The Club Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol is a professional Spanish football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902, it plays in La Liga and is one of the most successful football clubs of the 20th century, having won thirty La Liga titles, seventeen Copa del Rey and a record nine UEFA Champions League titles. The team was a founding member of the now defunct G-14 group of leading European football clubs.
The club plays its home games at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid. Real Madrid is unusual in that, unlike most football clubs, it has been owned and operated only by its members since 1902. On December 23, 2000, FIFA awarded the Spanish team the title of the "Best Club of the 20th Century". Los Blancos is the most successful club in UEFA club football competitions history with nine European Cups and two UEFA Cups; more than any other European club.The only European trophy it hasn't won is the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, in which it played two finals, losing both by 2 goals to 1, first to Chelsea 2-1 in 1971, after an initial 1-1 draw in the first leg, the team lost 1-0 in the return leg and Aberdeen 2-1 in 1983.
Real Madrid is the biggest and most popular football club in the world according to the case studies at Harvard University in 2007.It is also the richest one in terms of revenue.
Real Madrid History
Football was introduced to Madrid by the professors and students of the Institución Libre de Enseñanza who included several Oxbridge graduates.They founded the club Football Sky in 1895, playing on Sunday mornings at Moncloa. This club split in 1900 into two different clubs New Foot-Ball de Madrid and Club Español de Madrid. The president of the latter club was Julián Palacios. The latter club split again in 1902, 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. Only three years after its foundation, in 1905, Madrid FC 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 it moved to its first ground called Campo de Rose after moving between some minor grounds.In 1920 the club's name was changed to Real Madrid after the King granted the title of Real (Royal) to the club.
Real Madrid team in 1902.Santiago Bernabéu Yeste became President in 1945.Under his presidency, the club, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium and the Ciudad Deportiva were rebuilt following the Spanish Civil War. 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 multinational side.
In 1955, acting upon the idea proposed by the French sports journalist and editor of L'Équipe 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 Milan Ceko and created what today is known as the UEFA Champions League.It was under Bernabéu's guidance, that Real Madrid became established as a major force in both Spanish and European football. The club won 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. Winning the competition five consecutive times saw Real permanently awarded the original cup and earning the right to wear the UEFA badge of honour.The club won the European Cup for a sixth time in 1966 defeating FK Partizan 2–1 in the final with a team composed entirely of nationally-born players - a first in the competition.It was also runner-up in 1962, 1964 and 1981. The team have also won the UEFA Cup twice and was twice runner-up in the European Cup Winners Cup.
By the early 1980s, Real Madrid had lost its grasp on the La Liga title until a new batch of home-grown stars, known as El Quinta del Buitre started to dominate Spanish football.The name ("Vulture's Cohort") was derived from the nickname given to one of its members, Emilio Butragueño. The other four members were Manolo Sanchís, Martín Vázquez, Míchel and Miguel Pardeza. 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 two UEFA Cups and five Spanish championships in a row.
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). In 1995 and 1996 Butragueño and Míchel left the club and went to play for Atlético Celaya in Mexico.In 1996 President Lorenzo Sanz appointed Fabio Capello as coach. Although his tenure lasted only one season, Real Madrid was proclaimed league champion and players like Roberto Carlos, Predrag Mijatović, Davor Šuker and Clarence Seedorf arrived at the club 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 Mijatović.
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 Luís Figo.On July 16, Pérez won the election.The club controversially got its training ground re-zoned and used the money to begin to assemble the famous Galáctico side including players such as Zidane, Ronaldo, Luís Figo, Roberto Carlos, Raúl and David Beckham. It is debatable whether the gamble paid off as despite a European Cup win in 2002, followed by the League in 2003, the club then failed to win a major trophy for the next three seasons.
Ramón Calderón was elected as club president in July, 2006 and subsequently appointed Fabio Capello as the new coach and Predrag Mijatović as the new sporting director. Real Madrid won the La Liga title in 2007 for the first time in four years.However, despite the achievement of winning La Liga, Capello was sacked one month later, in June 2007, and was replaced by German manager Bernd Schuster.Schuster failed to win Supercopa de España after a 5-3 defeat against Sevilla F.C. at Santiago Bernabeu. Real Madrid's 2007/2008 campaign in the UEFA Champions League ended when AS Roma defeated them 2-1 home and away in the Round of 16.
From Estadio Chamartín to Santiago Bernabeú
After its foundation in 1902 the club moved in its first years between some minor grounds before moving to the 'Campo de O'Donnell' in 1912.This ground remained its home ground for eleven years. After these years the club made a move again, this time to the 'Campo de Ciudad Lineal', a small ground with a capacity of 8,000 spectators. After twelve months the club moved again. This new ground would make a longer appearance. The 'Estadio Chamartín' was inaugurated on 17 May 1923 with a match of Real Madrid against Newcastle United. In this stadium, which hosted 22,500 spectators, Real Madrid celebrated its first Spanish league title.After those successes, the 1943 elected president Santiago Bernabéu decided that the Estadio Chamartín wasn't big enough for the ambitions of the club. A new stadium was built and was inaugurated on 14 December 1947.This was the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium as it is known today, although it didn't acquire this name until 1955.
The first match that was played in the new stadium was between Real Madrid and Portuguese club Belenenses. Real won the match 3–1, and the first goal was scored by Sabino Barinaga. The initial capacity was 75,300.
The capacity has changed frequently, peaking at 120,000 after a 1953 expansion.Since then, there have been a number of reductions due to modernisations (the last standing places went away in 1998–99 in response to UEFA regulations which forbids standing at matches in the UEFA competition), countered to some extent by expansions. The last change was an increase of about five thousand to a capacity of 80,400, effected in 2003. A plan to add a retractable roof has been announced.
The Bernabéu has hosted the 1957, 1969 and 1980 European Cup finals, the 1964 European Championship final, and the 1982 FIFA World Cup final.The stadium has its own Madrid Metro station along the 10 line called Santiago Bernabéu. Its location, in the heart of Madrid's business district, is quite unusual for a football stadium.On 9 May 2006 the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium was inaugurated at the City of Madrid where Real Madrid usually trains. The inaugural match was played between Real Madrid and Stade de Reims, a rematch of the 1956 European Cup final. Real Madrid won the inaugural match 6–1 with goals from Sergio Ramos, Antonio Cassano (2), Roberto Soldado (2), and Jose Manuel Jurado. The venue is now part of the Ciudad Real Madrid, the club's new training facilities located outside Madrid in Valdebebas. The stadium holds 6,000 people and it is named after former Real footballer Alfredo Di Stéfano. The Bernabeu has recently been upgraded to Elite Football Stadium status by UEFA.
Real Madrid interested in Ajax's Huntelaar
Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster has dropped a massive hint that his club will make a big-money summer move for Ajax's star striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.
The 24-year-old Netherlands international is one of Europe's hottest players after scoring more than 50 goals in two years with the Amsterdam club and Schuster is clearly a fan.
"This lad is very similar to Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Marco Van Basten. He is a spitting image of them. It seems that they have made a clone in a laboratory," he told AS. "He has qualities of Van Nistelrooy and Van Basten. He moves in a similar way, is tall, shoots with two feet, does well in the air and is a good goalscorer.
"As well as that, these guys have a good schooling, learn things easily and are good professionals. This gives some security when signing them.
"Here he will not score 30 goals a season like there, but maybe he will score five less."
Real Madrid Invited To Emirates Cup
Los Blancos will be playing in the event alongside Juventus, Hamburg and, of course, Arsenal who play at the Emirates stadium.
The tournament will take place on Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd August 2008 and it will be the second time the tournament is held following it’s debut in 2007.
Real will get the competition underway with an afternoon fixture against Hamburg and Arsenal play Juventus straight after.
On Sunday Real will play Arsenal with the Bianconeri facing off against Hamburg.
The rules are the same with three points awarded to the winner and one point for a draw. Teams are also awarded a point for every goal scored, which serves to break the deadlock.
“We are delighted to have teams of such high calibre coming to play here,” said Arsenal director Keith Edelman.
“Arsenal, Real Madrid, Juventus and Hamburg will offer some good end of week entertainment for all football fans.”
Last year the tournament was won by Arsenal with PSG the runners up.Valencia were also involved and the Spanish side finished third with Inter taking last place.
previous results against Real Murcia:
2007-11-24 Real Murcia - Real Madrid 1-1
2004-05-16 Real Murcia - Real Madrid 2-1
2004-01-03 Real Madrid - Real Murcia 1-0 Real Madrid
Manager:Bernt Schuster
Zlatan To Real Madrid?
Inter Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is back on the radar of Real Madrid.
Marca says concerns over Ruud van Nistelrooy's long-term fitness has forced Real to draw up a shortlist of potential striker signings for the summer market.
As we all know, Nistelroy is prone to injury and Zlatan's performance lately with Inter is quite disappointing. His inability to score against Liverpool in the Champions League is totally outrageous. He missed even easy chances. Maybe it is time for him to switch places with Nistelroy.
Ibrahimovic is high on Real's agenda, with the Swede's frosty relationship with coach Roberto Mancini fueling talk that the Spanish giants could tempt the striker to Madrid in the summer.The Spanish capital club are reported to be scouring the market since Ruud van Nistelrooy was confirmed to be facing some time on the sidelines, with the Merengues wanting more first-team options for next season so that such injuries cannot jeopardise the team's plans to the same extent next season.
Although coach Bernd Schuster sees Didier Drogba as his number one pick for the team, Real Madrid sports director Predrag Mijatovic is said to have his eyes on Huntelaar as the 24-year-old still has plently of time ahead of him to improve.
The former Montenegrin player has reportedly been following the Dutch striker for two years, having guaranteed before Wesley Sneijder's signing that Huntelaar would become a target for Real next season.
The Dutch international is currently Eredivisie's leading in the the goal-scoring tally, having netted twenty-seven times this season.
However, Real Madrid are not the only club interested in his services, as Chelsea, AC Milan and Roma are claimed to be monitoring the Ajax player. It's said that a bid in the region of 35 million euros may be required to prise the Dutchman away from the Godenzonen.