It may not be the ultimate underdog story, but it’s roughly as close as you’re going to get.