Vicente Calderon Iconic Stadium That Now Lives Memories

JAKARTA - Friday, July 3, marked the last day of demolition of the Estadio Vicente Calderon, a stadium that has been home to Atletico Madrid for 51 years.

The first goal scored by Luis Aragones on the day of the inauguration of the Estadio Vicente Calderon on 2 October 1966, and the last goal by Angel Correa on 21 March 2017, are just the beginning and the end of what has happened during more than half a century in the history of Atletico Madrid.

From the speed of Paulo Futre down the flanks, the incredible performances of Leivinha and Luis Pereira and the passionate Diego Simeone, Atletico fans are spoiled at this iconic stadium with the quality they possess.

During his time at the Vicente Calderon, Los Colchoneros played 1,227 games, winning 775 of them and scoring 2308 goals. They only lost 195 times.

Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida, the mayor of Madrid and a fan of Atletico, could not contain his emotions when responding to the dismantling of the Vincente Calderon. Via social media Twitter he tweeted about the iconic stadium.

"How many times have I suffered, cried and laughed here, sometimes all in the same game," he wrote.

"There are things that exceed the value of football. Calderon will always be linked to memory and the heart of Madrid."

Cuántas veces he sufrido, he llorado y he reído aquí (y muchas todo en un mismo partido ...). Hay cosas que trascienden el valor de lo meramente futbolístico ... El Calderón siempre quedará ligado a la memoria y al corazón de Madrid. pic.twitter.com/IIh7xd15ES

- José Luis Martínez-Almeida (@AlmeidaPP_) July 3, 2020

This is not the first time Martinez-Almeida has publicly shown his mixed feelings about football and, on this occasion, a heartfelt goodbye from a city that has such a historic stadium.

Estadio Vicente Calderon was demolished to become a park with the name Park Atletico Madrid. The process of demolishing the stadium first started at the end of January 2019.

At that time, not wanting the stadium grass to be thrown away, the fans took the time to come there and immortalize the grass and sell it as a souvenir. At the end of the 2016-2017 season, Atletico also allowed fans to take stadium seats after Los Colchoneros' last match in the Champions League.

After the final part of the deconstruction is complete, all that's left of the Vicente Calderon are fantastic and nostalgic memories of what was and is still there from such an amazing team.