Atlético de Madrid is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid, that plays in La Liga. Let’s see some awesome facts and trivia about it!
1.In terms of UEFA competition titles won, Atlético Madrid is Spain’s 3rd most successful club behind Real Madrid and Barcelona.
2. In terms of the number of titles, Atlético Madrid is the fourth most successful club in Spanish football, behind Real Madrid, Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao.
3. The club play their home games at the Vicente Calderón which holds up to 54,960 spectators. In 2016, Atlético are due to move to their new home of Estadio La Peineta, which will have a capacity of 70,000.
4. Atlético’s home kit is red and white vertical striped shirts, with blue shorts, accompanied by blue and red socks. This combination has been used since 1911.
5. During their history the club has been known by a number of nicknames, including Los Colchoneros (“The Mattress Makers”), due to their first team stripes being the same colours as old-fashioned mattresses.
6. During the 1970s, they became known as Los Indios, allegedly due to the club signing several South American players after the restrictions on signing foreign players were lifted.
7. However, there are a number of alternative theories which claim they were named so because their stadium is “camped” on the river bank, or because Los Indios (The Indians) were the traditional enemy of Los Blancos (The Whites), which is the nickname of the club’s city rivals, Real Madrid.
8. Felipe VI, the current king of Spain, has been the honorary president of the club since 2003.
9. The club co-owns the Indian Super League franchise in Kolkata, named Atlético de Kolkata, which won the inaugural season of the competition in 2014.
10. The club was founded on 26 April 1903 as Athletic Club de Madrid by three Basque students living in Madrid. These founders saw the new club as a youth branch of their childhood team, Athletic Bilbao.
11. They began playing in blue and white, similarly to Athletic Bilbao, but by 1911, Athletic were playing in their current colours of red and white stripes.
12. Many believe the change was influenced because red and white striped tops were the cheapest stripes to make, because the same combination was used to make bed mattresses, and the unused cloth was easily converted into football shirts.
13. During the 1920s, Athletic won the Campeonato del Centro three times and were Copa del Rey runners-up in 1921; ironically, this final saw them face parent club Athletic Bilbao, as well as later in 1926. Based on this record, they were invited to join the Primera División of the inaugural La Liga in 1928.
14. Under Helenio Herrera and with the help of Larbi Benbarek, Atlético won La Liga again in 1950 and 1951. With the departure of Herrera in 1953, the club began to slip behind Real Madrid and Barcelona and for the remainder of the 1950s were left to battle it out with Athletic Bilbao for the title of third team in Spain.
15. However, during the 1960s and 1970s, Atlético Madrid seriously challenged Barcelona for the position of second team.
16. Atlético’s best years coincided with dominant Real Madrid teams. Between 1961 and 1980, Real Madrid dominated La Liga, winning the competition 14 times. During this era, only Atlético offered Real any serious challenge, winning La Liga titles in 1966, 1970, 1973 and 1977 and finishing runners-up in 1961, 1963 and 1965.
17. The club had further success winning the Copa del Rey on three occasions in 1965, 1972 and 1976. In 1965, when they finished as La Liga runners-up to Real after an intense battle for the title, Atlético became the first team to beat Real at the Bernabéu in eight years.
18. Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid are clubs with contrasting identities and very different fates. While Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium proudly rises on Paseo de la Castellana in the wealthy Chamartín neighbourhood of northern Madrid, Atlético’s less glamorous Vicente Calderón Stadium stands way down south, in the working class barrio of Arganzuela.
19. Atlético Madrid were always characterized by a sentimiento de rebeldía, a sense of rebellion, although during the early Francisco Franco years, it was Atlético that was the preferred team of the regime, albeit forcibly.
20. They were associated with the military airforce (renamed Atlético Aviación), until the regime’s preferences moved towards Real Madrid in the 1950s.
21. Adelardo holds the club’s official appearance record, wearing the Atlético shirt in 551 matches from 1959 to 1976., club current player for the team, holds the record for most goals scored with 212 and counting.
22. Adrián Escudero has the record for most goals in La Liga with 150.
23. Raúl García is the club’s current record appearance holder, with 182.
24. Radamel Falcao is the club’s most expensive signing at €40 million, and at €60 million also its biggest sale.
25. In 2016 appeared in the Champion’s League final which she lost from Real Madrid. The score was 1-1 and Real Madrid won at the penalties.
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