In Spanish football, where attention flows as relentlessly as a BD Cricket Live stream followed from start to finish, Real Madrid and Barcelona have long stood like twin peaks at the summit of the domestic game. This naturally raises a lingering question: why has Atletico Madrid struggled to truly join that elite tier? The answer lies less in effort or ambition and more in history, where their moments of glory have never quite matched the sustained dominance of their rivals.

Across more than a century, Atletico have lifted the La Liga trophy 11 times and claimed the Europa League on three occasions. Yet on the Champions League stage, the highest honor in club football, the final prize has always slipped through their fingers. Football has little patience for near misses, and success tends to define legacy. Atletico were not short of chances. Three finals reached, three finals lost, each leaving the sense that fate always kept the door just slightly ajar before slamming it shut.

The first great heartbreak came in the 1973–74 season against Bayern Munich. Atletico, under strength and clearly the underdogs, fought their way into extra time and somehow took the lead. Victory seemed within touching distance until a last gasp equalizer forced a replay under the rules of the era. Exhausted and deflated, Atletico were swept aside 4–0 two days later, missing the chance to become only the second Spanish club to conquer Europe.

As the new century unfolded, Real Madrid’s Galacticos and Barcelona’s golden generations traded control of the continent. Under Diego Simeone, Atletico appeared ready to break the pattern. He arrived in late 2011 and quickly transformed the club, winning the Europa League, crushing Chelsea in the Super Cup, defeating Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final, and reclaiming the La Liga title in dramatic fashion. In Europe, Atletico surged past Milan, Barcelona, and Chelsea to reach another final, prompting dreams of a new dynasty even in the peak era of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

The 2014 final against Real Madrid remains the defining wound. Simeone gambled on an injured Diego Costa, losing a substitution early. Diego Godin’s header gave Atletico the lead, and time ticked away. As stoppage time deepened, Simeone was already tasting triumph. Then Sergio Ramos struck. Extra time exposed the emotional toll, and Atletico collapsed to a 4–1 defeat.

Two years later, history repeated itself. Atletico again eliminated Barcelona and Bayern, again faced Real in the final, and again fell short, this time on penalties after missed chances and controversial moments. Had either final gone differently, Simeone’s standing might rival the very best. Instead, football chose another path. Zidane built Real Madrid’s threepeat on those narrow margins, while Atletico were left with what ifs, watched by fans with the same quiet resignation seen during a BD Cricket Live night that ends just short of celebration.