Nickname(s):Los Verdolagas (The Purslanes),El Verde(The Green)
Founded:1947
Stadium:Estadio Atanasio Girardot
Capacity:40,043
1935-1946
1946-1950
1950-1953
1954-1970
1989-1993
2000-Present
Atlético Nacional Crest History
The crest history of Atlético Nacional reflects the development of one of Colombia's most successful football institutions. Throughout almost its entire visual history, the club has remained faithful to its distinctive green and white colours, while shields, diagonal stripes, towers and the initials A.N. have gradually developed into the modern identity of Los Verdolagas.
The earliest emblem shown here dates from 1935–1946, before the official foundation of Atlético Nacional in 1947. It belongs to the club's institutional predecessor and represents the historical roots from which Atlético Nacional eventually emerged.
This unusual early badge consisted of an inverted green triangular form with horizontal extensions on either side, giving it an appearance very different from the later shield-shaped crests.
Inside the triangle appeared a football together with the inscription U.I.-FBC, referring to the earlier football organisation from which the club's history developed.
Despite being visually different from everything that followed, one crucial feature was already established: green was the dominant colour.
Around 1946, shortly before the formation of the modern club, a completely new emblem appeared.
The 1946–1950 crest introduced a conventional shield and, more importantly, a bold green field crossed by a white diagonal stripe.
This green-and-white diagonal became one of the most persistent motifs in Atlético Nacional's visual history and provided the foundation for several subsequent badges.
The design was remarkably simple. There was no club name, lettering, football or decorative imagery — merely the green shield and white diagonal.
In 1947, the organisation was officially established as Club Atlético Municipal de Medellín. The club's philosophy initially emphasised Colombian players, an approach that would later influence the adoption of the name Atlético Nacional.
The crest was modified again around 1950.
The 1950–1953 version retained the green shield and diagonal white stripe but introduced an important new symbol above it: a stylised tower or castle.
This architectural feature would become one of the longest-lasting components of Atlético Nacional's badge and remains present in the modern crest.
The tower gave the emblem a more heraldic character while preserving the extremely simple central shield.
Following the adoption of the name Atlético Nacional in the early 1950s, the crest became considerably more descriptive.
The 1954–1970 badge retained the tower and central diagonal shield but placed them inside a larger white-bordered structure.
The words CLUB ATLÉTICO NACIONAL were arranged around the central green shield, making the club's new identity explicit for the first time.
A green star appeared beneath the shield. This represented Atlético Nacional's first Colombian league championship, won in 1954.
The timing was particularly appropriate: the club had adopted its Nacional identity and almost immediately celebrated its first major championship, allowing sporting success to become incorporated into the badge itself.
The central green field with its white diagonal remained untouched, demonstrating that this simple geometric device had already become a fundamental part of the club's visual identity.
The crest continued to evolve during the following decades, although the image shown here jumps forward to one of the most historically significant versions, used between 1989 and 1993.
The timing of this crest is particularly important because 1989 was the year Atlético Nacional became the first Colombian club to win the Copa Libertadores.
The badge retained the familiar tower above a rectangular shield and the traditional green diagonal motif.
The words CLUB ATLÉTICO NACIONAL surrounded the central section, but the lower part now displayed four green stars.
These stars reflected the club's growing championship record and visually demonstrated how far Atlético Nacional had developed since the single-star crest of the 1950s.
This version became associated with one of the most celebrated teams in Colombian football history.
Atlético Nacional's 1989 Libertadores triumph gave both the club and its green-and-white identity international recognition throughout South America.
The badge therefore became associated not simply with domestic success but with a historic breakthrough for Colombian club football.
By 2000, Atlético Nacional introduced the crest that forms the basis of the badge still used today.
The redesign represented a significant simplification of the previous identity while carefully preserving its most important historical elements.
The traditional tower remained at the top, but it was transformed into a cleaner and more geometric structure.
Beneath it appeared a rectangular green-and-white shield containing the large initials A and N, representing Atlético Nacional.
The historic diagonal motif was retained but was now expressed through several narrow diagonal green-and-white lines running across the centre of the shield.
This created a clever connection between the modern monogram and the simple diagonal stripe that had appeared on Atlético Nacional badges more than half a century earlier.
The complete club name disappeared from the modern design. Instead, the initials A.N. became sufficient to identify one of Colombia's most recognisable football institutions.
The outer structure also became stronger and more symmetrical, with thick green lines creating a compact badge that could be reproduced effectively on shirts, merchandise and digital media.
The modern crest is therefore not a rejection of Atlético Nacional's historical identity but rather a condensed version of it.
The tower provides continuity with the badges introduced around 1950, while the diagonal stripes recall the simple green-and-white shield used during the club's formative period.
Green and white have remained constant throughout the club's visual development.
Atlético Nacional Club History
Atlético Nacional is one of the most successful and widely supported football clubs in Colombia. Based in Medellín, the club was officially founded in 1947, although its roots extend to earlier local football organisations. Over the following decades, Nacional developed from a regional institution into one of the dominant forces in Colombian and South American football.
The club was originally established as Club Atlético Municipal de Medellín. From its earliest years, it promoted the idea of developing and fielding Colombian footballers rather than depending heavily on foreign players.
This philosophy became so important to the institution that in 1950 the name was changed from Atlético Municipal to Atlético Nacional, reflecting an ambition to represent Colombian football on a broader national level.
Nacional was one of the clubs that participated in the early years of Colombia's professional championship and gradually established itself in the country's top division.
The first major breakthrough arrived in 1954, when Atlético Nacional won its first Colombian league championship.
That title established the Medellín club as a national contender and provided the first major trophy in what would eventually become one of the largest collections of honours in Colombian football.
Further league championships followed in 1973 and 1976, helping Nacional establish itself among Colombia's traditional football powers.
During this period, the club's green-and-white colours became increasingly famous throughout the country. They produced enduring nicknames including Los Verdolagas and El Verde.
Nacional's principal local rivalry developed with Independiente Medellín, with whom it shares the Estadio Atanasio Girardot.
Their meetings became known as the Clásico Paisa, one of Colombia's great city derbies. The rivalry divides Medellín between Nacional's green and white and Medellín's red and blue.
During the 1980s, Atlético Nacional began developing a generation that would fundamentally change both the club and Colombian football.
Under coach Francisco Maturana, Nacional placed considerable emphasis on Colombian talent and assembled a team containing players who would become central figures in the country's national side.
The defining moment arrived in 1989.
Atlético Nacional embarked on an extraordinary Copa Libertadores campaign and reached the final against Paraguay's Club Olimpia.
Nacional lost the first leg 2–0 in Asunción, leaving the club with a difficult task in the return match.
In Colombia, Nacional recovered to win the second leg 2–0, forcing the final to a penalty shoot-out.
Goalkeeper René Higuita played a crucial role as Nacional won the shoot-out and captured the 1989 Copa Libertadores.
The victory was historic: Atlético Nacional became the first Colombian club ever to win the Copa Libertadores.
The achievement transformed Nacional into an international football institution and represented a breakthrough for Colombian club football on the South American stage.
Later that year, Nacional faced European champions AC Milan in the Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo. The Colombian side resisted until late in extra time before losing 1–0, following a free-kick goal from Alberigo Evani.
Nacional remained a major continental force during the following years and reached another Copa Libertadores final in 1995, again facing Club Olimpia during the campaign before eventually meeting Grêmio of Brazil in the final.
Grêmio won the final, but Nacional's second appearance in the Libertadores decider reinforced its status as one of Colombia's leading international clubs.
Domestic success also continued. Championships in 1991, 1994 and 1999 made Nacional one of the defining Colombian teams of the decade.
The club entered another highly successful period during the 2000s.
Nacional won both short tournaments in 2007, capturing the Apertura and Finalización championships in the same year.
The achievement demonstrated the depth of the club and further strengthened the reputation behind its famous nickname Rey de Copas — King of Cups.
An even more dominant domestic period followed under coach Juan Carlos Osorio.
Nacional won the 2013 Apertura, 2013 Finalización and 2014 Apertura, completing an exceptional sequence of three consecutive league championships.
During the same era, Nacional also collected domestic cup honours and became a regular participant in CONMEBOL competition.
In 2014, Atlético Nacional reached the final of the Copa Sudamericana, where it faced Argentina's River Plate. After drawing the first leg in Medellín, Nacional lost the return match in Buenos Aires and finished as runner-up.
Two years later came the second great continental triumph in the club's history.
Under coach Reinaldo Rueda, Atlético Nacional assembled an outstanding team for the 2016 Copa Libertadores.
Players such as Franco Armani, Daniel Bocanegra, Alexis Henríquez, Macnelly Torres, Alejandro Guerra, Marlos Moreno, Orlando Berrío and Miguel Borja contributed to one of the strongest Nacional teams ever assembled.
Nacional progressed through the competition with impressive performances and eventually faced Ecuador's Independiente del Valle in the final.
The first leg in Quito finished 1–1.
In the return match at a packed Estadio Atanasio Girardot, Miguel Borja scored the decisive goal as Nacional won 1–0.
Atlético Nacional had become Copa Libertadores champion for the second time, adding the 2016 title to the historic triumph of 1989.
The achievement confirmed Nacional as the most successful Colombian club in the history of the Copa Libertadores, with two championships.
The 2016 team also established Atlético Nacional as one of the strongest sides in world football during that season.
However, the year ended with an event that transcended sporting rivalry.
Nacional was scheduled to face Brazilian club Chapecoense in the final of the 2016 Copa Sudamericana.
On 28 November 2016, the aircraft carrying the Chapecoense team to Medellín crashed near the city, killing most of the people on board.
In the aftermath of the disaster, Atlético Nacional requested that Chapecoense be awarded the Copa Sudamericana title.
CONMEBOL subsequently declared Chapecoense the 2016 Copa Sudamericana champions and presented Atlético Nacional with the CONMEBOL Centenario Fair Play Award in recognition of its response to the tragedy.
The solidarity demonstrated by Nacional's supporters was equally memorable. Tens of thousands gathered at the Atanasio Girardot on the night when the first leg should have been played, dressed largely in white and paying tribute to the victims.
The event created a lasting bond between Atlético Nacional and Chapecoense and became one of the most powerful moments of solidarity in modern football history.
Nacional continued winning major honours after its extraordinary 2016 season.
The club captured another Colombian championship in the 2017 Apertura, maintaining its position at the forefront of the domestic game.
Further success followed in subsequent years, including another league championship in the 2022 Apertura.
Nacional then enjoyed an outstanding end to 2024, winning both the Copa Colombia and the Colombian Finalización championship, adding another remarkable double to its trophy collection.
By this stage, Atlético Nacional had accumulated 18 Colombian league championships, reinforcing its position among the most successful clubs in the history of the country's professional game.
Nacional's rivalry with Millonarios has also developed into one of Colombian football's most important national fixtures. Because both clubs have accumulated enormous trophy collections and supporter bases, their meetings frequently carry significance far beyond an ordinary league match.
The rivalry with América de Cali became especially intense during the 1980s and 1990s, when the two clubs were among Colombia's strongest domestic and continental representatives.
Yet the Clásico Paisa against Independiente Medellín remains the rivalry most deeply rooted in the club's home city.
Both clubs share the Estadio Atanasio Girardot, creating an unusual environment in which the same stadium can be transformed between Nacional's green-and-white identity and Medellín's red-and-blue colours.
