Diego Simeone hopes to end Atletico¿s derby curse

The Madrid derby is taking place tomorrow under one of the most interesting circumstances in years. Last time the two teams met Madrid was rolling, Atletico was flailing, and the league was a done deal.

This time around, Atletico Madrid is revitalized under the guidance of Diego Simeone who has led the team to the Europa League semifinals and placed it within European qualification in La Liga. Once again Colombian striker Radamel Falcao is a doubt for the game, but regardless of his absence, the stakes are higher than ever for both teams.

The Madrid Derby is always a greatly anticipated event, but it¿s hardly much of a rivalry. Atletico has not beaten Real Madrid in over a decade. Simeone was 0-5 as a player against Real and hopes to finally turn it around as a coach and they won¿t get a better opportunity for a while.

Madrid is nervous. They may not admit it but Barcelona is at their heels and Jose Mourinho¿s paranoid complex is coming to fruition. Usually the team recovers from a loss by pouncing on their next opponent, but this is also some of the toughest scheduling they will have all year. They faced No. 2 Valencia on Sunday, now face local rival Atletico on Wednesday, and then have to play again on Saturday.

If Falcao is able to play two of the three top scorers in La Liga will be on the field and the Madrid defense has continued to play sloppily this season although their high octane offense has been able to relief the pressure.

The first meeting, without Falcao, ended 4-1 for Real Madrid in a game that Atletico actually played fairly well despite being a man down the entire second half.

The whole world will be watching for Atletico to finally get its monkey off its back. It seemed it was the year of the younger brothers when City got the best of United but that ship has been corrected since, now it¿s time for Atletico to prove 12 years is enough.