The new Spanish women’s football season is just days away. La Liga F will start on the weekend of 8 September and finish on 18 May. The teams are putting the final touches to their squads to try to compete in a tournament that promises to be very evenly matched. Atlético de Madrid have had several key absentees, but it seems that they have strengthened their squad to return to the top of the table.
Atlético Madrid seemed to be a long way off the time when they were the champions and couldn’t even beat FC Barcelona. The ‘colchoneras’ were the clear dominators of Spanish women’s football, winning three consecutive league titles from 2016 to 2019. That invincible team with players like Amanda Sampedro, Mapi León, Sonia Bermúdez or Silvia Meseguer. One of the few remaining players is captain and goalkeeper Lola Gallardo.
Atlético de Madrid want to be great again and they are taking a very calm approach. To this end, they have been rebuilding for years with young players who are a safe bet for many years to come. This season, they have had a number of notable departures, including Ludmila, Ana Crnogorcevic, Banini and Leicy Santos. In addition, Eva Navarro and Sheila García have left for arch-rivals Real Madrid.
The new Atleti come into this season with a new leader on the bench, Victor Martin. The coach arrives from Madrid CFF, where he had coached the team from the capital for a season and a half. The new coach will have a big challenge ahead of him after the red and white team’s return to the top European competition.
The ‘colchoneras’ managed to return to the Champions League on the last matchday after five years without achieving it. The red and white team will play at home in the qualifying round of the competition on Wednesday 4 September at 13:00 against Rosenborg BK. A priori, Atlético Madrid are clear favourites, but we will have to see how the youngsters and the new signings react to this big game.
To talk about reconstruction, we have to mention the good transfer market that Atleti is doing, taking advantage of many opportunities. The first signing was the Brazilian international, Ana Vitória, who arrived last January in the winter transfer window on loan from PSG. Now, the Brazilian is back on loan and has signed for Atleti until 30 June 2026 after playing 15 games.
The transfer market got off to a strong start and later the transfers of Synne Jensen (Real Sociedad) to strengthen the attack and Silvia Lloris (Levante) to improve the defence were made official. The midfield was another area where they needed to make good signings and they did so with the international Fiamma Benítez (Valencia) and Tatiana Pinto (Brighton). Later came the long-awaited return home of Rosa Otermín (Sevilla), also to strengthen the midfield.
Finally, two very good Brazilian signings arrived to strengthen Atlético de Madrid’s attacking midfield. Luany (Seattle Reign) and Gio (Arsenal) arrive after playing last season in Madrid CFF, two very young players with great projection and a lot of goal. Surely the new coach has had a lot to do with these signings.
Despite the squad seems to be closed, Atleti is still working to improve the team even more and names like the Brazilian Lauren Leal are still being mentioned. Perhaps the least reinforced area has been the defence, and that is why they are working to bring in a world class player. The 22-year-old centre-back already played last season for Madrid CFF, being the player with the most minutes.
The colchonera pre-season has left a very good feeling, where the new signings seem to be adapting well to the new coach’s ideas. The last match played by the Red and Whites was sealed with a victory and a place in the final of The Women’s Cup 2024 on penalties against Inac Kobe with three saves in the shootout by Lola Gallardo.
La Liga F path for Atlético de Madrid and all the Spanish teams is still unknown, as the date of the draw for the calendar isn’t yet known. The official competition will kick off next weekend on 8 September, where there are high expectations for the ‘colchoneros’. The Madrilenians will have to compete, at least, with FC Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Will this be the year of the return of the great Atlético de Madrid?
Translated by Marcos Rodríguez.
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