In 1939, La Liga resumed following the Spanish Civil War. Atletico Madrid had barely survived relegation by winning a play-off against the champions of the Secunda Division, Osasuna and members of the Spanish Air Force integrated themselves into Atletico which subsequently morphed into Athletic Aviacion de Madrid. Aviacion National were originally a separate team which was promised a spot in the Primera Division until the Royal Spanish Football Federation changed their mind and denied them. In order to form a compromise, Aviacion merged with Atletico who only had half a dozen players left due to the Spanish Civil War. They were also in debt to the tune of a million pesetas and their stadium was totally destroyed. The plan worked, and Athletic Aviacion were granted a position in the top flight at the expense of Real Oviedo, who bailed out due to damage to their stadium. With neither former club possessing a playable stadium, they were forced to play their games at Real Madrid’s Estadio Charmartin. The legendary former goalkeeper Ricardo Zamora, as manager, led the club to the title in the 1939/40 season, which meant, astoundingly, that despite being relegated the previous season, Athletic Aviacion were champions of the top division for the first time. This was achieved by winning 14 of their 22 games and finishing just 1 point ahead of Sevilla in second. Moreover, the club managed to defend their title the following season.

 

That year, La Liga had expanded to 16 teams and, due to the rise of Francoism, the use of foreign words in club names was banned. Athletic Aviacion, therefore, became Atletico Aviacion. During this era, Athletico possessed a brilliant midfield trio comprising German Gomez, Machin and Ramon Gabilondo. In 1941/42, Athletic Aviacion suffered a disappointing season and had to battle it out Real Madrid for second place. Unfortunately, they were unable to best their rivals and settle on third. After that, Aviacion turned their attention to the Spanish Cup, a trophy that so far had eluded them. Despite loosing the first round first leg to Salamanca, Aviacion thrashed them 6-1 in the second leg and proceeded to the Round of 16 to battle Deportivo la Coruna, a team who had surprised everyone by finishing in the top 4 of La Liga that season. 2-0 and 0-0 results over the two legs in favour of Aviacion meant they were through to the next round, but this is where it all came to an end. They were unexpectedly defeated by Valladolid, a Second Division team by the way, and the Spanish Cup again slipped their grasp.

 

To Zamora’s chargrin, Aviacion’s President hired a physical trainer, something that was uncommon in those days, to look after the players fitness. Federico Ollavaria was in charge of the Spanish Air Force Physical Culture department, but his action didn’t have the desired effect, and the club finished all the way in 8th spot in 1942/43, but on the plus side, their Estadio Metropolitano was just about rebuilt, capable of housing 45,000 spectators. The club underwent yet another name change in 1947, dropping its military association and becoming Club Atletico de Madrid, the name it retains to this day. This came about after the Ministry of Air requested the club to dispense with the word Aviacion as they no longer had the capacity to support them. The clubs board thanked the Air Force for their past sponsorship before moving forward under the new identity.

 

That year, Atletico won the Presidential Cup and defeated Real Madrid 5-0, the biggest win over their cross-city rivals to date, and it was this event that marked the beginning of the clubs golden age. The famous Helenio Herrera took over the managerial duties in 1951 and took the club to another La Liga title that year. 15 wins and 3 draws gave them 33 points taking them to the top of the table with the likes of Deportivo la Coruna, Valencia and Real Madrid lagging behind. The following season was even better – Atletico defended the title once again and beat Sevilla, Valencia and Barcelona to the crown. It was in this era that Atletico possessed the so called “Forwards of Silk” which included Larby Ben Barek, the French-Moroccan player who Pele once called “The God of Football”.

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Achievements: 
La Liga- Champions x4
Supercoppa de Espana – Winners x3

Copa Eva Durarte – Winners x1

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Star player: Larbi Ben Barek, dob 16 June 1914, pob Casablanca, French Morocco nickname: The Foot of God

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Haj Abdelkader Larbi Ben M’barek is simply one of history’s greatest forgotten footballers. The first successful African player in Europe, Ben Barek was born in Morocco when it was under French rule. Orphaned at a young age, one of his good friends growing up was Marcel Cerdan, regarded as the greatest French boxer of all time.Larbi himself was on the path to becoming a boxer, too, but he was destined for greatness as a footballer. His first adult club was the aptly named Ideal Club Casablanca where he spent four years before moving on to US Moracaine for another 4. French giants Olympique Marseille then knocked on Ben Bareks door and he was off to France where he made a major impact. By scoring 10 goals in 30 games he did enough to impress French national team selectors, and he made his debut for Les Bleus in a 1-0 defeat to Italy, who were at that time world champions. He went on to wear the blue, white and red in 19 games, becoming a national hero in the process. He was so popular in France, that by the time Atletico Madrid became interested in the player, one French journalist wrote that it would be preferred to sell the Arc de Triomphe or the Eiffel Tower instead of Ben Barek! But alas, Larbi spent 5 seasons with the Spanish side with whom he scored 56 goals and won two titles. His career was interrupted by World War II, but he eventually returned to Marseille where, at the ripe old age of 40, he won a French Cup – the complete absenence from tobacco and alcohol was the secret to his longevity as a player. Following his 1954 retirement, Ben Barek became the first manager of the Morocco national team following the country’s independence from France. Six years after his death in 1992, FIFA bestowed upon him the Order of Merit. The worlds greatest ever player, Pele, once said, “If I am the King of Football, then Ben Barek is the God of it.”