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Atletico Madrid
shook off a debilitating inferiority complex to win the Europa League
on Wednesday and could bury it for good with a triumph in the King’s
Cup final next week.

Atletico are used
to living in the shadow of nine-times European champions Real Madrid,
but relegation in 2000 followed by eight years of under-achievement
back in the top flight have taken their toll on Spain’s third biggest
club.

Their fans had
started to revel in the nickname “the sufferers” and had to look back
to 1996 for their last glimpse of silverware when Atletico won a league
and cup double.

The club even used
the idea to help promote season-ticket sales with a television advert
that saw a child ask his father: “Daddy, why do we support Atletico?”
His father was unable to offer a reply.

“They have been living with a pathological pessimism,” Santiago Segurola wrote in sports daily Marca.

“Now they have the
opportunity to bury the ghosts and their fears. It’s moments like
these, full of happiness, that push them into believing, to progress,
to return to a level that corresponds with their history.” True to
their recent past,

Atletico did not do
it the easy way in Hamburg and needed a goal from Diego Forlan, four
minutes from the end of extra-time to secure a 2-1 victory over Fulham.

“We deserved to win
although we went through some bad moments, but Atletico are like this,”
19-year-old goalkeeper David de Gea told reporters.

Changed fortunes

Coach Quique
Sanchez Flores has been the architect of Atletico’s turnaround in
fortunes, taking over a side that were bottom of their Champions League
group and 15th in La Liga last October.

He kept a low profile in the celebrations: “This is a moment for the players. I prefer to watch from afar.

“I asked them to be
daring and to remember the footballer inside them that dreamed of
winning titles.” He added: “It’s difficult to control (the euphoria)
and I’m not going to try.” Then they have a second Cup final against
Sevilla at the Nou Camp next Wednesday.

Sports daily AS helped out the father who was unable to answer his son from Atletico’s well-known advertising campaign.

“Son, this is why we support Atletico,” they said above their write up of the match on Thursday.