Each football club competes with the rest not only on a sporting principle, but also on infrastructure. It is not in vain that before moving to a club, a football player or a coach first of all comes to the stadium, training base and other club structures. Only after that they decide to bind themselves with contractual obligations with the club. “Atletico” (Madrid) is difficult to compete with other clubs stadiums, but “Vicente Klderoe” - not a reason for shame. The stadium is very modern, accommodates a decent number of fans and has good acoustics.
Vicente Calderon Stadium (Madrid)
If you ask the layman what stadium is in Madrid, many will answer Santiago Bernabeu, but not only he. “Vicente Calderon” - the home arena of the team “Atletico” (Madrid), which this year reached the final of the Champions League and for several years have been worthy of competition with the Catalan “Barcelona” and Madrid “Real”.
The football facility was built back in 1966 in the very center of Madrid - the Argansuela district. The first name of the stadium was chosen "Manzanares", but later the name was replaced, and now the stadium bears the name of the best president in the history of "mattresses" - Vicente Calderon. To date, the stands of the football venue accommodate about 55,000 fans who want to see the game of their favorite team. Vicente Calderon is an extra-class stadium according to UEFA standards.
Stadium History
The Metropolitano, the old stadium of the Club of Madrid, can no longer accommodate a sufficient number of fans, so in 1961 the board of directors decided to build a new stadium that would be more comfortable, safer and more spacious. Due to the fact that the construction of the stadium was very expensive, the club management was able to quickly take out loans for a tidy amount of money, and both the club and ordinary fans made contributions for the loan.
By 1966, the stadium was completed and received its name "Mansaranes". Already in 1971, the same board of directors unanimously decided that it should be renamed and given the name of the then president of the club, Vicente Calderon, with whom the "mattresses" achieved unprecedented success on all fronts.
Stadium architecture
The architectural features of this type of structure are very atypical, which can be explained by the fact that the club had serious financial difficulties during the construction of Vicente Calderon. Capacity, for example, was originally planned in the region of 60 thousand, and in fact it turned out to be only 55. At the same time, the entire stadium is even visually easy to divide into 4 parts: the Main rostrum, Lateral, North and South. The main tribune was completed only by 1972, then beige 6 years later after the team’s debut match against Valencia.
A distinctive feature of the stadium is that under one of the stands passes the whole track "M-30". This is again due to low funding, because the stadium is located in the central, but far from the richest, area of the capital. Land was bought on the basis of monetary opportunities.
Who is Vicente Calderon?
Signor Vicente was a respected businessman throughout Spain who had connections in each of the cities of old Castile and Aragon. When in 1954, Barroso left the club, leaving the presidency and deep economic problems, Calderon took up the club directly.
It took quite a bit of time for the newly-minted president to correct the mistakes of his predecessor and complete the stadium as soon as possible (in just 2 years). Under Signor Calderon, the era of economic stability began in the club, and we can say that football has become a business, since it also brought a certain income.
In 1980, Vicente left the club, but due to the fact that the applicants for his chair could not share power, he had to return and rule until his death. The great manager died in 1987, leaving behind not just a trace, but all of himself in the history of the Madrid club.
Service on and around Vicente Calderon
Despite the fact that such a massive building is located in a rather quiet residential area, there is something to do and you don’t need to go for a long time in search of housing, drink or food. The stadium is very close to the geographical center of Madrid, but despite this, the prices are relatively lower, so for a tourist fan of Atlético (Madrid) it’s just a paradise.
The area is filled with hostels and small family hotels, there are also small eateries and restaurants where you can have a tasty and inexpensive meal. During the match at the stadium you can buy a variety of fast food, as well as beer and juices with water. If a fan goes to a match from far away, then he can not be afraid for his stay not before the match, not during the game.
How to buy tickets and get to the stadium?
A tourist from abroad should not have problems, because tickets to the Atletico match are not so difficult to get. Just go to the distributors website and order tickets online. If the fan plans to watch not only football, but also the city, then he can come a couple of days before the match and buy tickets at the box office. Prices range from 30 to 80 euros, which is not so bad as for a team of this level.
True, many may have difficulty finding the Vicente Calderon. The address of the structure is: Paseo Virgen del Puerto 67, 28005 Madrid. More precisely, the Vicente Calderón is located in the southwestern part of the center of Madrid. If you walk along the Manzaneras River along the promenade, then you definitely will not miss this magnificent work of art of the football genre. In general, if someone decided to visit this stadium, then this is a very good idea.