The origins of Las Palmas and their curious connection with Atletico Madrid

There are several ties, from a familiar badge to Vicente Calderon’s business travels to the so-called Atletico Canario.

Atletico Madrid will host Las Palmas at the Metropolitano on Saturday at 2pm CET, in a game between two sides that share a curious connection. Los Amarillos pulled off a solid display to end Atleti’ s six-game winning streak in the league by defeating Los Rojiblancos 2-1 at home back in November in front of 30,080 fans. This was Las Palmas’ first victory against Atleticoin over three decades, with their previous triumph over Los Rojiblancos dating back in 1987, when neither of the three scorers in November’s clash – Kirian Rodriguez, Benito Ramirez del Toro or Alvaro Morata – had been born.

Hence, Atletico Madrid will look to avenge their defeat at the hands of Las Palmas, with Saturday’s game offering us the opportunity to delve into the peculiar connection between the two clubs.

A familiar badge on Las Palmas’ crest

Eagle-eyed fans have surely noticed that Las Palmas’ crest features a few different badges, including one that is very similar to Atletico Madrid’s badge. Yet, a closer look reveals that the animal featuring on it looks like a dog and the tree might be a palm, both historical symbols of the Canary Islands. These two appear to replace the bear and that strawberry tree, which feature on Atleti’ s badge as symbols of Madrid.

Meanwhile, the letters “C” and “A” amidst the stripes represent Club Atletico, a team formed from the re-foundation of Club Deportivo Santa Catalina. That club decided to change from a blue and black shirt and black shorts to a red and white shirt and blue shorts, resembling the kit colours of Atletico Madrid.

The foundation of Las Palmas

Canarian