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Real Madrid CF

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Real Madrid
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logo
Full nameReal Madrid Club de Fútbol
Nickname(s)
Los Blancos (The Whites),
Los Merengues (The Meringues),
Los Vikingos (The Vikings)
FoundedMarch 6, 1902
as Madrid Football Club
GroundSantiago Bernabéu,
Madrid, Madrid,
Spain
Capacity80,354
ChairmanSpain Ramón Calderón
Head CoachItaly Fabio Capello
LeagueLa Liga
2005-06La Liga, 2nd

Real Madrid is a Spanish sports club best known for its football team which was ranked as 'The 20th Century's Best Club' by FIFA. They play their home games at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid.

Real Madrid have been European Champions a record 9 times and have also won a record 29 La Liga titles. The club also operates a reserve football team, Real Madrid Castilla and a basketball team, Real Madrid Baloncesto.

During its history, the club has acquired a number of nicknames. Among the earliest were los merengues, after the white dessert meringue, and los blancos. Both simply referred to the club's legendary all-white strip. In the 1970s, the nickname los vikingos became more popular, especially among the Ultras Sur. This nickname apparently refers to the club's decision to sign a number of players from northern Europe after the restrictions on using foreign players were lifted. More recently, the media dubbed the club los galácticos, referring to club decision to sign star players.

Club Address: Avenida de Concha Espina 1, 28036 - Madrid

History

Early years

Football was introduced to Madrid by the professors and students of the Institución Libre de Enseñanza. They included several Oxbridge graduates. In 1895 they founded the club Football Sky, playing on Sunday mornings at Moncloa. In 1900 this club split into two different clubs New Foot-Ball de Madrid and Español de Madrid. The president of the latter club was Julián Palacios. In 1902 the latter club split again, resulting in the formation of Madrid FC on March 6 1902. The first president was Juan Padrós Rubió; the first secretary was Manuel Mendía; and the first treasurer was José de Gorostizaga. Juan Padrós Rubió would be later succeeded by his brother, Carlos. The Padrós brothers belonged to a Catalan family that had settled in Madrid. The club colours were derived from the English side Corinthians. The club's first manager was an Englishman, Arthur Johnson.

In 1902 Madrid FC members proposed a cup competition to celebrate the coronation of Alfonso XIII . This competition would evolve into the Copa del Rey. In 1904 the club merged with two other Madrid teams, Moderno Amicale and Moncloa. The club won its first Copa del Rey in 1905 and then completed a four in row sequence of wins by 1908. In 1920 the club became Real Madrid FC after receiving the royal patronage of Alfonso XIII. In 1928 they became founding members of La Liga and since then they have never been relegated from the Primera Division. During the Second Spanish Republic the Real was dropped from the clubs name. As Madrid FC, the club won their first La Liga titles in 1932 and 1933.

Rivalry with FC Barcelona

The rivalry between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona is legendary. From the start the clubs were seen as representatives of the two rival regions of Spain, Castile and Catalonia, as well as the two cities themselves. However the rivalry reached a new level during the Franco years when Real Madrid was considered to be the regime team while FC Barcelona was regarded as the team of the opposition.

Although following the Spanish Civil War Real Madrid received considerable institutional assistance from the Franco regime, as he saw the club as the sporting embodiment of the Spain he wanted to create, during the war itself members of both clubs suffered at the hands of Franco supporters. FC Barcelona president Josep Sunyol was killed while Real Madrid president Rafael Sánchez Guerra, a prominent Republican, was imprisoned and tortured. They also arrested and murdered a Real vice-president and club treasurer and an acting president disappeared.

The rivalry was given a significant boost by the 1943 Copa del Generalísimo semi-final between the two clubs. The first leg at Les Corts ended in a 3-0 loss for Real, but the return leg in Madrid saw them win 11-1. It has been alleged by some that the FC Barcelona players were pressured into losing the game. The dispute over Alfredo Di Stéfano in the 1950s intensified the rivalry further.

There is no doubt that Franco benefited from Madrid's achievements in Europe and used the club for propaganda purposes. As years passed and Franco's regime disappeared, both Real Madrid and FC Barcelona have enjoyed success, both in Spain and in Europe, regardless of who led the government.

The Bernabeu seats over 80,000.

Rivalry with Atlético

As well as their rivalry with FC Barcelona Real also enjoy a local rivalry with Atlético de Madrid. Altough Atlético was originally founded by three Basque students in 1903, they were joined in 1904 by dissident members of Madrid FC. Further tensions came because initially Atlético supporters came from the working class while the Real supporters were drawn from the middle class. Today these distinctions are largely blurred. The rivalry first gained international attention in 1959 during the European Cup when the two clubs met in the semi-final. Real won the first leg 2-1 at the Bernabéu while Atlético won 1-0 at the Metropolitano. If away goals had counted double Atlético would have progressed to the final. However the tie went to a replay and Real won 2-1. Atlético, however, gained some revenge when, led by former Real coach José Villalonga, they defeated Real in two successive Copa del Generalísimo finals in 1960 and 1961.

Between 1961 and 1980 when Real dominated La Liga, only Atlético offered Real any serious challenge, winning La Liga titles in 1966, 1970, 1973 and 1977. In 1965, when they finished as La Liga runners-up to Real after an intense battle for the title, Atlético became the first team to beat Real at the Bernabéu in eight years. Real Madrid's record against Atlético in more recent times is very favourable. A high point coming in the 2002/03 season, when Real clinched the La Liga title after beating Atlético 4-0 at the Vicente Calderón stadium.

Champions of Spain

The mid-1950s saw Real put together a team that included among others Alfredo Di Stefano Ferenc Puskás, Francisco Gento, Hector Rial, Raymond Kopa, and José Santamaria. These players formed the nucleus of the Real Madrid team that dominated the second half of the 1950s. They won La Liga for first time as Real Madrid in 1954 and retained it in 1955. They were winners again in 1957 and 1958, with only Athletic Bilbao interrupting their sequence. CF Barcelona won La Liga in 1959 and 1960 but between 1961 and 1980 Real Madrid dominated La Liga with the club winning the competition 14 times. This included a five in a row sequence (1961-1965) and two three in row sequences (1967-69 and 1978-1980). It was during this era that legendary players such as Jose Antonio Camacho, Uli Stielke and Juan Gomez came into the side.

In the early 1980s they Real lost their grip on La Liga but by 1986 they had resumed normal service with another five in a row sequence (1986-90). This team included included Hugo Sánchez and the infamous 'Quinta del Buitre' - Emilio Butragueño , Manolo Sanchís, Martín Vazquéz, Míchel and Miguel Pardeza.

Champions of Europe

However Real's reputation as a major club was established by their outstanding record in the European Cup. To date have they have been crowned champions of Europe a record nine times. Alfredo di Stefano, Ferenc Puskás and friends helped the club win the European Cup five times in a row between 1956 and 1960 and then for a sixth time in 1966. They were also runners-up in 1962, 1964 and 1981. Winning the competition five consecutive times saw Real permanently awarded the original cup and earning the right to wear the UEFA badge of honour. They have also won the UEFA Cup twice and were twice runners-up in the European Cup Winners Cup.

In 1998, 2000 and 2002 a new generation of Real players including Raúl, Predrag Mijatović, Davor Šuker, Clarence Seedorf, Roberto Carlos, Fernando Morientes, Steve McManaman, Luís Figo and Zinedine Zidane saw the club added a further three UEFA Champions League titles.

Los Galácticos

In July 2000 Florentino Pérez was elected club president with the promise to build a team full of Zidanes and Pavons - expensive high profile recruits and youth team graduates. Initially using money from the sale of the club’s training ground to the Madrid city government, Pérez signed Luís Figo, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo and the club gained the new nickname of Los Galácticos. Initially the strategy was successful and Real Madrid won La Liga in 2001 and 2003 and the UEFA Champions League in 2002. They also won the Intercontinental Cup, the European Super Cup and the Supercopa de España in both 2001 and 2003.

Off the field the Los Galácticos policy resulted in increased financial success based on the exploitation of the club’s high marketing potential around the world, especially in Asia and the Far East. However the team’s on field performance declined following Perez’s decision to sack Vicente Del Bosque as club coach in 2003. Despite signing further high profile players such as Sergio Ramos, Michael Owen, Robinho, Julio Baptista, and David Beckham, Real Madrid have failed to win a major trophy since 2003. This failure has also seen a high turnover in non-playing staff and the club has had four managers and four directors of football in the four years since the departure of Del Bosque. On February 27 2006, Florentino Pérez resigned as club president.

Recent events

On July 2 2006 Ramón Calderón who was elected as club president and he subsequently appointed Fabio Capello as the new coach and Predrag Mijatovic as the new sporting director. Real have recently signed Fabio Cannavaro, Emerson Ferreira da Rosa, both from Juventus F.C. and Ruud Van Nistelrooy from Manchester United.

Major trophies

1960; 1998; 2002.
1955/56 4-3 vs. Stade de Reims-Champagne
1956/57 2-0 vs. A.C. Fiorentina
1957/58 3-2 vs. AC Milan
1958/59 2-0 vs. Stade de Reims-Champagne
1959/60 7-3 vs. Eintracht Frankfurt
1965/66 2-1 vs. Partizan Belgrade
1997/98 1-0 vs. Juventus
1999/00 3-0 vs. Valencia
2001/02 2-1 vs. Bayer Leverkusen
Real Madrid in white v. Real Sociedad in black on January 5, 2005
1984/85; 1985/86.
2002.
1931/32 1932/33 1953/54 1954/55 1956/57 1957/58 1960/61 1961/62 1962/63 1963/64 1964/65 1966/67 1967/68 1968/69 1971/72 1974/75 1975/76 1977/78 1978/79 1979/80 1985/86 1986/87 1987/88 1988/89 1989/90 1994/95 1996/97 2000/01 2002/03
1904/05; 1905/06; 1906/07; 1907/08; 1916/17; 1933/34; 1935/36; 1945/46; 1946/47; 1961/62; 1969/70; 1973/74; 1974/75; 1979/80; 1981/82; 1988/89; 1992/93.
1984/85.
1947 1988 1989 1990 1993 1997 2001 2003
1955 1957
  • Regional Championship: 18
1903/04; 1904/05; 1905/06; 1906/07; 1907/08; 1912/13; 1915/16; 1916/17; 1917/18;
1919/20; 1921/22; 1922/23; 1923/24; 1925/26; 1926/27; 1928/29; 1929/30; 1930/31.

Current squad 2006/07

The numbers are established according to the official websites of Real Madrid, the Spanish league and UEFA. Spanish teams are limited to three players without EU citizenship. The squad list includes only the principal nationality of each player; several players on the squad have dual EU citizenship. ñ As of February 1 2006

The 4-2-3-1 Lineup. Real Madrid's Most common Lineup During The 05/06 Season.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Spain ESP Iker Casillas
2 DF Spain ESP Michel Salgado
3 DF Brazil BRA Roberto Carlos
4 DF Spain ESP Sergio Ramos
5 DF Italy ITA Fabio Cannavaro
6 DF Spain ESP Iván Helguera
7 FW Spain ESP Raúl (captain)
8 MF Brazil BRA Julio Baptista
9 FW Brazil BRA Ronaldo
10 FW Brazil BRA Robinho
11 DF Brazil BRA Cicinho
12 MF Uruguay URU Pablo García
13 GK Spain ESP Diego López
14 MF Spain ESP Guti
15 DF Spain ESP Raúl Bravo
16 MF Denmark DEN Thomas Gravesen
17 DF England ENG Jonathan Woodgate
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 FW Italy ITA Antonio Cassano
19 FW Spain ESP Javier Portillo
20 MF Spain ESP Borja
21 DF Uruguay URU Carlos Diogo
22 MF Spain ESP Paco Pavón
23 MF England ENG David Beckham
24 MF Spain ESP Álvaro Mejía
25 GK Spain ESP Kiko Casilla
26 GK Spain ESP Jordi Codina
28 MF Spain ESP De la Red
29 MF Spain ESP Jurado
30 MF Spain ESP Juanfran
31 MF Spain ESP Balboa
-- DF Spain ESP Oscar Miñambres
-- MF Brazil BRA Emerson
-- FW Netherlands NED Ruud van Nistelrooy


Squad Changes During Summer 2006

In:

Out:

See also: Real Madrid Castilla

Stadium information


Statistics 2005/06

Position Pts P W D L F A
Real Madrid 2 70 38 25 5 8 71 32
  • Top Scorers:
    • Ronaldo - 14 goals
    • Zidane - 9 goals
    • Baptista - 8 goals
  • Top Goalkeepers
    • Casillas - 38 goals in 37 matches
    • Diego Lopez - 2 goals in 2 matches


Famous former players

see also Category:Real Madrid footballers

Selected Managers

see also Category:Real Madrid managers

Presidents

see also Category:Real Madrid presidents


Wikimedia Commons has media related to Real Madrid.


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