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Atletico Madrid is a team which has always had the luxury of having the best-attacking talents of the football world in their team. For many teams, replacing a star striker involves a lot of drama. For Atletico Madrid it is just a minor inconvenience.Countless times over the last two decades, Atletico have seen their star forwards move on to pastures new. However, on each occasion without fail, the Colchoneros have dusted themselves down and found an identical if not a better replacement to take over the goal-scoring responsibilities at the Vicente Calderon.From Christian Vieri in 1997 to Antoine Griezmann in 2016, we take a look at the star forwards who have played and thrived for Atletico Madrid.
#1 Christian Vieri (1997-1998)
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Widely considered as one of the best strikers in Europe at his prime, Christian Vieri had a very successful career at Atletico Madrid. The Italian joined Atletico from Juventus for a transfer fee of 10 million euros and spent only one season at the Vicente Calderon.
The Italian however had an instant impact scoring 24 goals in 24 matches in the La Liga helping him secure the prestigious pichichi award in his debut season at Spain.
Ending the season having scored 29 goals in 32 games for the Colchoneros, Vieri cemented his reputation as one of the great strikers to have played for Atletico Madrid.
On back of his strong performances at Atletico Madrid and the World Cup, Christian Vieri moved to Serie A team Lazio for a fee of 25 million euros, thus earning Atletico Madrid a handsome profit of above €15m.
#2 Jimmy Floyd Hasslebaink (1999-2000)
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink had an interesting season at Atletico Madrid. Bought for a fee of £10m from English club Leeds United. Atletico Madrid lost the first three games of the season and it set the tone for the rest of the season.
The Dutchman, however, had a successful spell personally in Spain scoring a very impressive 24 goals in 34 appearances for Atletico Madrid. The forward finished second on the list of the top scorers in the league even though Atletico shockingly got relegated to the Segunda division for the first time in their proud and prestigious history.
Hasselbaink, however, is fondly remembered at Atletico Madrid for scoring important goals. He scored twice in the Madrid derby as Atletico beat their bitter rivals Real Madrid for the first time at Santiago Bernabeu in nine years, he also scored a goal in Camp Nou thus asserting his class as a top quality forward.
Hasselbaink left Atletico to join Chelsea in the summer becoming the first of the many forwards in the club who played for both Atletico and Chelsea.
#3 Fernando Torres (2001-2007) (2015- )
The silver lining of Atletico’s relegation was the discovery of the precociously talented Spaniard Fernando Torres. Arguably, the most loved player in Atletico, Fernando Torres graduated through the youth ranks before he played a fruitful 7 seasons for Atletico in his first spell at the club.
Atletico quickly gained promotion to La Liga in the following season and Torres who was just 18 impressed one and all with his performances scoring 13 goals in 29 appearances. His second season at La Liga was even better with Torres scoring 19 goals in 35 appearances finishing third in the top scorers list.
This led to Torres becoming captain of the team at the tender age of 19 and the Spaniard did not disappoint turning in some truly mesmerising performances for the Colchoneros.
Torres moved to Liverpool in the 2007 season where he went on to become one of the most dreaded forwards in the club. The Spaniard, however, had a difficult spell in his career at Chelsea and AC Milan after which he made an emotional return to his boyhood club on a 2 year loan deal from AC Milan.
Already a club legend, Torres recently scored his 100th goal for the club cementing his place in the fan’s hearts forever.
#4 Sergio Aguero (2006-2011)
Sergio Aguero’s transfer of €23 million from Independiente to Atletico Madrid raised quite a few eyebrows, however, it turned out to be one of the best transfers done in the club’s history. The Argentine had a long and fruitful career at the Rojiblancos scoring 74 goals in 175 appearances.
Aguero played a crucial role in Atletico’s superb season in 2009-2010 where they won the Europa League and reached the finals of the Copa Del Rey. Although not overly prolific in front of goal, the dimunitive Argentine was praised for his influential performances as he formed a lethal strike partnership with Uruguay striker Diego Forlan.
He arguably had his best season in 2010/11 where he scored 20 goals for the first time in his career. All these performances led to Manchester City bidding for the talented striker and he departed in slightly acrimonious circumstances for a fee of € 45 million which was used to buy Radamel Falcao.
#5 Diego Forlan (2007-2011)
Diego Forlan was bought as a replacement for Fernando Torres and he proved to be an instant success at the Rojiblancos. He ended his first season with 23 goals as he formed a highly potent partnership with Sergio Aguero.
His second season at Atletico was absolutely stunning as Forlan scored 32 goals in 33 matches to win the pichichi award and the European golden boot award as well. The next season started poorly for both Forlan and Atletico as they made their worst start to the League since they were relegated.
However, both Atletico and Forlan recovered spectacularly as Atletico went on to win the Europa League with Forlan scoring both the goals in the final against Fulham.
The following season saw Forlan win another trophy, the UEFA super cup which they won against the team he would go on to play in – Inter Milan.
Forlan left Atletico after a highly successful spell to join Inter in August 2011.
#6 Radamel Falcao (2011-2013)
Radamel Falcao’s transfer of €40 million made him the club’s most expensive transfer. However, Atletico got more than their money’s worth with the Colombian turning in some stunning performances during his spell at the Spanish capital.
Falcao did not allow anyone to feel the absence of Forlan and Aguero as he settled in quickly and with devastating effect to guide Atletico to their second Europa League title. In doing so, Falcao became the only player to win the Europa League with two different clubs in consecutive years.
Falcao had an amazing goal scoring run at Atletico scoring 52 goals in just 68 games for the Madrid club.
In his second and final season at Atletico, Falcao turned in some memorable performances with his best arguably coming against Chelsea in the UEFA Super Cup where he scored a hat-trick and completely destroyed the Chelsea defence.
He also played a crucial role in Atletico’s Copa Del Rey triumph over Real Madrid as he won his first and only domestic cup competition with Atletico Madrid.
Falcao moved on to Monaco for a fee believed to be around €60m which earned a handsome profit for the Spanish club.
#7 Diego Costa (2010-2014)
Diego Costa initially played second fiddle to Falcao and Aguero at Atletico however, he really came into his own from the 2012/13 season playing a crucial role in the Copa Del Rey triumph against Real Madrid.
His best moment, however, came in the following season when he played a crucial part in the La Liga triumph and Atletico’s amazing run to the Champions League final. His performances in the Champions League semi-final against Chelsea earned him rave reviews which led to his transfer from Atletico to Chelsea.
Costa scored an impressive 43 goals in 94 league appearances for Atletico, also scoring 8 goals in the Champions League campaign thus equalling the record held by Vava since 1959 for Atletico Madrid.
Atletico fans will always remember the Brazilian battler fondly as he arguably played the most important role in Atletico’s most successful season in recent times.
#8 David Villa (2013-2014)
Another amazing striker to play for the Colchoneros, David Villa is the all-time leading goal-scorer for Spain and a wonderfully talented striker. Moving from the all-conquering Barcelona side to Atletico in the 2013/14 season, Villa played an important role in the side’s league triumph and Champions League run.
Joining for just €5.1 million, David Villa turned out to be one of the shrewdest buys of the season as he popped up with important goals and ably supported his strike partner Diego Costa.
The Spaniard’s big match experience along with his obvious skills helped Atletico maintain their nerves under pressure as they scripted a near miracle and won the League ahead of Spanish superpowers Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Villa scored 13 league goals from 36 league appearances helped ease the load off Atetico’s star man Diego Costa and played an integral role in the capital club’s historic campaign.
#9 Mario Mandzukic (2014-2015)
The Croatian striker was signed in 2014 as a replacement for Costa and the big Croat did not disappoint. Initially struggling to find his feet at Madrid, Mandzukic soon settled in the Spanish capital and started tormenting defences all over the League and Europe.
Mandzukic who ended the season with 20 goals in 43 appearances turned in some special performances which highlighted his proven goal scoring abilities.
He scored a sensational hat-trick against Olympiacos in the Champions League followed by a stunning performance in the shocking 4-0 triumph over their cross-town rivals Real Madrid.
Mandzukic, however, moved on from Atletico Madrid after a single season as he joined Serie A giants Juventus in a move reportedly worth around 19 million euros. The big Croat certainly had some memorable moments as the striker for the Colchoneros.
#10 Antoine Griezmann (2014- )
The current star of Atletico Madrid, Antoine Griezmann has been in stunning form in the last season and a half. The Frenchman who initially started on the wings soon became the main forward for the Spanish club as his goals at important intervals became crucial for Diego Simeone.
The French forward is a favourite of his manager, with Diego Simeone singling him out for praise on many occasions.
“ Griezmann is one of the best forwards in Spain if not the world” said Simeone.
“If he continues his recent form, Griezmann can go on to be one of the greatest players in Atletico’s history”
The Frenchman has already scored 34 goals in 58 league appearances. Griezamann who was bought for £24 million from Real Sociedad, is turning out to be a wonderful investment, with his goals and form crucial to Atletico’s hopes for a title challenge this season.
