Atletico Madrid have won more European silverware than Celtic FC and are unquestionably the stronger side today.
Yet, Celtic, and not Atletico Madrid, have won the most coveted trophy in club football - the European Cup. Now known as the UEFA Champions League, the Bhoys won the European Cup in the 1966/67 season after beating Inter Milan in the final.
Atletico Madrid have won three Europa League trophies and reached three Champions League finals, two of which came under Diego Simeone. In both the 2013/14 and 2015/16 showpiece finals, Atleti were beaten by city rivals Real Madrid.
In 2014, they were just seconds away from securing their first Champions League trophy. Deep into stoppage time, Real Madrid legend Sergio Ramos headed in an equaliser to send the game to extra-time. The match immediately swung in Real’s favour and Atletico were defeated 4-1.
Celtic FC have also suffered heartbreak in a European Cup final, but many of their fans aren’t old enough to remember it. Three years after being crowned champions of Europe, Celtic reached the 1970 European Cup final. They were considered huge favourites to beat Feyenoord in the San Siro and took the lead through Thomas Gemmell. The Dutch club rallied and deservedly came from behind to win the match 2-1.
However, the Scottish giants have struggled to keep up with Europe’s biggest clubs in the 21st century.
They’ve failed to progress to the Champions League knockout stages since the 2012/13 season.
Celtic FC Vs Atletico Madrid Head to Head
Celtic and Atletico Madrid have not met on many occasions.
Yet, they did produce one of the dirtiest matches in the history of the European Cup, all the way back in the first leg of their 1974 semi-final. At Celtic Park, nine of Atletico Madrid’s XI received yellow cards, and three of their players were sent off too. There was also a tunnel bust-up in a match that will forever be known as the ‘Shame Game’.
The match ended 0-0 and Atletico beat Celtic 2-0 in Madrid to advance to the final, where they were duly beaten by Bayern Munich.
More recently, Atletico Madrid and Celtic faced off in the 2011/12 Europa League group stage, with the Spaniards winning both matches on their way to achieving glory.
Celtic FC Vs Atletico Madrid Connections
Perhaps due to the bad blood between the two sides, there aren’t many players of note who have represented both Celtic and Atletico Madrid. French forward Moussa Dembélé made a name for himself scoring goals for Celtic, but he could not replicate his goalscoring exploits in Spain. He returned to Lyon after appearing in only five La Liga games on loan at Atletico Madrid in 2021.
Atletico Madrid paid Middlesbrough £13m for Brazilian midfielder Juninho Paulista in 1997, and he would later join Celtic for an unsuccessful stint in 2004.
