Sponsors are like haircuts. You only notice them when they’re bad.
During the 2003/04 season Atletico Madrid took a novel approach to the name emblazoned on the front of their shirt.
Atletico’s deal with Colombia Pictures allowed them to change their sponsor whenever the film studio had a major release.
So when White Chicks was released it was splashed on the front of Fernando Torres’ shirt, whether he liked it or not.
Let’s have a glance back through some of the hits and misses from that memorable campaign.
For a bit of added context we’ve included the film’s IMDB rating. Just in case you were thinking about settling down for a flick.
Closer (7.3/10)
Anacondas: The hunt for the Blood Orchid (4.6/10)
Resident Evil: Apocalypse (6.2/10)
Hellboy (6.8/10)
Spider-Man (7/10)
White Chicks (5.5/10)
The Punisher (6.5/10)
Peter Pan (6.9/10)
Big Fish (8/10)
Gothika (5.8/10)
The Rundown (6.7/10)
S.W.A.T (6/10)
Hollywood Homicide (5.3/10)
Bad Boys (6.6/10)
Who knew the Big Fish was such a good film?
But how did the ever-changing sponsor impact Atletico’s on-field performances during the season?
Gergorio Manzano’s side finished seventh in La Liga, with Torres, who scored 19 goals, the only player to reach double figures.
They were also thumped 6-1 on aggregate by Sevilla in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey so, overall, not much to shout about.
But for having the audacity to put White Chicks on their shirt Atletico will always go down as winners in our books.
They even started a trend…
