Atletico Madrid

Atletico Madrid

Club Atlético de Madrid, founded on April 26, 1903, in Madrid and playing at the 68,456-capacity Riyadh Air Metropolitano stadium — which hosted the 2019 Champions League final — is Spanish football's great defiant institution, consistently punching above its weight against the resources of Real Madrid and Barcelona. The club has won 11 La Liga titles, including two under Diego Simeone (2013-14 and 2020-21), 10 Copa del Rey trophies, three UEFA Europa League titles, and the 1974 Intercontinental Cup. Simeone, appointed in December 2011 and the most successful manager in the club's history, built a compact, tactically ferocious team centered on players like Antoine Griezmann, Diego Godín, and Fernando Torres. Despite two heartbreaking Champions League final defeats to Real Madrid (2014, 2016), Atlético's identity as the 'colchoneros' — the mattress makers — captures their working-class, indomitable spirit.