Madrid, Apr 26 (EFE).-A late night to remember was lived at the Metropolitano stadium on the day of the 120th anniversary of Atlético de Madrid, dressed for the occasion in the blue and white shirt and the shield that the club used in 1903 , the year of its foundation.
The stadium (58,523 spectators) greeted the departure of the players onto the pitch, flooding the stands with red and white flags, while the fans sang the red and white anthem, the immortal “I’m going to the Manzanares, to the Vicente Calderón stadium”, a venue that It no longer exists, but it remains in everyone’s memory.
Also the Mexican Javier Aguirre, Mallorca coach, and former mattress coach, received the applause of his former fans. All in the midst of a party atmosphere that Cholo Simeone’s men hoped to complete with a win against Mallorca that would put them two points behind Real Madrid, the second-placed team in Laliga. The Serbian Nastasic threw a jug of cold water on the attempt, but Rodrigo de Paul, in the last play of the first half, and Morata, at the beginning of the second, turned the score around.
Carrasco, in minute 76, unleashed the party with the 3-1. It was then that the most emotional songs arose. The memory of Luis Aragonés was not lacking. Hours before the match, his son had sent a message to the fans via EFE on behalf of his father. “Win, win, win and the Champions League will come.”
A banner was unfurled at the southern end that read “120 years later, Madrid continues to beat in rojiblanco”. The meeting languished in the midst of the hubbub. Atlético came back and added three points that bring them closer to two of their eternal rival.
After the final whistle, the wallpaper of the new Metropolitan is filled with historic club veterans. In the center of the field were, among others: Jorge Mendonca, Adelardo Rodriguez, Jesus Martinez Jayo, Armando Ufarte, Roberto Rodriguez Rodri, Julio Orozco, Iselin Santos Ovejero, Domingo Benegas, Eugenio Leal, Cacho Heredia, Javier Bermejo, Francisco Aguilar, Marcelino Perez, Luiz Pereira, Juan Jose Rubio, Miguel Angel Ruiz, Julius Alberto Moreno, Jose Ignacio Aguinaga, Pepe Navarro, Pedro Pablo Matesanz, Juan Carlos Pedraza, Clement Villaverde, Abel Resino, Thomas Reñones, Enrique Moran, Sergio Morgado, Carlos Aguilera, Antonio Orejuela, Manolo Sanchez Delgado, Roberto Solozabal, Juan Vizcaino, Diego Diaz, Ricardo Lopez, Milinko Pantic, Roberto Fresnedoso, Santi Denia, Juan Eduardo Esnaider, Pedro Jaro, Fernando Torres, Germán Burgos, Jose Maria Movilla, Gonzalo Colsa, Gabi Fernandez , Alvaro Dominguez, Juanfran Torres, Adrian Lopez, David Villa, Michael Angel Moya and Augusto Fernandez.
The applause for many of them was thunderous. Especially the one that Fernando Torres heard, like captain Gabi Fernández. It was quite a journey through the long history of the club, in which there was no lack of handball history. All of them were joined, one by one, by the current squad and coaching staff of Atlético, as well as the players from the Academy. The night closed with thunderous cheers for Diego Pablo Simeone and Jorge Resurección Koke. The whistles to Enrique Cerezo did not water down the commemoration. It was 120 years in one night for posterity at the Metropolitan.
jenaro lorente