one to forget for Tiago. With the arrivals of midfielders Diego and Felipe Melo, coupled by his slight dip in form, his appearances were again limited; under Ciro Ferrara he was relegated to the bench once again, only making seven Serie A appearances. Atlético Madrid On 8 January 2010, Tiago joined Atlético Madrid on loan until the end of the season. He scored his first league goal in nearly three years on 21 January, heading home against RC Celta de Vigo in a 1–1 home draw in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey (2–1 aggregate win); gradually, he established himself in the starting lineup ahead of longtime incumbent Raúl García, also reuniting with former Benfica teammate Simão Sabrosa. After helping the Colchoneros to the domestic cup final – he was cup-tied for the Europa League – a new loan deal was arranged with Juventus. Again, he played in significantly more minutes than García as Atlético finally qualified to the Europa League, and added four goals in La Liga, including a brace to help defeat Málaga CF 3–0 away, both goals coming from headers. On 20 July 2011, Tiago signed a permanent two-year deal. He was again an important part of the team that reached the Europa League final, usually playing as a starter under coach Diego Simeone, who replaced Gregorio Manzano midway through the season; he missed the decisive match in Bucharest however, being sent off in the semi-final's second leg against Valencia CF (1–0 away victory, 5–2 on aggregate) after slapping Roberto Soldado. On 21 July 2014, aged 33, Tiago renewed his contract with Atlético for two seasons. On 13 September he put the visiting team ahead at Real Madrid after heading home a corner kick from Koke, in an eventual 2–1 win. In the reverse fixture on 7 February 2015, he opened the scoring in a 4–0 rout; eighteen days later, he received his marching orders in the 0–1 away loss to Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the first leg of the Champions League last-16. On 28 November 2015, in the first half of the league fixture against RCD Espanyol, Tiago suffered an undisplaced fracture to his right tibia, going on to be sidelined for several months. He left the Vicente Calderón Stadium at the end of the 2016–17 campaign, with competitive totals of 229 games and 19 goals both spells comprised. International career Tiago's performances in Portugal's