THE VITALS:

Team: Atletico Madrid

Brand: Nike

Era: 2017-18 (Used for the 2017-18 La Liga season and the 2018 UEFA Europa League Final)

Name/Number: Griezmann #7

CONDITION: EXCELLENT

This article is nothing short of excellent condition! The material shows little sign of wear, and all of the applications (name and numbering, sponsor, Nike swoosh and club crest) are in immaculate standing also!

DIMENSIONS:

Size: Extra Large Boys (XL Boys/ 13-15 Years)

Pit to Pit Measurement: 19 inches

Shirt Length: 25 inches 

Made in Nike’s ‘Dri-Fit’ mould that they introduced in 2017; the width of this shirt is probably the same as the adult men’s size small, however, please be mindful of the 25 inch length if you are a size small looking to buy this shirt.

DESCRIPTION:

It was a historic season for Atletico Madrid as they made the futuristic Wanda Metropolitano their new home ahead of the 2017-18 season, Nike delivered with yet another exceptional home shirt for ‘Los Colchoneros’! Retaining the all red sleeves as per the previous two seasons, the main feature was the implemented diagnol-cross stripe effect that cut across the traditional red and white stripes to create a signature home shirt! Speaking of a new era; this would also be the first season of shirts to bear the new club crest also! This shirt would be synonymous with many a moment: the return of Diego Costa, the 2^nd place finish in La Liga, winning the Europa League and of course, this would be the last Atleti home shirt worn by club legends: Gabi and Fernando Torres!

THE SEASON:

It was a painful 2016-17 for Atletico Madrid as they were helpless as Real Madrid not only won La Liga, but defeated them in the Champions League for the 4th season in a row, in what was the final season played at the legendary Vicente Calderon. The move into the new, state of the art Wanda Metropolitano would officially take place on September 16th 2017, however, a transfer embargo meant that new signings: Vitolo and the returning Diego Costa could not be registered until 2018. On the bright side, Antoine Griezmann pledged his future to the club in light of their struggles, after being linked heavily with a move to Manchester United in the summer.

‘Los Colchoneros’ would kick off the new season away to newly promoted Girona and would find themselves 2-0 down within half an hour! Angel Correa and Jose Gimenez would score late on to salvage a point as Atleti suffered the ignominy of being held by a newly promoted side on the opening day of the season for the second season in a row. In their next game with Las Palmas, they quickly eviscerated that memory by putting 5 goals past the Canary Islands outfit in a 5-1 win!

Following the return from the international break; an in-form Valencia side would hold Diego Simeone’s side to a goalless draw at Mastella. The Champions League pit Atleti in a ‘Group of Death’ as they were matched alongside: Qarabag, AS Roma and Chelsea. Their Match-Day 1 encounter in the Italian capital ended 0-0 also. The long-awaited move to the Wanda Metropolitano finally arrived and Malaga were the first opponents in the new ground. As if scripted; Griezmann would score the first ever goal at the new stadium, and in what was also his first strike of the season; Atleti would secure a patented 1-0 win. Ahead of their crucial game with Chelsea in the Champions League, they would defeat Athletic Bilbao 2-1 in an impressive win at San Mames on September 20th. The month would end on a disappointing note however, as they were beaten 2-1 at home by Chelsea and then failed to beat Leganes in the league.

Atletico Madrid would next welcome Barcelona for their inaugural visit to the Wanda on October 15th. The home side came with 8 minutes of a first league win over Barca since 2010, in the end, spoils would be shared in a 1-1 draw. Atleti’s qualification hopes in the Champions League were starting to look dour as they failed to win for the 3rd successive game, drawing in Azerbaijan against Qarabag. Draws would be the flavour of the month as they would be held against Villarreal in the league, Elche in the Copa del Rey and Qarabag; worryingly, two of those games were at home and thus, the latter meant that they would almost certainly have to defeat Roma and Chelsea in order to stand any chance of getting to the Last 16 of the UCL.

The first Madrid Derby of the season came at the Wanda on November 18th with both sides on 23 points each, and the home side would impress yet again against one the league’s traditional big two, but would ultimately fail to come away with the win as a goalless draw played out. 4 days later, Atelti would finally get their first win in Europe as a fine 2nd half showing allowed them to put Roma away 2-0 at home. Levante would be beaten 5-0 away from home in the league, and then Elche would be beaten 3-0 in the 2nd Leg of their Copa del Rey Round of 32 clash to seal passage to the next round in what was a fine month for ‘Los Rojiblancos’.

They would start the final month of 2017 by coming from behind to beat Real Sociedad 2-1 at home! Sadly, they couldn’t hold on to their 1 goal lead at Stamford Bridge as the 1-1 draw that unfolded against Chelsea relegated Atleti to the Europa League for the first time since the 2012-13 season. The set-back wouldn’t affect the side back in La Liga as consequent wins over Real Betis and Deportivo Alaves brought them to 16 games in a row without defeat in the league, and the opportunity to end the 2017 portion of the season unbeaten came on December 22nd when they took on Espanyol. Sergio Garcia’s 88th minute goal would earn Espanyol a 1-0 win and end a 20 game unbeaten league run that dated back to April 2017. Still, they would end in 2nd place and would have their new recruits to look forward to integrating in 2018.

Atletico Madrid returned to La Liga action in early January for their Copa del Rey tie against Lleida Esportiu. Diego Costa would score in his first game back for the club in the 1st Leg, meanwhile, Vitolo would open his Atletico Madrid account in the 2nd Leg, as Ateltico triumphed 7-0 on aggregate to reach the quarter final. In his first appearance at the Wanda Metropolitano; Diego Costa would sensationally score and then get sent off as his side defeated Getafe 2-0 at home. Eibar were then beaten 1-0 at home on January 13th, however, the month would see Sevilla dump them out of the Copa del Rey and Girona hold them to yet another draw.

February would feature no less than 7 games in both La Liga and the Europa League! The run would begin with a crucial 1-0 win over Valencia to move 6 points clear of ‘Los Che’. Malaga would again be beaten 1-0 thanks to an Antoine Griezmann goal, which set the stage for their Europa League foray which began away against FC Copenhagen on February 15th. They done the needful in the form of a 4-1 win in the Danish capital, and then 7 days later, the job would be finished in Madrid with a 1-0 win. On the league front, their form would only go from strength-to-strength as: Bilbao, Sevilla and Leganes were all impressively beaten to complete a 100% return for the month of February!

Their form was bettered only by that of Barcelona, who still remained unbeaten after 25 games, and still some 7 points clear of Atletico in 2nd place. Atletico Madrid would surely have to win at the Camp Nou in their March 4th encounter if they were to keep alive any ambition they harboured of pipping them to the La Liga title. It wasn’t to be as Lionel Messi’s incredible free-kick resigned them to a 1-0 defeat, however, with a 10 point cushion over 3rd place Real Madrid, a 2nd place finish was now the objective for the season.

The quarter final of the Europa League would be reached as Lokomotiv Moscow were beaten 8-1 on aggregate! A potential 9 games lay in wait during April and the first of those clashes began with a  1-0 win over Deportivo La Coruna, before defeating Sporting CP 2-0 at home in the 1st Leg of their UEL Quarter Final. Despite only holding a 4 point advantage over Real Madrid ahead of their April 8th clash at the Santiago Bernabeu; it was as if a gentleman’s agreement had been reached beforehand with respective European ties to think about in mid-week, and subsequently, the Derby, which was played at a training ground level of intensity at times, ended 1-1. Atletico would then survive an upset elimination in Lisbon as Sporting came away with a 1-0 win! Atleti’s semi-final opposition would be Arsenal in one of the final stops in the Arsene Wenger farewell tour.

Their 1st Leg clash at The Emirates Stadium saw Atletico reduced to 10 men for over 80 minutes, and would thank their stellar defensive unit for keeping the score at 1-0 to Arsenal, before Antoine Griezmann netted a late equaliser to bring an away goal back to Madrid in the 2nd Leg. Diego Costa’s 1st half stoppage goal in the May 3rd 2nd Leg would be enough to send Atletico Madrid to their 3rd Europa League Final of the 2010’s and would enjoy the footnote being the last European game managed by Arsene Wenger!

Their opponents in the May 16th Finale at Lyon’s Parc Olympique Lyonnais would be against French opposition in Olympique Marseille. Antoine Griezmann would enjoy a fine season by scoring a brace to ensure that he scored in every round of the Europa League! And Gabi, in his penultimate stand as an Atletico Madrid player, would net a late 3rd as Atletico Madrid were crowned as the 2017-18 UEFA Europa League champions! The fitting farewell’s concluded as Fernando Torres scored a brace on the final day of the season in his last ever game as an Atletico Madrid player! Their 2-2 draw at home to Eibar sealed 2nd place; their highest league position since winning the title in 2014!

The notable players that season were:

Antoine Griezmann, Kevin Gamerio, Diego Costa, Luciano Vietto, Fernando Torres, Angel Correa, Yannick Ferreira Carrasco, Vitolo, Saul, Nico Gaitan, Koke, Gabi, Augusto Fernandez, Thomas Partey, Lucas Hernandez, Jose Gimenez, Stefan Savic, Juanfran, Diego Godin, Sime Vrsaljiko, Miguel Angel Moya, Jan Oblak