Fifty seasons later, we will once again be wearing red & blue at Celtic Park
In this way, we will pay tribute to the first match of the historic semi-final of the 1973/74 European Cup, in the reunion with a classic of world football as Celtic and in a mythical stadium with a unique personality.
In the season which marks half a century since our first match against Celtic in the momentous 1973/74 European Cup semi-final, the continental competition will once again witness another duel between our team and the Scottish side, whose legendary stadium, Celtic Park, we will visit on Wednesday, just as we did on that distant 10 April 1974.
In commemoration of this tie, which will remain forever in the memory of all the Atleti fans, we will wear the same colours as on that historic day: red shirt, blue shorts and red socks, in the image and likeness of those worn by Adelardo, Irureta, Ayala and Gárate.
Then, with a 0-0 draw in Scotland against a team with stars such as Kenny Dalglish, Billy McNeill and Jimmy Johnstone, we took the first step towards our first European Cup final, which we qualified for with a 2-0 win at the Vicente Calderón two weeks later thanks to goals from Gárate and Adelardo.
"This Wednesday we play again with a historic club in a mythical stadium, Celtic Park, where we will have the honour of reliving a duel that half a century later remains in the memory of all the Atleti fans," says our president, Enrique Cerezo.
"For all the players who played in that game, and that great European Cup, it is a huge recognition that fifty seasons later, the team will once again wear the same uniform at Celtic Park. It fills us with pride now as it filled us with pride then, not only for defending Atlético de Madrid, but also because for people like Reina, Melo, Irureta, Gárate and myself, it was to wear the same colours that we defended with the Spanish national team. That semi-final was very special, we had just won the league the previous season and we eliminated a European champion at a very good moment in our careers," says Adelardo, who wore the captain's armband on those historic nights.
"It is a source of pride and a nice gesture on the part of the club to wear the same colours fifty seasons later. I remember that season with special affection, we had a great team and we were all one big family", says José Eulogio Gárate.
