50 Fun Facts About Atletico Madrid

Atlético Madrid was founded in 1903 as a branch of which other Spanish club?

Athletic Bilbao. Basque students living in Madrid set up the branch within weeks of watching their home club win the first Copa del Rey final in the city, and the two sides only split in 1921.

At which Madrid fountain do Atlético fans gather to celebrate trophies, a short walk from Real Madrid's Cibeles?

Neptune. The sea god stands less than a mile from Cibeles on the same boulevard, and after the 2014 league title a vast crowd packed the square to meet the team's open-top bus.

What colours did Atlético Madrid originally play in?

Blue and white halves. The design was Blackburn Rovers', whose shirts the parent club's founders used to buy on trips to England, and it lasted until the switch to stripes around 1911.

Atlético Madrid's nickname Los Colchoneros refers to which trade?

Mattress makers. Spanish mattresses used to be covered in red-and-white striped ticking just like the team's shirts, and the story goes that cheap offcuts of the cloth were sewn into kits.

Tradition says Juan Elorduy bought Atlético's first red and white striped shirts from which English club?

Southampton. The story goes that he was sent for Blackburn Rovers kits, found none and bought striped shirts in the port he sailed home from; a 2023 study argues they really came from Sunderland.

When Atlético Madrid first adopted red and white striped shirts, which part of their old kit did they keep?

Blue shorts. The parent club that made the same switch moved to black shorts, so the blue became the one thing that set the Madrid side's kit apart, and it has stayed for over a century.

By which nickname is Atlético Madrid's long-serving coach Diego Simeone known?

El Cholo. A youth coach, Victorio Spinetto, gave him the name as a teenager because it had belonged to Carmelo Simeone, an unrelated Boca Juniors defender of an earlier generation, and it stuck.

After the Spanish Civil War, Atlético Madrid merged with which other team?

Aviación Nacional. The air force side, founded by officers during the war, had been refused a top-flight place, while the Madrid club had lost players and a usable ground, so the merger rescued both.

Who managed Atlético Madrid to the club's first La Liga title in 1939–40?

Ricardo Zamora. Spain's great goalkeeper of the 1920s, after whom La Liga's goalkeeping award is named, won the league in his first season as the club's coach and kept it in 1941.

Why did Atlético Madrid switch its name to a Spanish spelling in 1940?

A Franco decree banned foreign names. Every club had to drop its English words; when the ban was lifted decades later most took their old names back, but Atlético chose to keep the Spanish form.

Which coach led Atlético Madrid to back-to-back league titles in 1950 and 1951?

Helenio Herrera. A decade before he made catenaccio famous in Italy, he won those titles with Larbi Benbarek starring in attack, and the club then waited 15 years for its next league crown.

Atlético Madrid won the 1962 Cup Winners' Cup final against which Italian club?

Fiorentina. The holders drew 1–1 in Glasgow, the replay in Stuttgart had to wait almost four months, and Atlético's 3–0 win there brought a trophy that Real Madrid never managed to win.

Which English club beat holders Atlético Madrid 5–1 in the 1963 Cup Winners' Cup final?

Tottenham Hotspur. Jimmy Greaves and Terry Dyson scored twice each in Rotterdam, and the win made Spurs the first British club to lift a European trophy.

Which stadium on the banks of the Manzanares was Atlético Madrid's home from 1966 to 2017?

Vicente Calderón. It opened as the Estadio del Manzanares and was renamed after the club president a few years later; a stretch of the M-30 motorway ran underneath its main stand.

Which Atlético goalkeeper won La Liga's award for the best goals-against record four seasons running from 2016?

Jan Oblak. Bought for a La Liga record fee for a goalkeeper to replace a loanee the club could not keep, he had won the award six times by 2025, more than any keeper before him.

Atlético had three players sent off in the 1974 European Cup semi-final against which club?

Celtic. Coach Juan Carlos Lorenzo's side held out for 0–0 with eight men on a night still remembered in Madrid as the Battle of Glasgow, then won the return leg 2–0 to reach the final.

Whose last-minute equaliser for Bayern Munich forced a replay of the 1974 European Cup final against Atlético?

Georg Schwarzenbeck. The centre-back rarely shot and a team-mate recalls silently begging him not to, but his long-range strike cancelled out an extra-time free kick, and Bayern won the replay 4–0.

Why did Atlético Madrid play in the 1974 Intercontinental Cup despite losing the European Cup final?

Bayern declined to take part. They pleaded fixture congestion, so the runners-up went instead, beat Independiente 2–1 on aggregate and became world champions without ever having been champions of Europe.

Which Atlético Madrid great returned as coach in 2001 and won promotion from the second division?

Luis Aragonés. He had first taken the job in 1974, within months of retiring as the club's star forward, and after winning promotion he handed a teenage Fernando Torres his La Liga debut.

Which striker won the Pichichi with Atlético Madrid in 1985, then crossed the city to join Real Madrid?

Hugo Sánchez. The Mexican scored both goals in that year's cup final, and at Real he was La Liga's top scorer again in each of his first three seasons, four Pichichis in a row.

Atlético Madrid lost the 1986 Cup Winners' Cup final 3–0 to which club?

Dynamo Kyiv. Valeriy Lobanovskyi's side scored after five minutes and twice more in the last five in Lyon, leaving Atlético beaten in a third European final in a row.

Which controversial businessman became Atlético Madrid's president in 1987 and stayed for 16 years?

Jesús Gil. The property magnate, later mayor of Marbella, hired and fired coaches at a furious rate, and when the club became a company in 1992 he took its shares without paying for them.

Which future Real Madrid star left Atlético's academy when the club shut it down in 1992?

Raúl. The president scrapped the youth system to save money, so the teenager crossed the city and found worldwide fame with Atlético's greatest rivals instead.

Which Portuguese winger, fresh from winning the 1987 European Cup with Porto, became Atlético Madrid's marquee signing?

Paulo Futre. The new president made the 21-year-old, man of the match in that final, his very first signing, yet years of lavish spending on stars brought only two Copas del Rey.

Which coach delivered Atlético Madrid's La Liga and Copa del Rey double in 1995–96?

Radomir Antić. Atlético had escaped relegation only on the final day of the previous season; the Serbian arrived, cleared out the squad and won both trophies at the first attempt.

Which club knocked Atlético Madrid out of their first Champions League campaign, in the 1996–97 quarter-finals?

Ajax. Atlético drew 1–1 in Amsterdam and took the Dutch side to extra time in Madrid, but lost 3–2 there, ending the Spanish champions' first campaign under the Champions League name.

In which city did Atlético and Real Madrid meet in the first all-Madrid Champions League final, in 2014?

Lisbon. Atlético led until the 93rd minute at the Estádio da Luz and stood moments from a first European Cup, only to be taken to extra time and beaten 4–1.

Which country sponsored Atlético Madrid's shirts from 2012 to 2014 under the slogan 'Land of Fire'?

Azerbaijan. Atlético made no secret of the politics: the club said the deal was meant to 'promote the image' of the country and carry its name 'all over the world'.

Fernando Torres left Atlético Madrid in July 2007 for which English club?

Liverpool. He had joined Atlético at 11, was captain at 19 and its leading scorer year after year, and he told the club to listen to the offer because that was where he wanted to play.

Which film studio sponsored Atlético Madrid's shirts from 2003 to 2005, printing film titles in place of its logo?

Columbia Pictures. Titles such as Spider-Man 2 and Hitch replaced one another on the shirt with each release, and the films' stars, Tobey Maguire and Will Smith among them, posed with it.

Who scored both Atlético Madrid goals in the 2010 Europa League final win over Fulham?

Diego Forlán. His winner late in extra time in Hamburg ended a 48-year wait for a European trophy, the club's first since the 1962 Cup Winners' Cup.

Atlético Madrid won the 2010 UEFA Super Cup by beating which European champions?

Inter Milan. José Antonio Reyes and Sergio Agüero scored, David de Gea saved a penalty, and the newly crowned champions of Europe were beaten 2–0 by the Europa League winners.

Which nickname did Atlético's own president give the club after the 1974 European Cup final?

El Pupas, 'the jinxed ones'. He coined it after watching the trophy slip away to a goal in the final seconds, and the label clung to the club for decades as shorthand for its hard luck.

Atlético's new stadium opened in 2017 as the Wanda Metropolitano, named after a conglomerate from which country?

China. Dalian Wanda had bought a 20% stake in the club in 2015 and then paid to put its name on the ground, while 'Metropolitano' recalled the ground Atlético left in 1966.

Which teenage loanee goalkeeper anchored Diego Simeone's first Atlético Madrid defence?

Thibaut Courtois. Chelsea bought the 19-year-old from Genk and loaned him out within weeks; he stayed three seasons, and one of his games for Atlético was a 4–1 win over Chelsea themselves.

Who scored a first-half hat-trick for Atlético Madrid against Chelsea in the 2012 UEFA Super Cup?

Radamel Falcao. That May the Colombian had scored twice in the Europa League final, a trophy he had also won with Porto the year before.

Atlético ended a 14-year wait for a Madrid derby win in the 2013 Copa del Rey final, played at which stadium?

Santiago Bernabéu. Real Madrid were at home and scored first, but Diego Costa equalised and Miranda's goal in extra time won it 2–1, ending a run of 25 derbies without an Atlético victory.

At which stadium did Atlético Madrid clinch the 2013–14 La Liga title with a 1–1 draw on the final day?

Camp Nou. Barcelona would have been champions with a win and scored first, but Diego Godín headed in a corner just after half-time, and the draw gave Atlético their first title in 18 years.

Who scored Real Madrid's stoppage-time equaliser against Atlético in the 2014 Champions League final?

Sergio Ramos. His header from a corner came in the 93rd minute, with Atlético moments from a first European Cup, and a drained side then conceded three more in extra time.

How was the 2016 Champions League final between Atlético and Real Madrid decided?

On penalties. It finished 1–1, Juanfran hit the post with his kick and Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winning one, a second final lost to the same rivals in three seasons.

Which midfielder overtook Adelardo in 2022 to become Atlético Madrid's all-time leader in appearances?

Koke. A Vallecas boy who joined the academy at eight, he broke a record that had stood for 46 years in his 554th game, at Sevilla, having never played for another club.

Which captain scored the final goal of Atlético Madrid's 2018 Europa League final win over Marseille?

Gabi. The midfielder's last-minute strike was his first goal of the season, and within weeks he had left his boyhood club for Al Sadd in Qatar.

In which city did Atlético Madrid beat Real Madrid 4–2 in the 2018 UEFA Super Cup?

Tallinn. The first Super Cup between two clubs from one city was also the first European final staged in Estonia; Diego Costa scored in the opening minute and two extra-time goals settled it.

Which striker, signed from Barcelona in 2020, powered Atlético Madrid to the 2020–21 La Liga title?

Luis Suárez. Told by Barcelona's new coach that he was not wanted, he scored 21 league goals for Atlético, the last of them the title-winner on the final day, and was in tears afterwards.

Who became Atlético Madrid's all-time record goalscorer in January 2024?

Antoine Griezmann. His 174th goal, against Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup, broke a record that had stood for half a century, and he kept adding to it until he left for Orlando City in 2026.

Who became Atlético Madrid's most expensive signing when he joined for €126 million in 2019?

João Félix. The 19-year-old was bought with the proceeds of a €120 million sale that same summer, won one league title, then went on loan to Chelsea and Barcelona before leaving for good.

Which member of Spain's royal family became Atlético Madrid's honorary president in 2003?

King Felipe VI. Then Prince of Asturias, he accepted the title for the club's centenary; as a boy at a cup final he had already told a reporter that Atlético were his team.

Atlético's Metropolitano stadium was rebuilt from a one-stand 1990s arena known by which nickname?

La Peineta. It means 'the comb', after the shape of the arena's single stand; built for 20,000 in 1994, it stood largely unused through failed Olympic bids until Atlético rebuilt it.

Which investment firm completed a majority takeover of Atlético Madrid in March 2026?

Apollo Sports Capital. The deal left the club's long-serving chairman and chief executive in their posts, and came with up to €100 million of new capital for the squad and a planned sports city.

In 2018 Atlético Madrid became the first La Liga club to put its name to a football academy in which country?

Pakistan. The club lent its name and Spanish coaches to an academy in Lahore, where boys and girls trained to shouts of 'bueno' and 'mas'.