With the 2021-22 La Liga season around the corner, Atletico Madrid and Nike are offering up four new shirts to commemorate 75 years under their current name.
According to the club’s website, it was Jan. 1, 1947, when Club Atlético-Aviación changed its name to Club Atlético de Madrid. Under that moniker, the club has won the La Liga title nine times, the Copa del Rey 10 times, and the UEFA Europa League three times.
The home kit maintains the club’s traditional red and white stripes, though in the 2021-22 version, they are wider and feature paintbrush effects. With a red bar to accommodate the shirt sponsor, the club notes that “the front of the shirt also features a huge letter A created by the central red stripes, which is another tribute to Atlético de Madrid.”
The home shirt features a Spanish flag on the back collar, and will be worn with royal blue shorts and socks.
The away shirt is mainly navy blue, with a pinkish-red graphic in the lower left corner. These colours harken back to the away kit worn by the 1995-96 Atletico Madrid squad, which won the club’s first “double” — the La Liga and Copa del Rey championships in the same season. It will be worn with pinkish-red shorts and pinkish-red socks with navy trim.
Atletico’s third kit honours Estadio Vicente Calderón, where the club played its home games from 1966 to 2017, before moving to the Metropolitano Stadium. The shirt, shorts and socks are all light blue, with white and red checked stripes and trim. This scheme mimics the colours of the seats in the Vicente Calderón. There is also a graphic depicting the stadium inside the collar.
And for good measure, Atletico has thrown a fourth kit into the mix. The shirt is solid red, as are the shorts and socks. The shirt is inspired by two events from the club’s history: the first leg of the 1974 European Cup semifinal against Celtic FC, and the 1985 Copa del Rey final, in which they defeated Athletic Bilbao 2-1. The shirt sports the club crest that was worn during that era, as well as a special 75th anniversary logo.
Feature photo courtesy Footy Headlines