They Might Be (European) Giants: The Majestic Madness of Atletico Madrid

On a cool, tense Basque night in front of 46,500 hostiles, Antoine Griezmann completed his hat trick most unusually—by electing to pass.

With a 3-1 lead over Athletic Bilbao and a few minutes left, colleague Raul Garcia streaking down his left unmarked and only keeper Gorka Iraizoz to beat, Griezmann elected prudence over personal gain (no small, unselfish feat for usually glory-seeking attackers), slotting a pass wide for Garcia, which Garcia bungled, only for Griezmann to tap home a goal-line gimme for his third score in 35 minutes; a cherry on top of his deft forty-sixth-minute header, and tidy two-touch, left-footed finish 27 minutes later.

It was a fitting way for the 23-year-old French wunderkind to close out Atletico Madrid's historic 2014 calendar year. Indeed, the final goal on December 21 sounded the alarm of Griezmann's arrival and speaks volumes about the continually rising tide of Atletico Madrid, albeit in ever-turbulent conditions swirling over the landlocked Spanish capital.

Yes, that Atletico Madrid, the most insanely-captivating and successfully-flawed club world football saw this year, and in quite some time; comfortably sitting in third-place at La Liga's 2014-15 winter break (four points below pole-sitting Real) following a convincing Champions League Group A triumph (13 points of a possible 18 from Juventus, Olympiakos and Malmo), yet remaining mostly unheralded headed into spring.

Indeed, the first weeks of 2015 hold fascinating fixtures and great promise—a January 7 Copa Del Rey tilt with Real Madrid, a January 11 league-return to Barca's Camp Nou, and the UCL Round of 16 first-leg at Bayer Leverkusen—though Madrid's second-fiddle side may not be favored in any clash.

Such is life for the Rojiblancos, who won the 2014 Spanish-league crown, overcoming the long-standing El Clasico two-party system, and came within a Sergio Ramos stoppage-time header of claiming the European throne, too.

But those achievements were won in spite of great chaos, past, present and future: the massive club-debt albatross, estimated between 80 to 400 million Euros; the summer send-off of arguably the world's best striker and keeper in Diego Costa and Thibaut Courtois to pay off said debts; the yet-to-be-resolved 2011 match-fixing campaign to which captain Gabi admitted his guilt in October; and now, the thundering return of El Nino himself, Torres, the former 17-year-old phenom who starred for the club in Spain's second division way back in 2001, and whose present-day demons in front of goal cast a dark shadow over all he touches.

Everything falls to manager Diego Simeone, a fiery former club midfielder who captained Torres from 2003-05, and was plucked out of managerial obscurity in late 2011. Simeone is a wildly expressive, tactically-obsessive general, whose vampire-black ensemble and crazed sideline antics make him a marvel to behold (as much as the men he cajoles into battle). The 44-year-old Argentine's crowning achievement thus far: a come-from-behind 1-1 draw at Barcelona's Camp Nou on May 17, where a loss would've cost Atletico its first crown since 1996 (on the final day of the La Liga season, no less).

Despite high profile personnel changes, Simeone's 4-4-2 remains nearly identical, with seven of eight returning defenders and midfielders being the predominantly Spanish bedrock non-descript success is built upon. The foundation is 22-year-old Koke, an Atleti youth product from the age of six, and an ever-skilled and savvy central mid (who may well be England's next costly import some window soon), alongside veterans Gabi, tough-tackling Turk Arda Turan, and Tiago. In the back, Uruguayan Diego Godin (whose tying-header in Barcelona won the title) has started every league game this season, flanked by Juanfran and Miranda, with 19-year-old Jose Gimenez waiting in the wings, already an apple of Man City's eye.

Then, there's Mario Mandzukic, nabbed in the summer from Bayern Munich's excessive arsenal to fill the space left behind by Costa, which with six goals in 13 appearances he has more or less done. And of course, there's the prized 30-million-Euro-man, Griezmann, already in his sixth season in Spanish top-flight (following five campaigns and 46 goals with Real Sociedad).

Sporting a bleached mohawk, attacking flair and wispy French mustache—evoking Tyrann Mathieu's Honey Badger as much as DJ Qualls' The New Guy—Griezmann's brilliance in Bilbao offered a reminder of what the Rojiblancos are capable of, sending a message as if from Simeone himself:

Change and chaos may forever be El Atleti's biggest constants, but the ability to plow forth in spite of them will forever be one of its greatest strengths.