- published: 27 Feb 2016
- views: 3200
Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D., commonly known as Atlético de Madrid, is a Spanish football club based in Madrid who play in La Liga. Atlético have won both La Liga and the Copa del Rey on nine occasions, including a double in 1996; in Europe, they won the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1962, were European Cup runners-up in 1974, won the Intercontinental Cup in 1975, won the Europa League in 2010 and in 2012, and won the UEFA Super Cup in 2010.
Los Colchoneros play their home games at the Vicente Calderón, which currently holds up to 54,960 spectators. In 2015, Atletico are due to move to their new home of Estadio La Peineta, which will have a capacity of 70,000.
Atleti'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. Nike are the kit manufacturers, the only sponsor is Kyocera.
During their history, the club have been known by a number of nicknames, including Los Colchoneros ("The Mattress Makers" in English), due to their first team stripes being the same colors as old-fashioned mattresses. 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 was lifted. However, there are a number of counter theories which claim they were so named 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.
Madrid (English /məˈdrɪd/, Spanish: [ma'ðrid]) is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan area is the third largest in the European Union after London and Paris. The city spans a total of 604.3 km2 (233.3 sq mi).
The city is located on the Manzanares river in the centre of both the country and the Community of Madrid (which comprises the city of Madrid, its conurbation and extended suburbs and villages); this community is bordered by the autonomous communities of Castile and León and Castile-La Mancha. As the capital city of Spain, seat of government, and residence of the Spanish monarch, Madrid is also the political centre of Spain. The current mayor is Ana Botella from the People's Party (PP).
Madrid urban agglomeration has the 3rd largest GDP in the European Union and its influences in politics, education, entertainment, environment, media, fashion, science, culture, and the arts all contribute to its status as one of the world's major global cities. Due to its economic output, high standard of living, and market size, Madrid is considered the major financial centre of Southern Europe and the Iberian Peninsula; it hosts the head offices of the vast majority of the major Spanish companies, such as Telefónica, Iberia or Repsol. Madrid is the most touristic city of Spain, the fourth-most touristic of the continent, and is the 10th most livable city in the world according to Monocle magazine, in its 2010 index. Madrid also ranks among the 12 greenest European cities in 2010. Madrid is currently a Candidate City for the 2020 Summer Olympics.