With the World Cup moving into its latter stages, the attention of the football community will soon begin to shift back toward league play, and what better way to celebrate the transition than with a brand new Atletico Madrid soccer jersey? Last year's La Liga champions (and UEFA Champions League runners-up) have altered their home jersey with a stunning new redesign that is bound to catch more than a few eyes next season when it begins to appear on the pitch at Vicente Calderon Stadium.Where last year's Atletico Madrid home kit was a red and white striped jersey with small amounts of blue trim, the new Atletico Madrid home shirt 2014 2015 looks almost like a United States national kit in comparison. In addition to using a brighter red for the shirt's vertical striping, the new jersey also doubles the amount of blue, with blue cuffs on the sleeves and a blue collar around the neck that will undoubtedly make Atletico Madrid more colorful and vibrant than ever before.
Looking Toward a New Season
While many fans will undoubtedly note the new level of color visible on the Atletico Madrid soccer jersey, the most important thing about the shirt is that it will mark yet another season for one of Spain's greatest football clubs.
After defeating Barcelona and Real Madrid to claim the La Liga title last year Atletico's first since the mid-1990s Atletico Madrid will be looking to do a few things in the 2014 2015 season. The first of those tasks, of course, will be to defend the La Liga trophy and win the title for the second season in a row. Both Barcelona and Real Madrid were nipping at Atletico's heels during the 2013 2014 football season, so a second consecutive victory won't come easily.
Cup and Continental PlayÂ
The other task entrusted to the wearers of the Atletico Madrid home shirt 2014 2015 will be to improve upon last year's performance in cup and continental matches. Not that Atletico's performance in either category was weak: on the contrary, Atletico Madrid reached the finals of both the Supercopa de Espana and the UEFA Champions League, and the semifinals in the Copa del Rey.
Of the three events, Atletico Madrid came the closest to winning the Supercopa de Espana. In a two-leg competition against Barcelona, Atletico ultimately lost by virtue of away goals. Neither team scored in the first leg, which took place at Barcelona's home ground of Camp Nou. The second leg, at Vicente Calderon, ended in a 1-1 draw, but since Barcelona had managed a goal away, they ended up winning the cup.
Atletico fell to its other La Liga rival, Real Madrid, at a similarly contentious Champions League final. For the bulk of the match, it looked as if Atletico were destined to become the victors of one of European football's most treasured trophies. A goal at 36 minutes gave the team a leg up over their crosstown rivals, and as the 90-minute mark approached, Real Madrid remained scoreless.
Unfortunately for fans of the Atletico Madrid soccer jersey, time added due to breaks earlier in the match gave Real Madrid a few extra minutes to score an equalizer. Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos netted that equalizer at 90+3, launching the match into extra time, and giving Real Madrid the chance it needed to pull into the lead. Three extra time goals from Gareth Bale, Marcelo, and Cristiano Ronaldo gave Real Madrid the win and sent Atletico Madrid home empty-handed.
New Year, New Chances
While the outcomes of the Supercopa and the Champions League essentially meant that Spain's three best league football teams got to split the seasonal glory last year (Real Madrid also won the Copa del Rey), Atletico Madrid will be out to correct some of its close losses this year. The bold new design of the Atletico Madrid home shirt 2014 2015 is a perfect visual representation of this "new year, new chances" mentality.
Do you think Atletico Madrid will defend its La Liga title, or would you rather see the team collect a few cup and continental football titles? Either way, you can support the team with an Atletico Madrid soccer jersey from Soccer Box.
