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Real Madrid
File:Real Madrid.png
Full nameReal Madrid Club de Fútbol
Nickname(s)Los Blancos
Los Merengues
Founded6 March 1902
(as Sociedad Madrid Foot-ball Club)
GroundSantiago Bernabéu
Madrid, Spain
Capacity80,400
ChairmanSpain Ramón Calderón
Head CoachTBA
LeagueLa Liga
2006-07La Liga, 1st

Real Madrid Club de Fútbol is a team filled with starts but sucksSpanish professional football club based in Madrid. It is one of the most successful clubs of the 20th century and also holds several records. The club also has a similarly successful basketball section. The original uniform colors are white t-shirt and shorts, and blue socks. The purple band in the badge represents the kingdom of Castile.

The club was one of the founding members of FIFA.[1] 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 30 La Liga titles. The club also operates a reserve football team, Real Madrid Castilla, and a successful basketball team, Real Madrid Baloncesto and are trying to sponsor a rugby team, CRC Madrid Noroeste and a Formula One team. Real Madrid is unique in that, unlike most football clubs, it has been owned and operated only by its members (socios) since 1902. On December 23, 2000, FIFA awarded Real Madrid as the Best Club of the twentieth Century. On 17th June 2007, Real Madrid won its 30th La Liga title by beating Mallorca at home 3-1. They finished level on points on fierce rivals Barcelona, but were declared winners on better head-to-head record.

Throughout its history, the club has acquired a lot of nicknames. The first ones were los merengues, because of the white dessert meringue, and los blancos. Both simply referred to the club's legendary all-white strip and remain the most common to this day. In the 1970s, the nickname los vikingos became popular, due to the signings of several northern European players. Most recently, the media called the club los galácticos, referring to club's tendency to sign the most famous players in the world.

Real Madrid is currently the richest club in the world with an estimated revenue of €292.2 million.

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 Club Español de Madrid. The president of the latter club was Julián Palacios. In 1902 the latter club split again, resulting in the formation of Sociedad 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 Padrós from Spain. In 1905, only three years after its foundation, Madrid FC already won its first major title in the Estadio Chamartín stadium. The team won the first of four consecutive Copa del Rey - titles (at that time the only statewide competition). In 1912 they moved to their first ground called Campo de O'Donnell' after moving between some minor grounds.[2] In 1920 the club's name was changed into Real Madrid after the King grants the title of Real (Royal) to the club.

Santiago Bernabéu Yeste

Before becoming President in 1945, Santiago Bernabéu Yeste had already carried out the functions of player, first-team captain, club maintenance, first-team manager and director, in an association with the club that lasted nearly 70 years. He was responsible for rebuilding the club after the Spanish Civil War, and under his presidency, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium and the Ciudad Deportiva. Real Madrid has a newly named stadium which is the 'Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium'.

He also reorganized the club at all levels, in what would become the normal operating hierarchy of professional clubs in the future, giving every section and level of the club independent technical teams and recruiting staff such as Raimundo Saporta.

Finally, beginning in 1953 he embarked upon a strategy of signing world-class players from abroad, the most prominent of them being the signing of Alfredo Di Stéfano and built the world's first truly multinational side. During Bernabéu's presidency many of Real Madrid's most legendary names played for the club, including the aforementioned Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás, Francisco Gento, Héctor Rial, Raymond Kopa, José Santamaría, Miguel Muñoz, Amancio, Santillana, Juanito, José Antonio Camacho and others.

In 1955, acting upon the idea proposed by the journalist Gabriel Hanot and building upon the Copa Latina (a tournament involving clubs from France, Spain, Portugal and Italy), Bernabéu met in the Ambassador Hotel in Paris with Bedrignan and Gustav Sebes and created what today is known as the UEFA Champions League. Under the administration of UEFA, it is the world's premier club tournament.

It was under Bernabéu's guidance, that Real Madrid became established as a major force in both Spanish and European football. Before passing away in 1978, Bernabéu had been the club's president for 35 years, during which he won 1 Intercontinental Cup, 6 European Cups, 16 La Liga titles, and 6 Spanish Cups.

However, it should be noted that Franco´s dictatorship used the team as a symbol of Spanish nationalism. The end result being the dominance of Real Madrid inside of Spain and is best exemplified by the signings of DiStefano after he had already been signed by FC Barcelona and the exclusive allowance made by the Spanish Government to the club in the signing of Puskas at a time when new international players were forbidden

Domestic success

The signings in the early 1950s formed the nucleus of the Real Madrid team, which would dominate the latter half of the decade and beyond. They won La Liga for first time in over 20 years 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-a-row sequences (1967-69 and 1978-1980). It was during this era that legendary players such as Jose Antonio Camacho, Uli Stielike, Santillana and Juanito came into the side.

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

Real Madrid has also won the Copa del Rey on 17 occasions, and are 7-time winners of the Supercopa de España.

International success

In addition to their domestic success, Real Madrid's reputation as a major club was established by their outstanding record in the European Cup. To date they have been crowned champions of Europe a record nine times. Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás and other famous players helped the club win the European Cup five times in a row between 1956 and 1960, which included the memorable 7-3 Hampden Park final against Eintracht Frankfurt in 1960. The club won for a sixth time in 1966 with the team known as the Ye-Ye , defeating Partizan Belgrade 2-1 in the final with a team composed entirely of nationally-born players, a first in the competition. 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 1996 President Lorenzo Sanz appointed Fabio Capello as coach. Although his tenure lasted only one season, Real Madrid were proclaimed league champions and several important players arrived at the club (Roberto Carlos, Predrag Mijatović, Davor Šuker and Clarence Seedorf) to strengthen a squad that already boasted the likes of Raúl, Fernando Hierro and Fernando Redondo. As a result, Real Madrid (with the addition of Fernando Morientes in 1997) finally ended its 32-year wait for the seventh European Cup in 1998 under manager Jupp Heynckes, defeating Juventus 1-0 in the final, thanks to a goal from Predrag Mijatovic. Real Madrid would go on to win again in 2000 and 2002 under manager Vicente Del Bosque, with sides including players such as Steve McManaman, Luís Figo and Zinedine Zidane.

Real Madrid are also three-time winners of the Intercontinental Cup, defeating Peñarol, Vasco da Gama, and Olimpia Asunción in 1960, 1998, and 2002 respectively.

Quinta del Buitre years

Quinta del Buitre was the name given to the generation of club grown Real Madrid players that dominated Spanish football in the 1980s. The name ("Vulture's Cohort") was derived from the nickname given to its most charismatic member Emilio Butragueño. The other four members were Manolo Sanchís, Martín Vázquez, Míchel and Miguel Pardeza.

Sanchís and Martín Vázquez were the first to play for the first team of Real Madrid, making their debut at Murcia on December 4 1983. Coach Alfredo Di Stéfano brought the youngsters in from the start. Both played surprisingly well and Sanchís even scored the winning goal. A few months later, February 5 1984, saw the debut of Emilio Butragueño in an away game at Cádiz. El Buitre was an instant sensation and scored twice. Pardeza was added to the first team that same season and Míchel followed at the start of the next.

With La Quinta del Buitre (reduced to four members when Pardeza left the club for Zaragoza in 1986) Real Madrid had one of the best teams in Spain and Europe during the second half of the 1980s, winning amongst others two UEFA Cups and 5 Spanish championships in a row. Their record was only blemished by their failure to win the European Cup, and their continued abject defeats against the far superior AC Milan side of the time.

Martín Vázquez went to play for Torino in 1990. He made a return to Real Madrid in 1992, leaving the club again for good in 1995 (to Deportivo La Coruña). Butragueño left the club in 1995 and Michél in 1996. Both went to play for Atlético Celaya in Mexico.

Sanchís was the only member of La Quinta to never play for a club other than Real Madrid. By winning the Champions League twice (in 1998 and 2000), he also managed to accomplish what La Quinta had failed to achieve in its glory days. He retired in 2001 as last active member of the famous cohort at the age of 37.

Florentino Pérez years

In July 2000 Florentino Pérez was elected club president vowing to erase the club's debt and modernise the club's facilities, however the primary electoral promise that propelled Pérez to victory was the signing of then-FC Barcelona star Luís Figo. During the campaign, Pérez claimed he had an agreement with the Portuguese winger that would see Figo move to the Bernabeu should Pérez be elected. On July 16, Pérez won the election. Eight days later, Luís Figo was presented with the number 10 shirt of Real Madrid. Days later, surrounded by controversy, Real Madrid idol Fernando Redondo, who had openly supported Pérez's opponent Lorenzo Sanz, was sold to Italian giants AC Milan.

During the summer of 2000, Real Madrid signed Claude Makélélé, Albert Celades, Flávio Conceição, César Sánchez, Pedro Munitis, and Santiago Solari although aside from Makélélé and Conceição the rest had been signed previous to the election of Florentino Pérez. Expectations were high as Real Madrid began the 2000-01 season with the possibility of winning 5 trophies but stumbled at the first test losing the European Super Cup by a score of 1-2 to Galatasaray. An injury to Fernando Morientes left Real Madrid without a centre forward, but manager Vicente Del Bosque improvised by using youth team graduate Guti, in that role and Real Madrid made a good start to both domestic and European campaigns. But Real Madrid were defeated 2-0 at the Camp Nou against Barcelona and were later eliminated from the Copa del Rey by Toledo as well as losing the Intercontinental Cup final to a Boca Juniors side led by Martin Palermo and Riquelme. But Real Madrid recovered form and went top of the Spanish first division in mid-January, a position they would not relinquish on their way to winning the title. Real Madrid advanced from the second group stage of the Champions League to face Galatasaray in the quarterfinals. Real Madrid lost the first leg in Istanbul 3-2 but recovered to win the tie after a 3-0 victory in the Bernabeu. This would produce a replay of the 1999-2000 Champions League semifinal against Bayern Munich. Real Madrid would not reach the final however, losing 2-3 on aggregate to the eventual champions. Real Madrid would not be denied the league title however, and on 26 May, the merengues would crown themselves champions of the Spanish first division with an emphatic 5-0 win over Alaves at the Bernabeu. Goals by Raúl (2), Guti, Hierro, and Iván Helguera would ensure victory and Real Madrid's 28th league title with two matches left to play.

The 4-1-3-2 lineup. Real Madrid's Starting Lineup in The 01/02 Champions League Final.

After reaching an agreement to re-zone and sell the Ciudad Deportiva, Pérez went on to sign Zinédine Zidane (2001), Ronaldo (2002) and David Beckham (2003). The media began referring to the team as Los Galácticos. Initially the strategy, eventually dubbed Zidanes y Pavones and meant to combine world stars and youth team graduates, was successful and Real Madrid won La Liga in 2001 and 2003 and the UEFA Champions League in 2002, their centenary year. They also won the Intercontinental Cup, the European Super Cup and the Supercopa de España in both 2001 and 2003.

Off the field the Zidanes y Pavones policy resulted in increased financial success based on the exploitation of the club's high marketing potential around the world, especially in Asia[3][4]

In the summer of 2003, just after capturing another La Liga title, Florentino Pérez and the board of directors refused to renew the contract of coach Vicente Del Bosque and after an internal dispute forced captain Fernando Hierro to leave the club. They also ignored Claude Makélélé's request of a new contract with a better salary, in return, Makélélé asked for a transfer request, and was transferred to Chelsea. In the following years the team's on-field performance started to decline. Portuguese manager Carlos Queiroz replaced Vicente Del Bosque for the 2003-2004 season. Real Madrid started the season brightly and were 8 points clear in the Spanish 1st division in February but a late season slide saw them struggle to finish fourth. Further disappointment came when AS Monaco, thanks impart to goals from on-loan striker Fernando Morientes, eliminated Real Madrid from the UEFA Champions League at the quarterfinal stage. Real Madrid's poor form continued as Real Zaragoza upset them in the Copa del Rey final. Shortly after the season, Carlos Queiroz was sacked and replaced by ex-Real Madrid player, José Antonio Camacho. Pérez, at the request of Camacho, signed two central defenders to try to correct the team's defensive shortcomings. Real Madrid spent a total of €45 millions on Argentine defender Walter Samuel and English centre back Jonathan Woodgate but missed out on signing Arsenal's midfield general, Patrick Vieira due to the Vieira's boldness of asking a 'Galactico' paycheck (like Figo, Zidane, Ronaldo and David Beckham and unlike Claude Makélélé, who left for exactly that reason - €9 million Euro's per year). The summer of 2004 also saw the sale of Cameroon Samuel Eto'o, who had been loaned out to Real Mallorca, to archrivals F.C. Barcelona. English striker Michael Owen was bought from Liverpool FC but never settled at Real Madrid while Eto'o went on to great success with Barcelona. Camacho only lasted two months before resigning after a disappointing start into the season. He was replaced by interim coach Mariano García Remón and in December 2005 Brazilian manager Vanderlei Luxemburgo became the permanent replacement. Although Real Madrid did finish a distant second in the Spanish league, Luxemburgo was unable to lead Real Madrid in to the quarterfinals of the Champions League. The 2005-06 season began with the promise of several new signings (Julio Baptista (€20 Million), Robinho (€30 Million) and Sergio Ramos (€30 Million - Release Clause) but the Brazilian coach was not able to find the right formula on the pitch as Real Madrid's poor form continued, with the team hitting rock bottom after a humiliating 0-3 loss at the hands of F.C. Barcelona in the Santiago Bernabeu. Luxemburgo would eventually resign and his replacement was Juan Ramón López Caro, formally the manager of Real Madrid Castilla. A brief return to form came to an abrupt halt after losing the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinal, 6-1 to Real Zaragoza. Shortly after, Real Madrid were eliminated from the Champions League for a third successive year, this time at the hands of Arsenal. On February 27, 2006, Florentino Pérez resigned. Real Madrid eventually managed to finish second in the league but did not pose a serious threat to defending champions, F.C. Barcelona.

Post Pérez-Galácticos Era

Ramón Calderón period

On July 2, 2006 Ramón Calderón was elected as club president and subsequently appointed Fabio Capello as the new coach and Predrag Mijatovic as the new sporting director. As new manager of Real Madrid, Capello signed the World Cup winning captain Fabio Cannavaro and Emerson, both from embattled Juventus, for a total sum of €23 m; Ruud van Nistelrooy from Manchester United for €15 m; Mahamadou Diarra from Lyon for €26 m and on a last minute trade loan - José Antonio Reyes. Ramon failed, however, to sign A.C. Milan star Kaká, Arsenal star Cesc Fabregas and Chelsea star Arjen Robben as was promised by the new president. During the January transfer window, he has managed to sign Fluminense left back Marcelo (€6.5 m), River Plate forward Gonzalo Higuaín (€13 m) and Boca Juniors midfielder Fernando Gago (€18 m).

On January 16, 2007, Calderón made some very unfortunate comments about the behavior of some players in the squad and the Santiago Bernabeu fans, which has put the club in a delicate situation.[5] One of the players that Calderón criticised was David Beckham, who, in January 2007, agreed a deal to play for LA Galaxy at the end of that season. Among others to criticise Beckham was manager Fabio Capello, who, at the time, vowed never to select Beckham for the team again, although he later withdrew his words. At the end of January Ronaldo left the club for 7.5 million euros for AC Milan. On February 9, 2007, Capello allowed Beckham back onto Real's starting 11 in an away match against Real Sociedad, Beckham played well and scored the equalizing goal in the match (Real Madrid won the match 2-1). On February 24, 2007, the Madrid derby between Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid at the Vicente Calderón Stadium was a 1-1 draw. The scorers were Fernando Torres for Atlético, and Gonzalo Higuain for Real. The Madrid derby is seen as one of the most fiercely contested matches in the Spanish football calendar.

On March 7, 2007 Real Madrid failed to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League due to Bayern Munich's strong home performance. Despite winning the home leg 3-2, they lost 2-1 in Germany and were eliminated on an away goals tiebreaker.

On March 10, 2007 Real Madrid contested the Clasico against Barcelona at the Camp Nou. Real Madrid took the lead 3 times after 2 goals from Ruud van Nistelrooy and one from Sergio Ramos but were pegged back by a hat-trick from Lionel Messi. Despite the sending off of Oleguer, the Clasico ended 3-3.

Real Madrid managed to put their European disappointments behind them and treated their last 12 league games as "finals". Real Madrid managed to find their form consistently for the first time all season as they managed to win seven out their first eight "finals", including a 2-1 home win over Valencia on April 21, 2007 and another 3-2 home win over Sevilla on May 6, 2007. Calderón then went on to say that if the team keep up their great play, he was confident Real Madrid will win the league title and end their four year wait for a major trophy on June 17.

On May 12, 2007, despite not having Robinho and Beckham on the pitch (due to separate yellow cards given in the previous match against Sevilla) Real Madrid took over first place in the La Liga for the first time all season by defeating Espanyol 4-3, coming back from 1-3 first half deficit. Los Blancos were able to avoid a 3-3 draw thanks to a 89th minute goal by Gonzalo Higuaín.

The Sunday after Real won their epic battle with Espanyol, Barça dropped points with a 1-1 draw to struggling Betis. By virtue of their superior head to head record, Real Madrid sat at the top of La Liga, with four crucial "finals" left to play.

The following Sunday, Real managed to beat Recreativo 2-3 at the Nuevo Colombino. With the score tied at 2-2, Real Madrid looked set return the lead back to rivals Barcelona until Roberto Carlos scored at the end of the match from a Fernando Gago assist and the squad left Huelva with just three "finals" left to play. The remaining three were Deportivo, Zaragoza and Mallorca.

On May 26, 2007, Real Madrid did another excellent match to defeat Deportivo 3-1 at the Bernabéu. This victory made it six wins in a row for Real Madrid. Goals from Sergio Ramos, Raúl and Ruud van Nistelrooy secured the win. That victory left Real with only two "finals" left to play and with hopes and morale reaching a high point in Real's dressing room, Capello and Calderón began to believe that Real was going to win the league title.

On June 9, 2007, Real played against Zaragoza at La Romareda. The match got off to a bad start when Real Madrid were forced to change their lineup some minutes before the start of the match when young defender Miguel Torres got injured in the warm up, tearing his hamstring. Zaragoza led Real 2-1 near the end of the match while Barcelona were also winning against Espanyol 2-1. Real's title challenge looked to be over. However, a late Ruud Van Nistelrooy equalizer followed by a last minute Raúl Tamudo goal sprang Real Madrid's title hopes back into their favor. Sevilla were also held 0-0 away against Mallorca, which meant that a win at home against Mallorca would effectively secure Los Merengues their 30th Spanish league title.

The title was won on June 17, Real faced Mallorca at the Bernabéu, while Barcelona and Sevilla, the other title challengers, faced Gimnàstic de Tarragona and Villarreal respectively. At half time Real were 0-1 down, while Barcelona had surged ahead into a 0-3 lead in Tarragona; however, three goals in the last half-an-hour secured Real Madrid a 3-1 win and their first league title since 2003. The first goal came from Reyes who scored after a good work from Higuaín. An own goal followed by another delightful goal from Reyes allowed Real to begin celebrating the title. Thousands of Real Madrid fans began going to Plaza de Cibeles to celebrate the title.

Real Madrid recently signed a three-year deal with betting company Bwin.com in June, announcing a shirt deal at the same time that saw BenQ Siemens replaced by Bwin.com on the front. The 2007-08 shirts made their first appearance during their title celebration on June 17, 2007.

Just a few days after Real Madrid secured their first league title in four years, Calderon admitted that Real will sign few more players besides the recent addition of German defender Metzelder. Calderon, however, refused to comment on coach Fabio Capello's future at the Bernabeu, insisting that for the time being, everyone will want to celebrate winning the title and will only talk in a few weeks time.

On June 28th, 2007, it was confirmed that Real Madrid had parted company with its title winning coach Fabio Capello.

Getafe's German coach Bernd Schuster is tipped to succeed Capello.

Stadia

Main articles: Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium, Estadio Chamartín

Crest

File:Realmadridcrest.jpg

The first crest of Real Madrid had a very simple design. It consisted of interlacing the three initials of the club, that is to say, the "M", the "F" and the "C", that went in blue dark bottom, on the white t-shirt. But as well, the regulation established that for parties with sets of other societies, the equipment had to take the shield of the city of Madrid in the left side of the chest, replacing to the shield of the club.

The first variant data of 1908. The interlaced letters adopted one more a more streamlined form and appeared enrolled in a circle. The following change in the configuration of the crest did not occur until 1920, year in which King Alfonso XIII granted to the club the title of Real. Therefore Corona was added to him Real, the streamlined initials were the same, and the club happened to denominate Real Madrid Foot ball Club. As well, for the official parties, the shield of the city was adopted along with the borbónica crown.

With the restoration of II the Republic in 1931 all the symbols of the Royalty were eliminated, so that the crown was lost that years before it had obtained. In return, the band dwelled in diagonal of the region of Castile was added to him.

In 1941, two years after the end of the Civil War, the shield recovered Real Corona, but also it maintained the strip mulberry. In addition, the colors were modified, being then gilded the predominant one, and the club happened to be called Real Madrid Club of Football. It is with this shield with which the club would reach the maximum laurels of the world-wide football, and that stayed already until end of the Nineties.

The last modification occurred in 2001, as a result of granting an agreed character to him with century XXI and with related to the marketing research and the band it happened to be of blue color.

Statistics

Main article: Real Madrid Statistics

Recent seasons

Season Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Cup Europe Notes Manager
1994/1995 1D 1 38 23 9 7 91 42 55 last 16 UC last 16 Valdano
1995/1996 1D 6 42 20 10 12 75 51 70 last 16 ECL quarter-final Valdano & Iglesias
1996/1997 1D 1 42 27 11 4 85 36 92 last 16 Capello
1997/1998 1D 4 38 17 12 9 63 45 63 last 16 ECL winner Heynckes
1998/1999 1D 2 38 21 5 12 77 62 68 semi-final ECL quarter-final Camacho & Hiddink
1999/2000 1D 5 38 16 14 8 58 48 62 quarter-final ECL winner Toshack & Del Bosque
2000/2001 1D 1 38 24 8 6 81 40 80 last 64 ECL semi-final Del Bosque
2001/2002 1D 3 38 19 9 10 69 44 66 final ECL winner Del Bosque
2002/2003 1D 1 38 22 12 4 86 42 78 quarter-final ECL semi-final Del Bosque
2003/2004 1D 4 38 21 7 10 72 54 70 final ECL quarter-final Queiroz
2004/2005 1D 2 38 25 5 8 71 32 80 last 16 ECL last 16 Camacho, García Remón & Luxemburgo
2005/2006 1D 2 38 20 10 8 70 40 70 semi-final ECL last 16 Luxemburgo & López Caro
2006/2007 1D 1 38 23 7 8 66 40 76 last 16 ECL last 16 Capello
2007/2008 1D 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ECL -

Statistics in La Liga

  • Seasons in La Liga: 76 (all)
  • Best position in La Liga: First (30 times)
  • Worst position in La Liga: Eleventh (1947-48)
  • Most goals scored in a season: 107 (1989-90)
  • Most goals scored in a match: RM 11 - Elche 2 (1959-60)
  • Most goals conceded in a match: Espanyol 8 - RM 1 (1929-30)

Statistics in European Cup

  • Most goals scored in a match: RM 12 - Boldklubben 1909 0 (1961-62)
  • Most goals conceded in a match: AC Milan 5 - RM 0 (1988-89)

General statistics

Supporters

During most home matches the majority of the seats in the stadium are occupied by season ticket holders, of which there are approximately 65,000. In order to become a season ticket holder one must first be a socio, or club member. Not all members are able to get a season ticket. In addition to members, the club has over 1,800 peñas (official, club-affiliated supporters' groups) in Spain and around the world.

Rivalries

FC Barcelona

See also: El Clásico

The rivalry between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona is legendary. From the start, the clubs were seen as representatives of two rival regions of Spain, Castile and Catalonia, not just of the two cities themselves.

An important landmark in the rivalry between the two club was the controversial dispute over the signing of Alfredo Di Stéfano in the 1950s.

As the two biggest and most successful clubs in Spain, nowadays the rivalry is renewed on an annual basis with both teams often challenging each other for the league championship. The flashpoint of this rivalry is the twice-a-season El Clasico which draws vast audiences from around the world.

Atlético Madrid

As well as their rivalry with FC Barcelona, Real also enjoy a local rivalry with Atlético Madrid. Although 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. 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.

Major trophies

National titles

1931/32, 1932/33, 1953/54, 1954/55, 1956/57, 1957/58,1958/59, 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, 2006/07.
1904/05 1-0 vs. Athletic Bilbao
1905/06 4-1 vs. Athletic Bilbao
1906/07 1-0 vs. Athletic Bilbao
1907/08 2-1 vs. Real Vigo Sporting
1916/17 2-1 vs. Arenas de Getxo
1933/34 2-1 vs. Valencia
1935/36 2-1 vs. Barcelona
1945/46 3-1 vs. Valencia
1946/47 2-0 vs. Espanyol
1961/62 2-1 vs. Sevilla
1969/70 3-1 vs. Valencia
1973/74 4-0 vs. Barcelona
1974/75 1-0 vs. Atlético Madrid
1979/80 6-1 vs. Castilla
1981/82 2-1 vs. Sporting de Gijón
1988/89 1-0 vs. Valladolid
1992/93 2-0 vs. Zaragoza
1988 3-2 vs. Barcelona
1989 Won Copa del Rey and La Liga
1990 5-1 vs. Barcelona
1993 4-2 vs. Barcelona
1997 5-3 vs. Barcelona
2001 4-1 vs. Zaragoza
2003 4-2 vs. Mallorca
1984/85 4-3 vs. Atlético Madrid

International titles

1955/56 4-3 vs. Stade de Reims
1956/57 2-0 vs. Fiorentina
1957/58 3-2 vs. Milan
1958/59 2-0 vs. Stade de Reims
1959/60 7-3 vs. Eintracht Frankfurt
1965/66 2-1 vs. Partizan
1997/98 1-0 vs. Juventus
1999/00 3-0 vs. Valencia
2001/02 2-1 vs. Bayer Leverkusen
1960 5-1 vs. Peñarol
1998 2-1 vs. Vasco da Gama
2002 2-0 vs. Olimpia Asunción
1994 4-3 vs. Boca Juniors
1984/85 3-1 vs. Videoton
1985/86 5-3 vs. Köln
2002 3-1 vs. Feyenoord
1955 2-0 vs. Stade de Reims
1957 1-0 vs. Benfica

Current squad 2007/08

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 non-European players on the squad have dual citizenship with an EU country. As of June 24 2007

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Spain ESP Iker Casillas
2 DF Spain ESP Míchel Salgado
4 DF Spain ESP Sergio Ramos
5 DF Italy ITA Fabio Cannavaro
6 MF Mali MLI Mahamadou Diarra
7 FW Spain ESP Raúl González (captain)
8 MF Brazil BRA Emerson
10 FW Brazil BRA Robinho
11 DF Brazil BRA Cicinho
12 DF Brazil BRA Marcelo
14 MF Spain ESP Guti H. (vice-captain)
15 DF Spain ESP Raúl Bravo
No. Pos. Nation Player
16 MF Argentina ARG Fernando Gago
17 FW Netherlands NED Ruud van Nistelrooy
18 FW Italy ITA Antonio Cassano
20 FW Argentina ARG Gonzalo Higuaín
21 DF Spain ESP Iván Helguera
26 MF Spain ESP Javi García
27 MF Spain ESP Rubén De la Red
36 MF Spain ESP Miguel Nieto
38 DF Spain ESP Miguel Torres
— DF Germany GER Christoph Metzelder
— MF Brazil BRA Júlio Baptista
- FW Spain ESP Roberto Soldado
- MF Spain ESP Javier Balboa

Selected reserve team players

Main article: Real Madrid Castilla
  • Below were Castilla and C team players which were granted a first team shirt.

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
28 GK Spain ESP Antonio Adán
30 FW Spain ESP Alberto Bueno
31 FW Spain ESP Rayco
32 MF Spain ESP Adrián González
33 MF Spain ESP Esteban Granero
35 MF Spain ESP Pedro Mosquera
No. Pos. Nation Player
37 MF Spain ESP Marcos Tébar
40 GK Spain ESP Jordi Codina
41 DF Spain ESP Miguel Palencia
43 DF Spain ESP David Mateos
44 DF Spain ESP Sergio Alejandro
47 DF Spain ESP Agus

2007/2008 transfers

In

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF Germany GER Christoph Metzelder (from Borussia Dortmund)
— MF Brazil BRA Júlio Baptista (Loan return from Arsenal)
9 FW Spain ESP Roberto Soldado (Loan return from CA Osasuna)
35 MF Spain ESP Javier Balboa (Loan return from Racing)

Out

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK Spain ESP Diego López (to Villarreal C.F.)
— DF Brazil BRA Roberto Carlos (to Fenerbahçe S.K.)
— DF Spain ESP Óscar Miñambres (Released)
— DF Uruguay URU Carlos Diogo (to Real Zaragoza)
— DF Spain ESP Francisco Pavón (Released)
— DF Spain ESP Álvaro Mejia (Released)
— MF Spain ESP Borja Valero (to RCD Mallorca)
— MF Uruguay URU Pablo García (to CA Osasuna)
— MF England ENG David Beckham (to Los Angeles Galaxy)
— FW Spain ESP José Antonio Reyes (to Atletico Madrid)

Sponsorship

[6]

Club Officials

Board of directors (2007-2008)

President Spain Ramón Calderón
Director of football Montenegro Predrag Mijatović
Director of basketball Spain Antonio Martín Espina

Training Staff

Head Coach -
Assistant Coach Italy Italo Galbiati
Third Coach Spain José Antonio Grande
Fitness Coach Italy Massimo Neri
Goalkeeper Coach Italy Franco Tancredi

Foreign players 2007/2008

Only three non-EU nationals can be on the pitch at anytime. Those with European ancestry can claim a passport from the nation their ancestors came from. e.g Gago can claim an Italian passport as he has Italian ancestry. If a Latin American player cannot prove European ancestry he can claim a Spanish passport by playing in Spain for 5 years.

Notable former players

1910s - 1940s

1940s - 1970s

1970s - 1990s

90's

2000's

World Cup Winners

Selected former managers

see also Category:Real Madrid managers and List of Real Madrid managers

Presidents

see also Category:Real Madrid presidents

Other sport sections

Real Madrid Castilla

Main article: Real Madrid Castilla

Real Madrid de Baloncesto

Main article: Real Madrid Baloncesto

Formula One sponsorship

In a press conference on 23 October, 2006, president of the club, Ramón Calderón announced that Real Madrid will sponsor a Formula One team for the 2007 Formula One season.[7]

Hymn

The original Real Madrid hymn was sung by José de Aguilar. A second hymn was written in 2002, the year of the Centenary of Real Madrid by José María Blanco and sung by Plácido Domingo. This new hymn did not replace the original one; the two now coexist as the hymns of Real Madrid.

Video Game

Real Madrid will be releasing a video game called Real Madrid: The Official Videogame on Xbox 360, PS3, PSP, Wii, DS and PC in 2008. The game will be published by Virgin Play.[8]

Notes and references

  1. ^ "www.fifa.com/en/history/history/0,1283,4,00.html". Retrieved 2007-05-13.
  2. ^ http://www.stadiumguide.com/realmadridstory.htm
  3. ^ http://www.hinduonnet.com/tss/tss2814/stories/20050402001607400.htm
  4. ^ http://www.davidbruceallen.com/strategyoped/2006/03/real_madrid_a_c.html
  5. ^ "sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=reu-spainrealcalderondc&prov=reuters&type=lgns". Retrieved 2007-05-13.
  6. ^ http://www.realmadrid.com/patroc_eng.htm
  7. ^ "www.f1racing.net/en/news.php?newsID=133960". Retrieved 2007-05-13.
  8. ^ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/a62283/real-madrid-to-release-football-game.html

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Real Madrid.

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