It’s hard to let go of Atlético at the end of a season and get accustomed to the long, boring weekends without the thrill of victory or the downers that come along with defeat.

Getting used to the idea that ‘El Tigre’ will no longer be leading the pack up top isn’t any fun either, so let’s instead take a look back at this historic 2012/13 campaign and all the records we broke under Diego Simeone’s first full season in command.

The Trophies:

2nd UEFA Super Cup (Chelsea 1 – 4 Atleti).

10th Copa del Rey (Real Madrid 1 – 2 Atleti).

Perhaps the most impressive of all, the club’s 1st ever Peter Lim Charity Cup (Singapore Selection 0 – 2 Atleti).

The Team Records:

Best 3rd place team ever — No other third place team has ever finished with 76 points.

16 straight wins in UEFA play — Simeone’s men shattered Ajax and Barcelona’s jointly-held record of 11 consecutive wins in European action, bringing the new mark up to 16 victories on the trot dating back to last season.

23 consecutive matches unbeaten — Following last season’s loss at home to Real Madrid in league play, which took place on 11 April 2012, los Rojiblancos went on to go undefeated for 23 straight games until finally succumbing to Valencia at Mestalla on 3 November 2012.

Best league start in club history — After 13 games, Atleti had put together an 11 win, 1 draw and 1 loss record to begin the season, the club’s best start in their 75 campaigns in the Spanish top flight.

14 straight league wins at Cholo Castle — Dating back to our final game at the Vicente Calderón of 2011/12 — a win against Málaga — los Colchoneros converted our home stadium into a veritable fortress, defeating the first 13 visitors to our ground in 2012/13. The streak of 14 consecutive wins at home in La Liga play is a club record. Counting all competitions, Atleti had strung together 20 victories on the trot at the Calderón, until falling to Rubin Kazan on the 14th of February.

The Individual Records:

Thibaut Courtois

At 21 years of age, Thibaut Courtois became the youngest Zamora Trophy winner ever since the award was created by MARCA back in 1959. Thibaut broke Víctor Valdés’ four-year run of winning the prize with Barcelona.

The Belgian wonder, who has often professed his desire to stay in Madrid for at least another year, picked up 20 clean sheets in La Liga on his way to earning the prestigious accolade. His shutout total was a club best for a single campaign.



Since the 42nd minute of Osasuna’s visit on 28 October 2012 through the 53rd minute of Real Sociedad’s trip to the Calderón, not a single ball had been put past Courtois in league play. The total of 819 minutes without conceding a goal at home became a new club record, which was previously held by former goalkeeper Abel, who had gone 800 minutes without allowing our opponents to score back in the 1990/91 season.

‘Tibu’ snatched another record from Abel, coincidentally, in the former ‘keeper’s presence: most minutes without conceding away from home. From the 32nd minute of our crosstown trip to Vallecas to face off against Rayo on the 10th of February, to the 83rd minute of our away game at Celta Vigo on the 8th of May, Courtois saved everything that came his way — setting Atlético’s new mark at 680 minutes without allowing a goal on the road.

Radamel Falcao

He’s gone, so what’s the point, right? Wrong. It’s time to reminisce and appreciate just how remarkable ‘El Tigre’s’ two-year stint in red and white was. Falcao, Mundo Deportivo reports, was the Rojiblanco striker to reach 50 league goals the fastest, achieving the mark in 64 games, 4 less than it took Baltazar to get to that figure, and 9 less than it took Forlán.

The Colombian’s 18 league goals in the first half of this season tied Baltazar’s record from 1988/89.

Falcao’s sublime 5-goal performance against Deportivo on the 9th of December was the first manita by an Atlético player in 54 years. Vavá was the only other Colchonero to perform the feat when he put 5 goals past Real Zaragoza.

1st Atleti player to score more than 30 goals in back-to-back seasons (36 and 34).

Sources: MARCA, Mundo Deportivo, Atlético Madrid Official Website