Athletic Aviación de Madrid (1939–1947)

By 1939, when La Liga had resumed, Athletic had merged with Aviación Nacional of Zaragoza to become Athletic Aviación de Madrid. Aviación Nacional had been founded in 1939 by members of the Spanish Air Force. They had been promised a place in the Primera División for the 1939–40 season, only to be denied by the RFEF. As a compromise this club merged with Athletic, whose squad had lost eight players in the Spanish Civil War. The team were awarded a place in the 1939–40 La Liga campaign only as a replacement for Real Oviedo. With the legendary Ricardo Zamora as manager, the club subsequently won their first La Liga title that season and then retained the title in 1941. The most influential and charismatic player of these years was the captain German Gomez, who was signed from Racing Santander in 1939. He played eight consecutive seasons for 'the rojiblancos', until the 1947–48 campaign. From his centre-midfield position he formed a legendary midfield alongside Machín and Ramón Gabilondo. In 1941, a decree issued by Franco banned teams from using foreign names and the club became Atlético Aviacion de Madrid. In 1947, the club decided to drop the military association from its name and settled on its current name of Club Atlético de Madrid. The same year saw Atlético beat Real Madrid 5–0 at the Metropolitano; their biggest win over their cross-town rivals to date.