Real Madrid C.F.

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 Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid. Real Madrid have been European Champions a record 9 times and have also won a record 30 La Liga titles. The club also operates a reserve football team, Real Madrid Castilla, and a successful basketball team, Real Madrid Baloncesto. 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 galacticos, referring to club decision to sign star players.

Early Years

Football was introduced to Madrid by the professors and students of the Instituci?n Libre de Ensenanza. 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 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 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

Santiago Bernabeu

Before becoming President in 1943, Santiago Bernabeu Yeste had already carried out the functions of player, first-team captain, club maintanence, first-team manager and director, in an association with the club that lasted nearly 70 years. He was responsible for reconstituting the club after the Spanish Civil War, and under his presidency, the Santiago Bernabeu stadium and the Ciudad Deportiva were built. 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 Alfredo Di Stefano, and built the world's first truly multinational side. During Bernabeu's presidency many of Real Madrid's most legendary names played for the club, including the aforementioned Alfredo Di Stefano, Francisco Gento, Luis Molowny, Miguel Muñoz, Raymond Kopa, Hector Rial, Ferenc Puskas, Amancio, Santillana, Juanito, Uli Stielike, Vicente Del Bosque, Jos? 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), Bernabeu met in the Ambassador Hotel in Paris with Bedrignan and Gustav Sebes and created what today is known as the Champions' League. Under the administration of UEFA, it is the world's premier club tournament. It was under Bernabeu's guidance that Real Madrid became established as a major force in both Spanish and European football. Before passing away in 1978, Bernabeu 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 mid-1950s saw Real Madrid put together a team that included, among others Alfredo Di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas, Francisco Gento, Hector Rial, Raymond Kopa, and Jose 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 Stielke 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 included Hugo Sanchez and the infamous 'Quinta del Buitre' - Emilio Butragueno, Manolo Sanches, Martin Vazquez, Michel and Miguel Pardeza. Real Madrid has also won the Copa del Rey on 17 occasions, and are 7-time winners of the Supercopa de Espana.

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 Stefano, Ferenc Puskas 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 Raul, Predrag Mijatovic, Fernando Redondo, Fernando Hierro, Davor, Suker, 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, Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane. Real Madrid are also three-time winners of the Intercontinental Cup, defeating Penarol, Vasco da Gama, and Olimpia Asuncion in 1960, 1998, and 2002 respectively.

Major Trophies/

Intercontinental Cup: 3 1960, 1998, 2002, European Cup/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. Partizan Belgrade, 1997/98 1-0 vs. Juventus, 1999/00 3-0 vs. Valencia, 2001/02 2-1 vs. Bayer Leverkusen. UEFA Cup: 2 1984/85, 1985/86. European Super Cup: 1 2002. Spanish Championship: 30 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, 2006-07. 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 Espa?a: 8 1947, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1997, 2001, 2003, Copa Latina: 2 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.

REAL MADRID C.F. TEAM ROSTER 1-Iker CASILLAS 2-Michel SALGADO 3-PEPE 4-SERGIO RAMOS 5-Fabio CANNAVARO 6-Mahmadou DIARRA 7-RAUL Gonzalez Blanco 8-Fernando GAGO 9-Roberto SOLDADO 10-ROBINHO 11-Arjen ROBBEN 12-MARCELO 13-Jordy CODINA 14-Jose Maria GUTIerrez Hernandez 15-Royston DRENTHE 16-Gabriel HEINZE 17-Ruud Van NISTLELROOY 18-Javier SAVIOLA 20-Gonzalo HIGUAIN 21-Christoph METZELDER 22-Miguel TORRES 23-Wesley SNEIJDER 24-Javier BALBOA 25-Jerzy DUDEK

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