real madrid

REAL MADRID FC

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Real Madrid
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Real Madrid Club de Fútbol is a Spanish sports club best known for its football team which was ranked as 'The 20th Century's Best Club' by FIFA. The club, which went in place of the Spanish FA, was also one of the founding members of 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 successful basketball team, Real Madrid Baloncesto and are in talks to sponsor a rugby team, CRC Madrid Noroeste. Real Madrid is unusual in that, unlike most football clubs, it has been owned and operated solely by its members (socios) since 1902.

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 and are the most common to this day. In the 1970s, the nickname los vikingos became popular, possibly due to the signings of several northern European players. More recently, the media dubbed the club los galácticos, referring to club decision to sign star players.

History

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.

Santiago Bernabéu

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 highly controversial signing of Alfredo Di Stéfano, first signed by FC Barcelona but then officially moved (with the approval of the Franco-placed President of FC Barcelona) to Real Madrid, 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 L'Equipe 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, and with the support of the Franco regime, which saw the Club as its sporting embodiment, 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, 9 European Cups, 16 La Liga titles, and 6 Spanish Cups.

Domestic success

The mid-1950s saw Real Madrid put together a team that included, among others Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás, Francisco Gento, Héctor 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 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 and Juan Gomez 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 have 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, 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, in which Real Madrid were proclaimed league champions, the team he built, which included Raúl, Predrag Mijatović, Fernando Redondo, Fernando Hierro, Davor Šuker, Clarence Seedorf, and Roberto Carlos, ended Real Madrid's 32-year wait for their seventh European Cup in 1998 under manager Jupp Heynckes, defeating Juventus 1-0 in the final. Real Madrid would go on to win again in 2000 and 2002 under manager Vicente Del Bosque, with sides including players such as Fernando Morientes, 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

This 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 Butraguño 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.

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.

Florentino Pérez years

In July 2000 Florentino Pérez was elected club president with the promise to sign the world's best players including then-FC Barcelona star Luís Figo, end the club's debt, and modernize the club's facilities. After reaching an agreement to re-zone and sell the Ciudad Deportiva, Pérez went on to sign Zinedine 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; however, the team's on-field performance declined following several unsuccessful appointments as coach in an effort to replace Vicente Del Bosque, combined with a questionable transfer policy. Despite signing further high-profile players such as Walter Samuel, Sergio Ramos, Michael Owen, Robinho, and Júlio Baptista, Real Madrid have failed to win a major trophy since 2003.

On February 27 2006, Florentino Pérez resigned, and was temporarily replaced by Fernando Martín.

Ramón Calderón period

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. As new manager of Real Madrid, Capello signed WC winning captain Fabio Cannavaro and Emerson, both from embattled Juventus, for a total sum of €23m; Ruud van Nistelrooy from Manchester United for €15m; Mahamadou Diarra from Lyon for €26m and on a last minute trade loan - José Antonio Reyes. They failed, however, to sign AC 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 full back Marcelo, River Plate forward Gonzalo Higuain and Boca Juniors midfielder Fernando Gago.

Supporters & rivals

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.

REAL MADRID SQUAD

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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 non-European players on the squad have dual citizenship with an EU country. For example, the Brazilian Roberto Carlos also holds a Spanish passport.

As of December 20, 2006

No.	Position	Player
1	GK	Iker Casillas
2	DF	Michel Salgado
3	DF	Roberto Carlos (vice-captain)
4	DF	Sergio Ramos
5	DF	Fabio Cannavaro
6	MF	Mahamadou Diarra
7	FW	Raúl González (captain)
8	MF	Emerson
9	FW	Ronaldo
10	FW	Robinho
11	DF	Cicinho
13	GK	Diego López

No.	Position	Player
14	MF	Guti (vice-captain)
15	DF	Raúl Bravo
17	FW	Ruud van Nistelrooy
18	FW	Antonio Cassano
19	FW	José Antonio Reyes
20	DF	Óscar Miñambres
21	DF	Iván Helguera
22	DF	Francisco Pavón
23	MF	David Beckham
24	DF	Álvaro Mejía
	MF	Fernando Gago
	FW	Gonzalo Higuaín
	DF	Marcelo

Miñambres recently recovered from his knee injury's and although not included in the squad yet, if things remain OK he will be added in the January window.

Selected reserve team players

Below were Castilla and C team players which granted first team shirt, started from no. 26

No.	Position	Player
26	MF	Javi García
27	MF	Rubén De la Red
28	GK	Antonio Adán
29	GK	Kiko Casilla
30	FW	Alberto Bueno
31	FW	Rayco
32	MF	Adrián
33	MF	Esteban Granero
34	FW	Juan Manuel Mata

No.	Position	Player
35	MF	Pedro Mosquera
36	MF	Miguel Ángel Nieto
37	MF	Marcos Tébar
38	DF	Miguel Torres
39	MF	Borja Valero
42	MF	Álvaro Negredo
43	MF	David Mateos
44	DF	Sergio Alejandro

See also: Real Madrid Castilla

Out on loan

No.		Position	Player
		DF	Carlos Diogo (at Real Zaragoza)
		DF	Jonathan Woodgate (at Middlesbrough F.C.)
		MF	Pablo García (at Celta Vigo)
		MF	Júlio Baptista (at Arsenal F.C.)
		MF	Javier Balboa (at Racing Santander)
		FW	Roberto Soldado (at CA Osasuna)

Foreigners 2006/2007

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 Cicinho can claim an Italian passport as he has Italian ancestry. If a player does not have European ancestry he can claim a Spanish passport by playing in Spain for 3 years.

Notable Former Players

20's - 50's

50's - 70's

70's - 90's

90's

00's

see also Cat:Real Madrid footballers

Selected former managers

Arthur Johnson 1910 - 1920
Lippo Hertza 1930 - 1932
Francisco Bru, 1934-36, 1939-41
Enrique Fernández, 1953 - 1954
José Villalonga 1955 - 1957
Luis Carniglia 1957 - 1959
Miguel Muñoz 1960 - 1973
Luis Molowny 1974
Miljan Miljanić 1974 - 1977
Luis Molowny 1977-1979
Vujadin Boškov 1979 - 1982
Luis Molowny 1982
Alfredo Di Stéfano 1982 - 1984
Luis Molowny 1985 - 1986
Leo Beenhakker 1986 - 1989
John Toshack 1989 - 1990
Alfredo Di Stéfano 1990 - 1991

Radomir Antić 1991 - 1992
Leo Beenhakker 1992
Benito Floro 1992 - 1993
Vicente Del Bosque 1994
Jorge Valdano 1994 - 1995
Fabio Capello 1996 - 1997
Jupp Heynckes 1997 - 1998
Jose Antonio Camacho 1998
Guus Hiddink 1998 - 1999
John Toshack 1999
Vicente Del Bosque 1999 - 2003
Carlos Queiroz 2003 - 2004
Jose Antonio Camacho 2004
Mariano García Remón 2004
Vanderlei Luxemburgo 2004 - 2005
Juan Ramón López Caro 2005 - 2006
Fabio Capello 2006 - Present

see also Cat:Real Madrid managers

Presidents

Julián Palacios 1900 -1902
Juan Padrós 1902 - 1904
Carlos Padrós 1904 - 1908
Adolfo Meléndez 1908 - 16, 1939 - 40
Pedro Parages 1916 - 1925
Luis de Urquijo 1926 - 1929
Luis Usera 1929 - 1935
Rafael Sanchez Guerra 1935 - 1939
Antonio Santos Peralba 1940 - 1943

Santiago Bernabéu 1943 - 1978
Luis de Carlos 1978 - 1985
Ramón Mendoza 1985 - 1995
Lorenzo Sanz 1995 - 2000
Florentino Pérez 2000 - 2006
Fernando Martín 2006 (February 27 - April 26)
Luis Gómez-Montejano 2006 (April 26 - July 2)
Ramón Calderón Ramos 2006 - Present

REAL MADRID MAJOR TROPHIES

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Major trophies

* La Liga Titles: 29

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,

* UEFA Champions League: 9

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. FK Partizan
1997/98 1-0 vs. Juventus F.C.
1999/00 3-0 vs. Valencia CF
2001/02 2-1 vs. Bayer Leverkusen

* Intercontinental Cup/World Club Championship: 3

1960; 1998; 2002.

Real Madrid in white v. Real Sociedad in black on January 5, 2005
Real Madrid in white v. Real Sociedad in black on January 5, 2005

* UEFA Cup: 2

1984/85; 1985/86.

* European Super Cup: 1

2002.

* Copa del Rey: 17

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.

* Copa de la Liga: 1

1984/85.

* Supercopa de España: 7

1988 1989 1990 1993 1997 2001 2003

* Copa Latina: 2

1955 1957

REAL MADRID RIVALRY

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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. The rivalry reached a new level during the Franco years when the regime provided insitutional support in order to create a sporting emodiment, and national and international representative, of its rule. However, during the Spanish Civil War itself, members of Real Madrid also suffered at the hands of Franco supporters. 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 that the FC Barcelona players were pressured into losing the game. Controversies such as the dispute over the signing of Alfredo Di Stéfano in the 1950s intensified the rivalry further.

As the two biggest, wealthiest, and most successful clubs in Spain, the rivalry is renewed on an almost annual basis with both teams often challenging each other for the league championship. The flashpoints of this rivalry are the twice-a-season superclásicos which draw vast audiences from around the world. Real Madrid's recent record against Barcelona was quite poor in the league, having only won once in the Camp Nou in the past 20 years (1-2, 2003); nevertheless Real Madrid eliminated Barça from the semifinals of the 2001-2002 Champions League. Most recently, Madrid struck back in the derby on October 22, 2006, with a 2-0 victory over Barcelona in La Liga.

Rivalry with 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

real madrid football club

2006-09-27T15:47:00.000-07:00

real madrid football club