Coliseum Alfonso Pérez

Estadio Coliseum – Getafe's Blue Stage South of Madrid

Estadio Coliseum, officially named Coliseum Alfonso Pérez until 2023, has been the home of Getafe CF since 1998. With around 17,400 seats it is one of the smaller grounds in Spain's Primera División, and that is precisely its appeal. Where the big Madrid stadiums hold 60,000 spectators and more, here you sit close to the pitch and watch top-flight Spanish football from a distance the country's biggest clubs can no longer offer. The stadium stands on Avenida de Teresa de Calcuta in Getafe, just south of the Spanish capital.

A Club That Worked Its Way Up

Founded in 1983, Getafe CF is one of the youngest clubs in the Spanish top division. Promotion to the Primera División came in 2004 with a 5–3 win over Tenerife. Only three years later the club reached the Copa del Rey final, losing 1–0 to Sevilla; in 2008 it reached the final again, this time beaten 3–1 by Valencia. For a club from a town living in the shadow of the two Madrid giants, those were the defining seasons of its history.

The European Nights of 2007/08

The international highlight belongs to the same era. In 2007/08 Getafe topped its UEFA Cup group and went on to reach the quarter-finals, where Bayern Munich were the opponents. After a 3–3 aggregate the tie was settled by the away-goals rule and Getafe went out – still the club's deepest run in Europe, and the best-known match this stadium has staged.

Matchday at the Coliseum

Getafe play in blue and their supporters are known as the Azulones, or Marea Azul, the blue tide. The Coliseum is not a ground of big numbers: average attendance sits well below capacity, and tickets for most league fixtures are straightforward to get, which makes a visit easy to plan and the view of the pitch a good one. Visits from Real Madrid or Atlético Madrid are the exception – the smallest stage in the capital region then becomes the most sought-after, with demand far outstripping supply. For those fixtures, plan well ahead.