Reliable subs keep Real on course for rare double

MADRID - Real Madrid welcomes Atletico Madrid for the first leg of its Champions League semifinal on Tuesday, hoping to do something that has been beyond the reigning 11-time European champion for six decades.

Alfredo Di Stefano - not Cristiano Ronaldo - was Madrid's star man the last time Los Blancos won La Liga and Europe's top club prize in the same season.

In the eight times Real has won the European championship since, it has always been happy to sacrifice La Liga for the tournament it sees as defining its status as the biggest and best club in the world.