Atlético de Madrid

Atlético de Madrid: A Great Representative of Spanish Soccer

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Atlético de Madrid History and Highlights

Atlético de Madrid was founded on April 26, 1903, by a group of students who decided to form a team to compete with the noblest sporting attributes. Its first president was Enrique Allende.

Initially, the uniform was a blue and white shirt with vertical stripes and black or white pants. Then on January 22, 1911, they took the name of “colchoneros” (In Spanish, a colchón is a mattress) because of their red and white striped shirt, which was compared to the mattress covers of that time.

At the beginning of its foundation, Athletic Club de Madrid was formed as a branch of the Athletic de Bilbao team. This meant that they could not compete in official matches or championships since, as a branch of another team, the two were considered a single team. During the 1904 Spanish Championship, the Bilbao team won the championship, although most of its players came from Athletic Club de Madrid.

In 1907 they legally obtained their own identity by registering in the Registry of Associations. Then, in 1917, they began to sever relations with Athletic de Bilbao, and in 1917 they got their own shield. By 1921 the club was de facto independent, and in 1924 the emancipation was made official after a meeting of the National Assembly of Members, eliminating all the statutes related to the Bilbao club.

This club is one of the oldest teams in Spanish soccer, currently ranked third in LaLiga with 11 titles won after taking its talent to the First Division 84 times. In addition, it has participated in the Copa del Rey and has been a finalist in nine of its editions.

Another important achievement to highlight are three predecessor titles of the Supercopa de España, in which it has already won two titles. In addition, it managed to take home the trophy three times in the European Super Cup competition.

They stand out in international competitions where they have won multiple titles. A handful of highlights include three titles in the UEFA Europa League, three in the Champions League, and three in the UEFA Super Cup.

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association considers them among the best teams in the world, ranked sixth for 2021 in the UEFA coefficient table and fifth in the performance ranking of the last ten years.

Sports Facilities

The team’s first stadium was Campo del Tiro al Pichón, a dirt field with a slope, channels to help with water drainage, and no fences to separate the public. Despite all this, it was the best stadium in Madrid at the time.

Between 1913-23, they occupied the Campo de O’Donnell stadium, with a capacity of 10,000 spectators and a dimension of 100.38 x 64 meters.

From 1923-66 the team occupied the facilities of the Stadium Metropolitano, which had a Grass Surface. Its dimensions were 105 x 67 meters, with a capacity of 50,000 spectators.

From 1966-2017 they played in the Manzanares Stadium, which was renamed Vicente Calderón in honor of the former player, coach, and president of Atlético de Madrid.

Currently, they carry the sporting passion of soccer in the Civitas Metropolitano stadium with a heritage agreement that was signed with Atlético de Madrid in 2008. Now officially owned by the Club, it was inaugurated on September 16, 2017. It has a capacity of 68,456 spectators, a grass surface, and a dimension of 105 x 68 meters.

Team Logo

The current shield of Atlético de Madrid, which was unveiled in 2017, is a bear and a strawberry field symbolizing the city of Madrid. It has seven white stars in a blue border representing the Ursa Major’s constellation; the stars’ points represent the five bordering provinces of Madrid. The red and white colors of the team are distributed in four red and three white vertical lines.