Atlético move up to second in UEFA ranking

UEFA released its latest batch of club coefficient ranking on Tuesday, and Atlético Madrid have risen to second in the ranking - the best mark in club history. Atlético had placed fourth the past two seasons.

The table is updated annually by UEFA, and the latest edition entering the 2017-18 season is topped by two-time defending European champions Real Madrid (151.799 points). But right behind los blancos are los colchoneros. Atlético’s (133.799) string of deep Champions League runs amazingly have placed them ahead of Barcelona (128.799), Bayern Munich (122.656) and 2016-17 Champions League runners-up Juventus (119.049). Sevilla (109.799) round out the top six, meaning the top four teams in LaLiga are also the top four teams in UEFA’s list.

The coefficient is determined by how well listed clubs perform in European competition and simply adding up the numbers. Teams get a nice bump for winning a Champions League group and an extra point for each round played past the group stage. Atlético have won its UCL group for four seasons running and have qualified for the quarterfinals in each season too. Atleti also have made three semifinal appearances and two trips to the final in that span.

Along with Atlético’s rising valuation, this is yet another way we can quantify the impact that Diego Simeone has had since he returned as manager in 2011. He has overseen a meteoric rise from the mid-20s of the ranking all the way up to second. Atleti were 23rd in the ranking in 2011 - Simeone took over in December of that year - and have been at the forefront of a shifting dynamic in European football, in which Spanish teams have dominated a landscaped once ruled by English sides. Manchester United (1st), Chelsea (3rd), Liverpool (5th and Arsenal (6th) all placed prominently in the 2010-11 table; today, all of those clubs reside outside the top 10.