Real Madrid Club de F?tbol is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. It is the most sucessful club of the 20th century and also the football club with most European honors and holds several records. The club also has a similarly successful basketball section. The original uniform colors, white t-shirt and shorts, and blue socks were inspired in the London Corinthians, and the purple band in the badge represents the kingdom of Castile.
The club was one of the founding members of FIFA. They play their home games at the Santiago Bernab?u Stadium in Madrid. Real Madrid have been European Champions a record 9 times and have also won 29 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 unusual 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.
During 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 are the most common until this day. In the 1970s, the nickname los vikingos became popular, due to the signings of several northern European players. More recently, the media called the club los gal?cticos, referring to club's tendency to sign the most famous players in the world.
History
Football was introduced to Madrid by the professors and students of the Instituci?n Libre de Ense?anza. 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 Espa?ol de Madrid. The president of the latter club was Juli?n 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 Padr?s Rubi?; the first secretary was Manuel Mend?a; and the first treasurer was Jos? de Gorostizaga. Juan Padr?s Rubi? would be later succeeded by his brother, Carlos Padr?s from Spain. In 1905, only three years after its foundation, Madrid FC already won its first major title. The team won the first of four consecutive Copa del Rey - titles (at that time the only statewide competition). In 1920 the club's name was changed into Real Madrid after the King grants the title of Real (Royal) to the club.
Santiago Bernab?u
Before becoming President in 1945, Santiago Bernab?u 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 Bernab?u Stadium and the Ciudad Deportiva. Real Madrid has a newly named stadium which is the 'Alfredo Di St?fano 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 St?fano and built the world's first truly multinational side. During Bernab?u's presidency many of Real Madrid's most legendary names played for the club, including the aforementioned Alfredo Di St?fano, Ferenc Pusk?s, Francisco Gento, H?ctor Rial, Raymond Kopa, Jos? Santamar?a, Miguel Mu?oz, Amancio, Santillana, Juanito, Jos? 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), Bernab?u 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 Bernab?u's guidance, that Real Madrid became established as a major force in both Spanish and European football. Before passing away in 1978, Bernab?u 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.
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 S?nchez and the famous 'Quinta del Buitre' - Emilio Butrague?o, Manolo Sanch?s, Mart?n Vazqu?z, M?chel and Miguel Pardeza.
Real Madrid has also won the Copa del Rey on 17 occasions, and are 7-time winners of the Supercopa de Espa?a.
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 have they have been crowned champions of Europe a record nine times. Alfredo Di St?fano, Ferenc Pusk?s 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 ?uker and Clarence Seedorf) to strengthen a squad that already boasted the likes of Ra?l, 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, Lu?s Figo and Zinedine Zidane.
Real Madrid are also three-time winners of the Intercontinental Cup, defeating Pe?arol, Vasco da Gama, and Olimpia Asunci?n 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 Butrague?o. The other four members were Manolo Sanch?s, Mart?n V?zquez, M?chel and Miguel Pardeza.
Sanch?s and Mart?n V?zquez were the first to play for the first team of Real Madrid, making their debut at Murcia on December 4, 1983. Coach Alfredo Di St?fano brought the youngsters in from the start. Both played surprisingly well and Sanch?s even scored the winning goal. A few months later, February 5, 1984, saw the debut of Emilio Butrague?o in an away game at C?diz. El Buitre was an instant sensation and scored twice. Pardeza was added to the first team that same season and M?chel 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.
Mart?n V?zquez 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 Coru?a). Butrague?o left the club in 1995 and Mich?l in 1996. Both went to play for Atl?tico Celaya in Mexico.
Sanch?s 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 P?rez years
In July 2000 Florentino P?rez was elected club president vowing to erase the club's debt and modernise the club's facilities, however the primary electoral promise that propelled P?rez to victory was the signing of then-FC Barcelona star Lu?s Figo. During the campaign, P?rez claimed he had an agreement with the Portuguese winger that would see Figo move to the Bernabeu should P?rez be elected. On July 16, P?rez won the election. Eight days later, Lu?s 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 P?rez's opponent Lorenzo Sanz, was sold to Italian giants AC Milan.
During the summer of 2000, Real Madrid signed Claude Mak?l?l?, Albert Celades, Fl?vio Concei??o, C?sar S?nchez, Pedro Munitis, and Santiago Solari although aside from Mak?l?l? and Concei??o the rest had been signed previous to the election of Florentino P?rez. 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 Ra?l (2), Guti, Hierro, and Iv?n Helguera would ensure victory and Real Madrid's 28th league title with two matches left to play.
After reaching an agreement to re-zone and sell the Ciudad Deportiva, P?rez went on to sign Zin?dine Zidane (2001), Ronaldo (2002) and David Beckham (2003). The media began referring to the team as Los Gal?cticos. 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 Espa?a 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.
In the summer of 2003, just after capturing another La Liga title, Florentino P?rez 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 Mak?l?l?'s request of a new contract with a better salary, in return, Mak?l?l? 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, Jos? Antonio Camacho. P?rez, 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 Mak?l?l?, 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 Garc?a Rem?n 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 Ram?n L?pez 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 P?rez resigned. Real Madrid eventually managed to finish second in the league but did not pose a serious threat to defending champions, F.C. Barcelona.
Ram?n Calder?n period
On July 2, 2006 Ram?n Calder?n 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 - Jos? Antonio Reyes. Ramon failed, however, to sign A.C. Milan star Kak?, 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 Higua?n (?13 m) and Boca Juniors midfielder Fernando Gago (?18 m).
On January 16, 2007, Calder?n 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.[2] One of the players that Calder?n 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 Atl?tico Madrid and Real Madrid at the Vicente Calder?n Stadium was a 1-1 draw. The scorers were Fernando Torres for Atl?tico, 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 "cup 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 "cup 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. Calderon then went on to say that if the team keep up their great play, he is confident Real Madrid will win the league title and end their four year wait for a major trophy on June 17. Calderon is also unsure if Capello will stay because he has, after all, done well as manager for the club. Calderon will soon talk with Capello about his future in the club.
On May 12, 2007, despite not having Robinho and Beckham on the pitch (due to separate yellow cards given in the previous match against FC 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 Higua?n.
The Sunday after Real won their epic battle with Espanyol, Barca dropped points with a 1-1 draw to struggling Real Betis. By virtue of their superior head to head record, Madrid sat at the top of La Liga, with four crucial 'finals' left to play.
The following Sunday, Real managed to beat Recreativo 3-2 away as the Recreativo famously put out a shocking 3-0 win over Real at the Bernabeu eariler during the season. With the score tied at 2-2, Madrid looked set return the lead back to bitter rivals Barcelona until Roberto Carlos thumped in the winner right before death during injury time to ensure Real remain in the driver seat for at least another week and also leaving them with just three 'finals' left to play. The remaining three are Deportivo La Coru?a, Real Zaragoza and Mallorca.
On 26th May 2007, Real Madrid produced yet again, another excellent display to dispatch Deportivo 3-1 at the Bernabeu. This victory will make it six wins in a row for Madrid. Goals from Sergio Ramos, Raul and Ruud Van Nistelrooy secured the win. It also leaves Real with only two 'finals' left to play and with hopes and morale reaching a high point in the Real dressing room, Capello and Calderon believes that Real are just few steps away from securing the league title. Real will play their last two games after the international break.
Transfers and transfer rumors under Capello have been big, with the names of Kaka, Franck Ribery, Christoph Metzelder, Carlos Tevez, Frank Lampard, Javier Saviola, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gabriel Heinze, and Francesc Fabregas being linked with moves to EL Bernabeu. Recently, Christoph Metzelder signed a deal to bring him to Real Madrid from Borussia Dortmund.
source: wikipedia.org GNU Free Documentation License
