Club Atlético de Madrid

Full Name: Club Atlético de Madrid
City: Madrid
Founded: 1903
Stadium: Estadio Vicente Calderón (57,500)
Colors: Blue, Red, White
Previous: Athletic Club de Madrid (1903-39), Athletic Aviación de Madrid (1939-41), Atletico Aviación de Madrid (1941-47)
Nicknames: Atleti, Rojiblanca, Los Colchoneros
Rival: Real Madrid

Description:

Atlético Madrid were formed by Basque students living in Madrid on April 26, 1903 as an affiliate of Athletic Bilbao. The club became independent of Athletic in 1921. Athletic Madrid merged with Atletico Aviacion of Zaragoza in 1939, when Aviacion were denied membership in the first division and Atletico had lost many players during the Spanish Civil War. They were known at the time as Athletic Aviación for two years and then forced to change their name from Athletic to Atletico in 1941 by a Francoist decree which banned non-Spanish names. In 1947 Aviación was dropped and the current Atlético Madrid came into use. They are widely regarded as the third-biggest club in Spain and tend to draw support from the south of the city of Madrid. Matches with arch-rival Real Madrid are referred to as the Derbi madrileño - the Madrid Derby.

Estadio Vicente Calderón:

The Estadio Vicente Calderón is named for a former president of the club and was previously known as the Manzanares, a river near which the stadium is located. The club has plans to sell its current stadium and move to a new, larger stadium on the edge of town.

Previous stadiums: El Retiro Parco (1903-13), Calle O'Donnell (1913-23), Metropolitano (1923-66).

Major Trophies:

First Tier League Titles:

• Primera División (1940, 41, 50, 51, 66, 70, 73, 77, 96)

Second Tier League Titles:

• Segunda División (2002)

Cup Titles:

• Copa del Rey (1960, 61, 65, 72, 76, 85, 91, 92, 96)
• Supercopa de España (1985)
• Copa de Campeones (1940)
• Copa Eva Duarte (1951)

International Titles:

• European Cup Winner's Cup (1962)
• Europa League (2010, 12)
• Intercontinental Cup (1974)
• European Super Cup (2010)

Logo:

The club's emblem features: the red and white stripes found on the team's shirts, blue with seven stars to represent the constellation Ursa major, and the coat of arms of the city of Madrid. This coat of arms features a bear and Madrone tree, both once being quite common in the region around Madrid.

Nicknames:

Mattresses in Spain were traditionally wrapped in cloth with red and white stripes, similar to the club uniform, which explains the colchoneros (mattress-makers) nickname. Rojiblanca means "the red and white".

Links:

• Atlético Madrid - Footbo
• Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid