How many LaLiga teams are from Madrid this season 22/23?
The Spanish capital boasts four clubs plying their trade in the top flight this season, with just one (Leganés) playing in LaLiga Smartbank.
Madrid is very much the footballing capital when it comes to first division sides in one city, with currently four teams involved in Spain’s top flight (LaLiga Santander): Real Madrid, Atlético, Getafe and Rayo Vallecano.
The capital also boasts Leganés in the second tier (LaLiga Smartbank) with the relegation of Fuenlabrada and Alcorcón leaving the ‘Pepineros’ as the capital’s sole representatives in the league.
The Spanish capital has long been a popular destination for fans eager to take in a couple of games over the weekend and indeed matchday 5 (9-12 September) of the current campaign saw all four sides in the capital in action at different times over the weekend, with a handful of eager LaLiga lovers making it to all four matches.
Real Madrid
One of the most decorated sides in global football, Real Madrid are synonymous with the capital city and along with FC Barcelona, dominate the scene domestically. The 13-time European Cup winners’ other main rivals hail from the Estadio Metropolitano with the city derby against Atlético Madrid always a hotly fought contest.
The Santiago Bernabéu stadium is one of the great footballing theatres in the world and despite currently experiencing reduced capacity due to ongoing renovation works, most visiting fans should be able to secure match tickets for most games with the exception of ‘El Clasico’, the Madrid derby and high profile European Champions League fixtures.
Atlético Madrid
Often living in the shadow of their city rivals from the upmarket Chamartín side of town, Atleti have always been associated as being the ‘underdog’ in the city, with the club securing the tag of ‘El Pupas’ (the jinxed side) after their 1974 European Cup defeat to Bayern Munich.
Recent years however have seen the club grow and they are now considered a major force in European football with shrewd management and the signing of former player Diego Simeone as coach, as the Argentine is now in his tenth season as manager with the club a permanent fixture every season in the Champions League.
Atleti now play at the Estadio Metropolitano having left their iconic Vicente Calderón stadium in 2017, with tickets for most fixtures generally easy to come by for visiting fans.
Rayo Vallecano
Hailing from the working class Vallecas neighbourhood, Rayo have always been considered as the ‘third team in Madrid’ but this moniker has been contested in recent years, with Getafe and Leganés enjoying successful spells in the top flight.
Famous for their three sided ground and passionate left-leaning fanbase, the club are currently performing well under Basque coach Andoni Iraola despite running on a shoestring budget. A decade under the guidance of club president Raul M. Presa has seen the club enjoy a successful period on the pitch but many fans are unhappy with the mechanics of the 45-year-old citing general negligence in issues off the field.
Fans wishing to attend a game at Vallecas will have to queue in advance to get tickets with demand currently high for the compact 15,000-capacity stadium and the club surprisingly not offering an online ticketing service.
Getafe
It wasn’t until the turn of the century that suburban Getafe became a regular fixture in Spain’s top flight. From the 2003-04 season to the current campaign, the Azulones have been ever-presents in LaLiga (apart from a one season 2016-17 spell in Segunda).
The club are one of the newer institutions in top flight football too, with the club just established in 1983, and their growth has coincided with the expansion of the capital city.
The club have grown under the guidance of self-confessed Real Madrid fan Ángel Torres, with Geta’ even reaching the UEFA Cup in 2007-08 and pushing Bayern Munich all the way in the quarter-final of the competition.
The 14,000-capacity Coliseum Alfonso Pérez is rarely full but is the most complicated of the four top flight sides to reach as it’s not served by the Metro Madrid network.
