Hot News

History by decade Real Madrid

admin — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 00:15:17 +0000

1900-1910

The first decade of the 20th Century was taken over by events related to Real Madrid, establishing the Club as the banner of the incipient Spanish football scene. The rough first pitches, the establishment of football federations, the first official title, their international debut… All this was promoted by Carlos Padrós, President of Madrid Football Club and a decisive figure in the strong rooting of the sport in Spain.

Sky, direct precedent
At the start of 1897, young students at the Institución Libre de Enseñanza formed a sports group they named Football Club Sky. It was the direct precedent of Madrid Football Club.

Julián Palacios led the Club
An important group of players captained by Julián Palacios left Sky. Palacios led the split and unofficially presided over the newly established Madrid Football Club and its 50 members.

The pitch of marble mason Estrada
The first pitch Madrid played in was a plot of land next to the workshop of marble mason Estrada in the levelled area of Velázquez street, next to the construction works of future streets Lista (now named Ortega y Gaset) and Núñez de Balboa.

Renting of a plot of land on the Bullring’s avenue
The second pitch in Real Madrid’s history was a plot of land on the avenue where the Bullring was. The plot was partly co-owned by H.M. Queen María Cristina and the Counts of Villapadierna. The Club paid 150 pesetas (90 Euro cents) each year as rent and the players changed into their playing kit in a tavern called La Taurina.

Madrid Football Club foundation
On 6 March 1902, after a new Board presided by Juan Padrós had been elected, Madrid Football Club was officially founded. On 18 April, the Club Regulations, comprised of 22 articles divided into three headlines, were presented to the authorities. On 22 April 1902, José Sánchez-Guerra, Civil Governor of the Province approved the document.

I Spanish Championship is established
To celebrate the proclamation of Alfonso XIII as King, Madrid Football Club created the first Spanish Championship. Alberto Aguilera, Mayor of the Town and Court of Madrid -as the capital was officially called back then- supported the organisation of this football tournament and donated a silver cup as the prize for the winning team. The tournament took place in Madrid and Vizcaya were the victors.

The first Madrid-Barcelona
On 13 May 1902, the semifinals of the I Spanish Championship saw the first Madrid-Barcelona clash in history. Barcelona won 3-1 thanks to the six foreigners they lined up.

Albéniz, the first Madrid player to be transferred from Barcelona
Alfonso Albéniz Jordana was the first player to leave Barcelona in order to join Madrid. On 23 May 1902, a newspaper of the time confirmed the transfer with the following lines: “We have learned that Mr. Albéniz, former notable and enthusiastic Barcelona player, has joined Real Madrid Foot Ball Club, as well as other good players whose names we regrettably don’t remember, but will quote in forthcoming match reports.”

First trophy: two ceramic plates
Madrid were invited to take part in the festivities at El Escorial in 1902. Part of the programme featured a match between Madrid and Moncloa. On 11 August 1902, next to the facade of the monastery, the clash ended with a 6-5 score favourable to Madrid. The victors were awarded two ceramic plates that represent the first trophy the Club won in its history.

Driving force behind the creation of FIFA
Carlos Padrós, President of Madrid 1904-08, was the creator of the Spanish Championship, the Madrid Championship in 1905 and one of the driving forces behind the creation of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association in 1904.

Five-time victors of the Madrid Championship
As the President of the Madrid Football Club Association, Carlos Padrós felt the necessity of creating a Madrid Championship that took place for the first time in the 1904/05 season. Madrid won the short-lived tournament (9 editions) five times.

First official title
On 18 April 1905, after eliminating Recreation San Sebastian from the Madrid Championship, Madrid faced Athletic Bilbao in the final and won thanks to a goal by Manuel Prast. This was the first official title in the history of the Club.

International debut
Madrid organised a friendly game against French side Gallia to commemorate the visit of French President M. Loubert to Madrid. The match took place on 23 October 1905 and ended with a 1-1 draw. It was the first international clash to take place in the Town and Court of Madrid.

Keep the Cup of Spain trophy
Winning the Cup of Spain three consecutive years -1905, 1906 and 1907- allowed Madrid to keep the original Cup. They won the tournament again brilliantly in 1908, achieving a four-year dominance over national football.

Creation of the Spanish FA
On 4 January 1909, after a meeting at the Club with delegates from other Spanish football clubs, the Spanish FA was born. Real Madrid President Adolfo Meléndez signed the foundation agreement after being named Secretary of the organisation by everyone present at the meeting. On 11 November 1909 the Spanish FA was legally registered at the Civil Government of Madrid.

Former Madrid player Berraondo founds Real Sociedad
José Ángel Berraondo played a crucial role in Madrid’s success in the four Cups of Spain they won between 1905 and 1908. He was both a player and Vice-president with Arturo Meléndez at the Club, as well as Provisional President. In 1909, he returned to his home town, San Sebastián, for professional reasons and founded Real Sociedad with some colleagues.

1,000 pesetas monthly rent for the pitch
In 1910, Madrid abandoned the primitive pitch at the Bullring’s avenue to move to the O’Donnell pitch, located between the streets Narváez, O’Donnell, Duque de Sesto and Fernán González. Madrid paid a month’s rent of 1,000 pesetas (six Euro). The pitch was 115 metres long and 85 metres wide. Two years later, in 1912, the Club built a fence around it.

1911-1920

It was a decade of non-stop events in the life of the entity: the start of the Bernabéu saga, the inauguration of O’Donnell Field, the birth of the Madrid-Barcelona rivalry, Madrid’s dominance in the Regional Championship, the title of Real was granted by Alfonso XIII, and the first tour of a European country. Ten years of growth which can boast of many more high points than low ones.

The Bernabéu family sets foot in the Club
Antonio, Marcelo and Santiago Bernabéu joined Madrid Football Club at the start of the 20th Century and forever left their mark on its history. Antonio had the organisational talent: he was a founding member of Bologna FC and later became President of the Spanish FA, Marcelo was an outstanding player, and Santiago was everything possible for the Club: player, delegate, director, secretary, and President.

Bernabéu debuts at the age of 16
Santiago Bernabéu made his Madrid debut on 3 March 1912 when he was only 16 years old. It was in a friendly against English Sports Club, and it took place at the Pradera del Corregidor, along the Manzanares River in Madrid. The Madridista squad defeated the English side 2-1, and Bernabéu, playing as a left midfielder, scored the winning goal.

Creation of the Regional FA and his first tournament
Adolfo Meléndez, two-time President of Madrid (1908-10 and 1913-16), presided over the meeting hosted by Madrid, during which the Madrilenian FA was created. Acting as Secretary, the main overseer of the Club signed the accord which, among other agreements, established the first competition between teams from the city, and whose winner would be elegible to play in the Spanish Championship.

Inauguration of O’Donnell Field
Thirty-one October 1912 witnessed the inauguration of O’Donnell Field. Two days later, the headline of Spanish daily ABC read: “The match between Sporting Club of Iran and said Society was held a Madrid’s field and was a booming success. Sporting Club is one of the best teams to visit Madrid. They pass very well and have a beautiful aerial game. Perhaps they missed the sandy pitch. Madrid deserve the most profound congratulations for drawing against a team as fine as Sporting”.

The regional tournament decked in white
The Regional Championship of the city will always be linked to the history of Real Madrid. While Adolfo Meléndez, President of the Club, pushed for the creation of the tournament, the Madridistas became its domineering participant, winning 12 of the 18 editions.

Madrid-Barcelona: eternal, epic qualifier
The semifinal of the 1916 Spanish Cup between Madrid and Barcelona turned into an eternal and epic elimination round. Because away goals didn’t count twice in those days, the teams had to play four matches to determine the winner. Barça won the first game in the Ciudad Condal 2-1, which Madrid later bested 4-1 on the field of the Spanish capital’s Athletic, where the last two matches were also held. By the end of regulation time in the first, the score was a 4-4 draw, which ended 6-6 by the end of injury time. Finally, Madrid defeated Barcelona 4-2 in the fourth match and qualified for the final.

The hostilities begin
In the final match of the aforementioned 1916 Cup semifinals, Barcelona players walked off the pitch with seven minutes remaining in protest of the fourth goal, which they considered to be offside. During the final between Madrid and Athletic Bilbao, hosted by Español in Barcelona, the Guardia Civil, Spain’s Civil Guard, had to protect Madrid players on their way into the dressing room. Later on, rocks and stones were thrown at the bus that transported the team to the hotel. The hostilities between the two Clubs had begun.

Alfonso XIII grants the title of Real
On 29 June 1920, the Club received a communiqué from the Primary Superintendent of his Majesty the King Alfonso XIII which granted Madrid the title of Real. The decision, which would change the entity’s original name, was eagerly anticipated by the Madridista Directors.

The first tour takes place in Italy
In 1920, Madrid went on their first tour, comprised of five matches in Italy. The trip was organised by Natalio Rivas, another of the founding members of Bolonga and Madridista player. The budget for the expedition was very small, so the team was forced to eat at the cheapest restaurants they could find.

1921-1930

The 1920’s were chalk full of events that would define Real Madrid. Most importantly, the construction of the old Chamartín, which was considered a monumental undertaking at the time. With a seating capacity of 15,000, the new stadium was a spectacular leap towards the future. In the closing years of the decade, it was Ricardo Zamora’s signing that caused a national stir. In the sporting arena, Madrid, as always, were the team to beat.

Santiago Bernabéu joins Atletico for a year
Prior to the start of the 1920/21 season Santiago Bernabéu left the Madridista team for the first time since his arrival in 1912, although fans did see him play in several friendlies with the “eternal rival.” In 1921, and after donning the Athletic Madrid shirt for a match against Español, the Spanish FA denied Bernabéu authorisation to play in the semifinals of the Spanish Cup because one year had not yet passed since his Madrid departure.

The first team to wear black armbands
Nowadays it’s very common to see teams wearing black armbands as a sign of mourning. Madrid was the first team to ever wear the armband for such use, and they were first seen in a match against Athletic Madrid on 5 Match 1922, in honour of the deaths of Madridista Sotero Aranguren and Bilbao player Rafael Moreno “Pichichi”.

Ruete keeps Bernabéu off national team
After being called up several times by the national team, Santiago Bernabéu could have made his debut with Spain against Portugal in Lisbon on 17 December 1922. He was all dressed to play when national coach Julián Ruete gave Pagaza the nod instead. “I was surprised that they called me up, but even more so that they allowed me to dress but didn’t play me,” stated Bernabéu.

One year at the Ciudad Lineal Velodrome
Real Madrid were forced to leave O’Donnell Field in 1923 because the owner wanted to develop the land. The team, therefore, moved to the Velodrome at Ciudad Lineal, which was the first grass playing field they ever used. The grounds belonged to Arturo Soria’s heirs, who then rented it to Madrid. It measured 108 metres long by 68 metres wide, and had enough room for 8,000 spectators.

Chamartín, a so-called crazy undertaking
The construction of the field at Chamartín was believed to be a crazy, monumental undertaking in 1924, but what it really was a giant leap towards the future. It was inaugurated on 17 May 1924 with a match between Real Madrid and Newcastle United. The hosts defeated the English side 3-2 in front of 15,000 onlookers, which was full-capacity for the new Madridista field. In 1947, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium was built on top of parts of this land.

The first English tour
Businessman Enrique Alcaraz was responsible for getting Real Madrid to play in England, the birthplace of football, for the first time. Despite the fact that every match against the English teams ended in defeat, the British press unanimously praised Real Madrid’s talent and playing style.

Pedro Parages banishes black shorts because they are jinxed
Real Madrid had always dressed in white, until the 1925/26 season, when the shorts of the official kit were changed to black. A string of bad results led Club President Pedro Parages to scratch the black shorts idea because he thought they were jinxed.

Coach Santiago Bernabéu
In 1926, Santiago Bernabéu was given the head coaching job when President Luis Urquijo decided to replace Juan de Cárcer. Then, in 1928, he was in charge of the team for three months after taking over for José Ángel Berraondo. During the 1932/33 season, Bernabéu became interim coach for one month between the departure of Lippo Hertzka and the arrival of Robert E. Firth.

American tour stirs excitement
Real Madrid’s first American tour was a big hit in Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Cuba, Mexico and the United States. During the three and a half months the team was on the two continents, they won 16 of the matches they played. José García Echaniz was responsible for the Madridista expedition and Santiago Bernabéu was the Club representative.

The first Madrid-Atletico derby
Madrid and Atletico met for the first time on 21 February 1929 in Matchday 3 of the League Championship at the former Chamartín. It was the first official derby of the new tournament, and Madrid won 2-1 thanks to a brace by Triana, while Marín scored the lone strike for the Rojiblancos.

First League runner-up
Real Madrid led the first Spanish football League for the first ten match days, and it looked like they would easily win the League title. But the Madridistas were surpassed by Arenas de Guecho and then Barcelona. Madrid retook the lead in the second-to-last matchday by defeating Arenas in what was their best game of the season. But the loss to Athletic Bilbao at San Mamés in the last match of the season kept Madrid from winning the title. They had to settle for runner-up, just one point behind Barcelona.

Zamora signing has national impact
The negotiations between Pablo Hernández Coronado and Damián Canellas, technical secretaries of Real Madrid and Español, respectively, produced the transfer of the legendary keeper to the Madridista Club. The Zamora signing caused a national stir, as Madrid paid the Catalan Club the astronomical figure of 150,000 pesetas (900€). “The Divine,” as Zamora was also known, made his Real Madrid debut on 5 October 1930 against Athletic Madrid in Matchday 4 of the Regional Championship.

Gaspar Rubio escapes Madrid
A strong adventurous spirit led Gaspar Rubio, a goal-scoring genius at the end of the 1930’s, to join two friends and to jump aboard a Cuban-bound ship in La Coruña without Madrid’s permission. Once on the Caribbean island, Rubio joined Juventud Asturiana. The Madridista Club reported him to FIFA, who forbade him from playing. Rubio then left to Mexico, which had no affiliation with FIFA, to play for España. His adventure came to an end on 10 April 1932. Madrid quickly snatched Gaspar Rubio up, but transferred him to Athletic Madrid shortly thereafter.

1931-1940Real Madrid won their first League title in the fourth edition of the competition. Their majestic performances allowed them to stand undefeated in the championship. They won the title again the following year, becoming the first team in history to win the League twice. A month before the Civil War broke out in Spain in 1936, Real Madrid won the Cup of the Republic against Barcelona. When the war started, the Popular Front seized the Club, but it resurfaced thanks to the Salvation Committee three years later when the conflict ended.

A bar at the Club
At the start of 1931, Real Madrid renewed their headquarters on 15 Caballero de Gracia Street. The Club expanded its offices and bought new furniture. President Luis de Usera and Technical Secretary Pablo Hernández Coronado had new offices built, but the greatest novelty of them all was the construction of a bar in which visitors could refresh their dry throats during football gatherings.

Real Madrid lose their crown
On 14 April 1931, the arrival of the Second Spanish Republic deprived Madrid of their royal title and the crown was taken off the logo. From then on, they went back to being known as Madrid Football Club.

League champions on Barcelona’s turf
Real Madrid won the first of their 29 League titles in the 1931/32 season. The Madrilenian side stood undefeated in the competition that year and won with a three point advantage over Athletic Bilbao. The team won the title after drawing against Barcelona in the Catalonian city. The Whites won the League again the following year, thus becoming the first side to have won the championship twice.

Alberty, the first foreigner at Madrid Spanish football had opened itself to the rest of the continent, and on 12 June 1934 Madrid went on a European tour. During the trip, they signed Fortuna Dusseldorf’s Jacob Bender, but the German FA eventually didn’t allow the transfer. Months later, on 20 December, a team comprised of Spanish players faced the national team of Hungary at Chamartín Stadium in honour of the Spanish international players that took part in the Italian World Cup. After the game, Hungary goalkeeper Gyula Alberty Kiszely, signed for Madrid and became the first foreign player to play on the team in the Club’s history.

The first Madrid-Barcelona Cup final
On 21 June 1936, Madrid and Barcelona were pitted at Valencia’s pitch, Mestalla, to play the final of the Cup of the Republic -the former Cup of Spain. Two early goals by Eugenio and Lecue put the Whites ahead on the scoreboard, but Escolá netted a goal for the Catalans half an hour into the game. The latter had another shot on goal in the second half that was magnificently saved by Zamora, avoiding the draw and having to go into overtime. Madrid won the Cup a month before the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War.

Seized by the Popular Front
The war started on 18 July 1936. The same day, the Club, along with every other sports entity in the country, was seized by the Popular Front who appointed their own people to run it. That’s how Juan José Vallejo came to run the Spanish FA, the Football Association of Castilla and Madrid FC at the same time. Madrid kept functioning as always at the offices on 4 Recoletos Street with Pablo Hernández Coronado acting as Secretary and Head of the sports side of the Club, and Carlos Alonso being responsible for Chamartín Stadium.

Madrid vetoed by Barcelona
Pablo Hernández Coronado tried to make Madrid survive during the war, but the three steps he took trying to do so failed. He couldn’t manage to get the team to play in the Valencia Championship and the Catalan Championship and his project for a European tour collapsed. The Catalan Championship started on 4 October 1936 with the following teams: Barcelona, Español, Sabadell, Gerona, Granollers and Badalona. Madrid coach Paco Bru managed to get the Catalan teams accept having Madrid in the tournament, but Barcelona vetoed them and they weren’t allowed to take part in the Championship in the end.

Establishment of the Salvation Committee
The Salvation Committee was created when the war ended on 1 April 1939. It was presided by Adolfo Meléndez and it comprised Mssrs. Parages, Urquijo, Oliver, Coppel and Ortiz de Zárate. Its Secretary, Pablo Hernández Coronado, called up a meeting at 8 Fernanflor Street. After reviewing the appalling state Chamartín Stadium was in, Pedro Parages said, “This will be a complicated problem to solve because we will need approximately 300,000 pesetas to rehabilitate the stadium, an exorbitant sum these days.”

The first full house of the post-war period
Chamartín Stadium reopened on 22 October 1939 to hold the first derby of the post-war period. It was a Regional Championship fixture in which Madrid defeated Atletico 2-1. Support for football didn’t decrease with the war, and despite the fact that the cheapest tickets cost five pesetas -a price heavily criticised back in the day for being too expensive- the stands were full of fans that fervently rooted for their team.

1941-1950

Santiago Bernabéu’s arrival as President went hand in hand with the creation of a legendary team and a universal Club. A few months before the President took office, Real Madrid defeated Barcelona in the Cup of Spain 11-1. Bernabéu always looked to the future and envisioned a new stadium at Chamartín capable of holding a crowd of 75,000. This was the first challenge of this unique man.

The Club recovers its crown
On 1 January 1941, after recovering their crown, Madrid Football Club changed their name to Real Madrid Club de Fútbol.

Historical victory against Barcelona: 11-1
In the second leg of the semifinals of the Cup of Spain of 1943, Real Madrid earned an historical victory over Barcelona, defeating the Catalans 11-1. The Whites were bitter about the 3-0 defeat at Las Corts Stadium in the first leg and the bad reception Barcelona’s fans gave them. They stepped onto the pitch at Chamartín Stadium determined to earn a victory and sealed a spectacular 8-0 score at the end of the first half. At the end of the match, the score-board reflected an historical figure: 11-1. Pruden (4), Barinaga (3), “Chus” Alonso (2), Alsúa and Botella scored Real Madrid’s eleven strikes, while Martín tallied Barcelona’s only goal.

Bernabéu’s era begins
Antonio Santos Peralba, President of Real Madrid, and the Marquis Mesa de Asta, President of Barcelona, were forced out of their jobs by the hostilities between both teams during the semifinals. In gatherings attended by outstanding figures at Real Madrid the name of Santiago Bernabéu, who had no dealings with the Club since 1935, came up. He was easily convinced to become the Club’s next President and his appointment was made public on 15 September 1943. Ernesto Cotorruelo, President of the Football Association of Castilla, presided the Presidency Handover between Peralba and Bernabéu, which was also attended by members of their Boards of Directors.

Chamartín cost 37 million pesetas
In spring 1943, Santos Peralba pointed out that a new stadium should be built and that it should hold a crowd of 40,000 people. Less than a year later, Santiago Bernabéu was much more ambitious in one of his Board meetings: “Gentlemen, we need a much larger Stadium and we are going to build it.” Bernabéu decided to build a stadium capable of holding 75,000 people in its first stage and whose building works would amount to 37 million pesetas (222,375 Euro).

Bernabéu’s first two titles
The 1940s weren’t the best of decades for Real Madrid, but they marked the start of Bernabéu’s office and the Club’s return to winning titles. The first were two consecutive Cups of Spain won in 1946 and 1947 after defeating Valencia 3-1 and Español 2-0, respectively.

Pioneer in having numbered shirts
On 23 November 1947, in a game against Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano Stadium, Real Madrid became the first Spanish team to wear numbered shirts. It was Pablo Hernández Coronado’s idea. The Spanish FA liked the initiative an decreed in 1948 that every team should have their players numbered in the range between 2 and 11. Once again, Real Madrid were pioneers in Spanish football.

Spectacular inauguration of the new Chamartín Stadium
The inauguration of the new Chamartín Stadium was very solemn. A mass was held on 14 December 1947, followed by a series of acts paying tribute to Santiago Bernabéu’s vision and to the members whose money had financed the construction. The match between Real Madrid and Os Belenenses kicked-off at 3:30 pm when they were over. Real Madrid defeated the Portuguese side 3-1 and the new Colosseum became the pride of all Madrdismo and the envy of every football Club in Spain.

Kubala’s failed signing
In 1948, Real Madrid underwent a radical renewal of their squad. Two years later, they tried to sign Ladislao Kubala, who had arrived in Spain with his then team Hungaria. Negotiations were called off because the player wanted to include his brother-in-law, Fernando Daucik, as coach in the deal and Bernabéu did not comply.

Molowny, the only Madridista in the 1950 World Cup
Spain achieved the great feat of getting to the quarterfinals of the Brazil 1950 World Cup and the only Real Madrid player on the squad was Luis Molowny, who stood out above his teammates in their 2-2 draw against Uruguay, who would go on to win the tournament.

1951-1960

Real Madrid turned legend into myth in the 1950s. The Club celebrated its 50 year anniversary and signed Di Stéfano during this magnificent decade. The arrival of the Argentine player was an inflexion point for the Whites. The team won their first League in 21 years and Bernabéu and Saporta played key roles in the establishment of the European Cup, which Real Madrid won five years in a row. The crowning moment to the decade was the Whites’ victory in the first Intercontinental Cup.

Brilliant Gold Wedding Anniversary celebration
Santiago Bernabéu’s administration spared no money and efforts to commemorate the Club’s 50th anniversary. They celebrated several acts that amounted to 20 million pesetas in cost. A magnificent football tournament was held, but the Club didn’t forget about other sports and organised basketball, handball, chess, horse racing, wrestling and bull fighting competitions to celebrate their Golden Wedding Anniversary. Two extravagant Madridistas, Benito Pico and Manolo Suárez, were in charge of organising the festivities.

Di Stéfano draws attention at Millonarios
Millonarios Bogotá won the football trophy in the celebration after playing against Swedish side Norrkoping and Real Madrid. Alfredo di Stéfano showcased his great quality and speed in both clashes at Chamartín Stadium.

Saporta, Bernabéu’s great signing
General Querejeta, President of the Spanish Basketball Association advised Bernabéu to sign Raimundo Saporta. The latter joined the Club after he brilliantly organised the basketball championship that took place during the 50th Anniversary celebration. From then on, he became increasingly important for Bernabéu thanks to his excellent management and diplomacy skills. Saporta expanded the Club’s reach and became its “brain.”

The soap opera that was Di Stéfano’s signing
Alfredo Di Stéfano met Santiago Bernabéu in March 1952 during the anniversary celebrations and his signing for the Club resembled a soap opera in which Santiago Bernabéu, Raimundo Saporta, Enrique Martí, Barcelona President and Technical Secretary José Samitier, Millonarios President Alfonso Senior, River Plate President Enrique Pardo and Spanish FA Board Member Armando Muñoz Calero played leading roles. Bernabéu’s strategy and Martí’s mistakes made Di Stéfano sign for Real Madrid.

Di Stéfano’s hectic debut
On 23 September 1953, Alfredo Di Stéfano, his wife and daughters arrived in Madrid from Barcelona at 10:30 am. As soon as he entered Madrid’s Atocha Railway Station, the player went to the Club, passed his medical exam, had lunch, left his family at the Emperatriz Hotel, met his new teammates in the dressing room and played his first game at 3:30 pm. It was a friendly game against Nancy won by the Whites 4-2. Di Stéfano scored his first goal as a Real Madrid player on the 67-minute mark.

Joaquín Navarro, first Spanish player to be in an All-European FIFA team
Real Madrid’s Joaquín Navarro -outstanding defender also known as “The Fireman”- was the first Spanish player to play in an All-European FIFA team in Wembley as part of the 90th Anniversary celebrations of the English FA.

Third League title, 23 years later
The first consequence of Alfredo di Stéfano’s signing was winning the 1953/54 League. The Club hadn’t won the title since the 1932/33 season and euphoria spread throughout Madridismo. Twenty-one years later, fans could sing the victory chant again thanks to coach Enrique Fernández.

Chamartín Stadium is renamed as Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
In the 4 January 1955 General Assembly, Messrs. Zapater and Caso proposed changing the name of the stadium to Santiago Bernabéu. The proposal was approved and the President reluctantly accepted this honour as it was the will of the Club’s voting members.

Driving force behind the creation of the European Cup
Santiago Bernabéu was one of the people to enthusiastically embrace the proposal of Gabriel Hanot -Chief Editor of L’Equipe- of creating a European tournament to determine which was the best team in the continent. On 2 April 1955, representatives of the most prestigious football clubs in Europe heeded the call of L’Equipe Director Jacques Goddet and met at the Ambassador Hotel in Paris. Bernabéu’s leadership skills amazed everyone at the meeting.

The European legend starts in Geneva
Real Madrid made their European Cup debut in the competition’s first edition on 8 September 1955 in Geneva against Servette. They won 2-0 thanks to goals by Muñoz and Rial. The Madrid expedition was greeted the day prior to the match in Lausanne by Queen Victoria Eugenia, Don Juan and Don Juan Carlos -currently Juan Carlos I, King of Spain.

First European champions
After eliminating Servette and complicated sides like Partizan Belgrade and Milan, Real Madrid defeated Stade Reims in the Paris final 4-3, coming back from a 2-0 score in favour of the French side. The trophy was a 23.2 kg, 66 cm tall amphora. The 13 June 1956 victors were: Juan Alonso; Atienza, Marquitos, Lesmes; Muñoz, Zárraga; Joseíto, Marsal, Di Stéfano, Rial and Gento.

The most powerful lighting system in the world
On 18 March 1957, the Club used the new artificial lighting system at the Bernabéu for the first time in a clash with Brazilian side Recife. 480 lights gave 1,500 lux, much more power than other European stadiums, such as Parc des Princes in Paris -130 lux- old Wembley -140 lux- and Barcelona’s Las Corts -350 lux. 70,000 people saw how Real Madrid defeated Recife 5-3 in new light.

Two-time European Champion at the Bernabéu
On 30 May 1957, 125,000 fans witnessed how Real Madrid were crowned European champions for the second time running at the Santiago Bernabéu after defeating Fiorentina. The Italian side’s catenaccio was responsible for the 0-0 score at the end of the first half. The draw was kept on the score until the 70-minute mark, when Di Stéfano scored from a penalty that came from a tackle on Mateos. Six minutes later, Gento netted a spectacular lob that went over keeper Sarti and Real Madrid eventually won the match 2-0. Real Madrid’s starting line-up was as follows: Juan Alonso; Torres, Marquitos, Lesmes; Muñoz, Zárraga; Kopa, Mateos, Di Stéfano, Rial and Gento.

Di Stéfano is awarded his first Ballon d’Or
Alfredo Di Stéfano received his first Ballon d’Or from Jacques Ferrán, Director of France Football, on 23 January 1958. The ceremony was held at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium before the Real Madrid-Sevilla European match scheduled for the day. Di Stéfano scored four of the eight strikes Real Madrid tallied against the Andalusian side. Di Stéfano was awarded the Ballon d’Or again in 1959.

Three-time European Champion
Real Madrid became European champions for the third time at Heysel Stadium in Brussels after defeating Milan in overtime 3-2. The extraordinary match saw both teams showcasing professional pride. Gento’s goal in overtime crowned the Whites as champions.

European kings again
Madridismo triumphed again in the fourth European Cup final. The match was held in Stuttgart and Real Madrid faced an old foe: Stade Reims. The Whites earned a 2-0 victory thanks to goals by Mateos and Di Stéfano and kept their European crown. Real Madrid were already considered as the best team in Europe.

Five-time champions
On 18 May 1960, Real Madrid won their fifth consecutive European title in Glasgow, a feat that as of today stands unrivalled. Hampden Park saw how the Whites defeated Eintracht Francfort 7-3, thanks to four goals by the unforgettable Puskas and three by Di Stéfano.

First Intercontinental Cup champions
Libertadores Cup champions Peñarol Montevideo played against European champions Real Madrid in the first Intercontinental Cup. The first leg was held in the Uruguayan capital and ended with a 0-0 draw. The second leg took place at the Bernabéu on 4 September 1960 and Real Madrid won 5-1. The starting line-up was as follows: Domínguez; Marquitos, Santamaría, Pachín; Vidal, Zárraga; Herrera, Del Sol, Di Stéfano, Puskas and Gento.

1961-1970

A glorious cycle was drawing to an end after two defeats in two different European Cup finals against Benfica and Inter Milan, respectively. The decline of the players that had thrilled the whole of Europe ended with their departure from the Club. Miguel Muñoz’s generational reshuffle was eventually successful. The so called “Ye-Yés” regained the European crown by winning the Club’s sixth European Cup.

Madricide against Barcelona
Real Madrid were eliminated from the European Cup for the first time in November 1960 against Barcelona. English referees Ellis and Leafe played a big role in the Madridista defeat. The former allowed an unfair penalty to Barcelona at the Bernabéu and the match eventually ended with a 2-2 score. The latter disallowed four Real Madrid goals at the Camp Nou and Barcelona won 2-1. The international press heavily criticised Ellis and Leafe’s performance and coined the term Madricide to describe Real Madrid’s unjust elimination.

Barcelona get thrashed eleven days later
Real Madrid took revenge from their defeat against Barcelona a few days later by defeating the Catalans 5-3 at the Camp Nou on 4 December.

Exhibition at Maracaná
On 8 February 1961, the Whites played at Maracaná Stadium for the first time. They faced Vasco da Gama and earned a 2-0 score before half-time thanks to goals by Del Sol and Canario. Real Madrid were tired in the last 45 minutes and the game eventually ended in a 2-2 draw.

Seven Madridistas in the 1962 World Cup
Pablo Hernández Coronado was the Spanish national coach for the Chile 1962 World Cup. He stirred up some controversy by not including Amancio on the squad list, but nevertheless called up Di Stéfano, Santamaría, Puskas, Pachín, Del Sol, Gento and Araquistain. Unfortunately, Di Stéfano got injured and had to miss the tournament.

Di Stéfano kidnapped for three days
Alfredo Di Stéfano was kidnapped at the Potomac Hotel in Caracas, where Real Madrid were staying during the World Club Championship. He was taken away the night of the 21 August 1963 by the Libebration Front of Venezuela. “I thought they were going to kill me,” wrote the player in his autobiography Gracias, Vieja. The kidnapping had great impact and his captors got the publicity they wanted. Di Stéfano was freed three days later.

The first Real Madrid City is inaugurated
The 1956 General Assemby approved the construction of the first Real Madrid City. The grounds were inaugurated seven years later thanks to Real Madrid Vicepresident Álvaro Bustamante, who promoted the idea. The opening took place on 18 May 1963. A very important international athletics meeting took place as part of the inauguration.

Di Stéfano’s bitter farewell
On 27 June 1964, Alfredo Di Stéfano played his last official match as a Real Madrid man at Vienna’s Prater Stadium against Inter Milan in the ninth European Cup final, which the Italian side won 3-1. Di Stéfano had a confrontation with coach Miguel Muñoz and Santiago Bernabéu took the latter’s side. The President offered the player to stay at the Club to do other jobs, but he refused and signed for Español.

Five consecutive League titles… Again
Real Madrid are the only side to have won the League five consecutive times twice in the competition’s 76-year history. The first time they achieved this was between the 1960/61 and 1964-65 seasons and they repeated the feat between the 1985-86 and 1989-90 seasons. No other Spanish team has been able to break this record.

The “Ye-Yés” crown themselves as European champions
Miguel Muñoz’s generational reshuffle of the team in 1964 was successful two years later. On 11 May 1966, Real Madrid won their sixth European Cup title at Brussel’s Heysel Stadium against Partizan Belgrade, whom they defeated 2-1. This was the “Ye-Ye” team. “Ye-Ye” was how youngsters were called in Spain in the Sixties, especially those who looked like the Beatles. The team back then was formed by Araquistain; Pachín, De Felipe, Sanchís; Pirri, Zoco; Serena, Amancio, Grosso, Velázquez and Gento.

A tribute to three excellent players
Three tribute games were held to honour three legendary players at the end of the Sixties: José Emilio Santamaría (15-9-66), Alfredo di Stéfano (7-6-67) and Ferenc Puskas (26-6-69). The threesome were already a symbol of Real Madrid greatness and of the Club’s history. The three became coaches at the end of their careers as players. Needless to say, the crowd gave them an incredibly warm ovation.

1971-1980

Santiago Bernabéu died in the 1970s. Before his death, Miguel Muñoz left the team after coaching it for 14 years. The Club’s 75th Anniversary celebration didn’t receive much support. The decade saw Real Madrid play against Castilla in the final of the Spanish Championship as well as a transitional period that followed Bernabéu’s death.

UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup finalists
Real Madrid made their debut in the no longer existent UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup in the 1970/71 season. They reached the final against Chelsea by defeating Hibernians, Wacker Innsbruck, Cardiff City and PSV Eindhoven. Both sides had to play the game twice at the Greek Karaikiris Stadium because the first match -held on 19 May 1971- ended in a 1-1 draw and neither team was capable of scoring the winning goal during overtime. The second clash took place two days later and Chelsea won 2-1.

Arias Navarro doesn’t approve the project for a new stadium
On 8 September 1973, Real Madrid announced their intention of demolishing the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in order to build a new venue with a capacity for 125,000 people and a parking lot beneath it for 8,000 cars. Mayor Carlos Arias Navarro’s refusal to reclassify the plot of land and the letter by lawyer Luis Pascual Estevill against the project that was published in newspaper ABC put an end to the project.

Miguel Muñoz’s great period ends
Miguel Muñoz became coach of Real Madrid in 1960 when Fleitas Solich left. He ended up winning nine leagues, two Cups of Spain two European Cups and one Intercontinental Cup in 14 seasons. On 15 January 1974, Santiago Bernabéu ended Muñoz’s period “because he had been suffering for too long”. Luis Molowny, a man from the Club, replaced a living legend.

Real Madrid look to the Balkans
After the 1974/75 season, Luis Molowny was replaced by the Yugoslavian Miljan Miljanic. He signed on 5 July 1974 and from then onwards the team played an unattractive game based on physical efforts and tactical order. This system earned the team two Leagues and one Cup of Spain in three seasons. Another Yugoslavian, Vujadin Boskov, took the reins of the team in 1979. He coached them until half way through the 1981/82 season. He won the League and the King’s Cup in his first year as coach.

Prelude to the Great Recoveries
The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium lived one of its most glorious nights on 5 November 1975. Real Madrid recovered from a 4-1 defeat in the first leg of the Last 16 round of the European Cup against Derby County. At the end of the second leg, the result was 4-1 for the Whites, which forced both teams to play overtime. Santillana scored the winning goal; this was the prelude to Real Madrid’s Great Recoveries.

No support for the 75th Anniversary Celebrations
The 75th Anniversary Celebrations had little support from the fans because of the team’s bad results and Bernabéu’s retirement to Santa Pola due to ill health. A tournament was organised between the national teams of Argentina and Iran, Moroccan side Mouloudia Chabia and Real Madrid. The little support was evident in a half-full, tedious match between Real Madrid and Argentina that the Whites won 1-0 thanks to a goal by Vicente del Bosque.

The Patriarch dies
Santiago Bernabéu died at his home on 2 Jericó Street on 2 June 1978 six days before his 83rd birthday. His death put an end to an extraordinary 35-year Presidency at Real Madrid. Many condolences were received and deposited at the Club. A memorial service was held on 3 June in his village, Almansa, where he is buried.

Luis de Carlos takes office as President
After a brief period as interim President, Raimundo Saporta called for elections. The Club’s treasurer, Luis de Carlos, resigned in order to run for President. 26 July 1978 was the deadline for candidates to apply in order to run for office. De Carlos submitted 3,352 documents endorsing his candidacy, while the rest -gynaecologist Campos Gil and florist José Daguerre- didn’t get the minimum number required in time. This called off the election and Luis de Carlos was proclaimed President of Real Madrid.

The Whitest Cup final
On 4 June 1980, the Santiago Bernabéu hosted the Cup final between Real Madrid and Castilla, the Club’s second team, created on 21 July 1972. Castilla managed to defeat four First Division teams -Hércules, Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad and Sporting Gijon- to get to the final of the Spanish Championship. Real Madrid defeated Castilla -coached by the sorely missed Juanjo- 6-1.

Best European team of 1980
France Football named Real Madrid the Best European Team of 1980. The jury took into account the two national titles the team won that year -the League and the King’s Cup- and the fact that they reached the semifinals of the European Cup that season.

1981-1990

The second half of the 1980’s were incredible. Real Madrid won two UEFA Cups and five consecutive League titles, the fifth which set a record. It was a lustrum (1985 to 1990) during which the Whites amazed with two quintets that stirred the imagination: “El Buitre” and “The Five Machos,” whose only pending achievement during their brilliant careers was winning the European Cup.

One minute spells the difference between glory and failure
The 1980/81 season had an unpleasant finish for Madrid. On 26 April 1981, they lost the League when the victory chant was already being sung in Valladolid. Real Sociedad, who drew (2-2) against Sporting in the last minute at El Molinón claimed the title. Barely one month later, on 27 May, an Alan Kennedy goal (82nd minute) gave Liverpool the European Cup, when overtime was the only fair option.

The players strike
The professional Real Madrid squad was one of four teams of the Primera Division to back the strike called on 11 April 1982. On that day, the Whites played at Castellón with Castilla footballers and defeated the hosts 2-1.

The Bernabéu host the 1982 World Cup final
The final of the 1982 World Cup took place at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. In a thrilling match, Italy outplayed Germany and won 3-1. What most spectators will remember most from that 11 July 1982 was the joy that overcame Sandro Pertini, President if Italy, each time the Italian side scored.

Di Stéfano returns to the Club
With the Presidential elections on the horizon, candidate Luis de Carlos introduced Alfredo di Stéfano and Amancio Amaro as coaches of the first team and Castilla on 19 May 1982. The Arrow left Madrid in 1964 and returned to the Club 18 years later. De Carlos defeated Ramón Mendoza in the election and Di Stéfano, who signed on for two years, won five runners-up titles in his first year as the Madridista coach.

The Arrow’s second farewell
Once the 1983/84 season had ended, Alfredo di Stéfano again said goodbye to Real Madrid. Twenty-one years later he went through the same experience. His contract ended on 30 June 1984 and Luis de Carlos decided not to resign him due to the failure to achieve sporting success.

Historic downpour of goals against Anderlecht
On 12 December 1984, Emilio Butragueño became a European household name with an unforgettable performance against Anderlecht at the Bernabéu. The Belgians were coming off a 3-0 first leg win in Brussels and had the next round of the UEFA Cup in sight, but Butragueño crushed all their hopes with three goals (the other three were scored by Valdano, two, and Sanchís) and Real Madrid won convincingly 6-1.

Ramón Mendoza initiates a new era
After two brief stints as a Director and an election-time defeat to Luis de Carlos, Ramón Mendoza’s became President of Real Madrid in 1985. Mendoza’s arrival was the dawn of a new era in the history of the Club.

Back-to-back UEFA Cup champions
Real Madrid’s first two UEFA Cup titles were won back-to-back. The first in 1984 against Hungary’s Videoton (3-0 at Sosto Stadium and 0-1 in Chamartín), and the second one year later after defeating FC Köln 5-1 at the Bernabéu and losing 2-0 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.

Longest League in history won by Madrid
The 1986/87 season went down in history as the longest League in Spanish football. After 34 matchdays, each team played 10 more games in a three-part playoff: the top six teams would play for the title, which Real Madrid won, the next six would battle it out for a spot in the League Cup with the possibility of participating in the UEFA Cup, and the last six would duke it out to stave off relegation.

Five years of fantasy and dominance
The Real Madrid of the Quinta del Buitre and the The Five Machos won five consecutive Leagues with extraordinary authority (1985/86 to 1989/90) and equalled the record achieved between 1960/61 and 1964/65. During the fifth League, Madrid set a new record by scoring 107 goals in 38 matches. The years belonged to Butragueño’s fantasy and the dominance of Hugo Sánchez, who won the Golden Boot along with CSKA Sofia’s Hristo Stoitchkov.

Temporary Di Stéfano-Camacho duo
On 17 November 1990, after sacking John Benjamín Toshack, Ramón Mendoza turned back to the wisdom of Alfredo di Stéfano and the youth of José Antonio Camacho to coach the team; a temporary duo while the President tried to woo Luis Aragonés away from Espanyol to immediately take charge of the Madridista squad. Luis didn’t wanted to disassociate himself from the Catalan side, so Mendoza signed Antic.

1991-2000

This was the decade in which the Club won its seventh and eight European Cups. Real Madrid sat on the European throne once more at the end of the 1990s, which had an uneasy first half for the Whites with two League titles lost against Tenerife.

Today, 6 March 2007, Real Madrid celebrate their 105th anniversary. In a meeting held in Rome in 2000, FIFA decided to name the entity the Best Club of the 20th Century or, by all accounts, the best Club in the history of football. Five years after receiving this distinction, the beat goes on and the Whites are looking to take on a new lease on life and relive the good old days, the ones that put Real Madrid in centre stage of world football.

Mendoza advances elections
Although he still had a full year on his ticket, then President Ramón Mendoza advanced the Presidential elections to 14 April 1991. Opposite him was writer Alfonso Ussía, whose results were more than honourable in spite of his diminished resources. The electoral success won Mendoza another four years in the Presidential chair.

Tenerife, the “cursed island”
Ramón Mendoza dismissed coach Antic in mid-season. At the time, the Serbian coach had led Real Madrid to a seven point lead during the 1991-92 campaign. He was substituted by Dutch manager Leo Beenhakker, who had re-joined the Club as Technical Director just weeks before. With the Dutchman coaching the team, Madrid were robbed of the League title in Tenerife in the last day of the season. It was exactly the same story the following year, this time with Benito Floro at the rudder. After losing two consecutive titles in the last game of the campaign in exactly the same spot, the Canary isle of Tenerife was tagged a “cursed island ” for Madridismo.

Renovations at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium
The renovations of the Santiago Bernabéu stadium began on 7 February 1992 and ended two years and change later, on 7 May 1994. The expense of the works was in excess of ESP 5,000 million (EUR 30 million), including the ESP 300M (EUR 1.8M) for the insurance that would cover both the construction workers and the attending spectators during the time.

Valdano returns to coach the team
After snatching two League titles from Real Madrid and eliminating them from the King’s Cup in his capacity as coach of Tenerife, Jorge Valdano signed a coaching agreement with Real Madrid set on putting the Whites back on the road to success and terminate the 4-year Liga title drought. The Argentine did just that in his first season at his former team and all Real Madrid fans got to sing along to the victory chant at the end of the season.

Sanz relieves Mendoza in Club Presidency
After ten and a half years in office, Ramón Mendoza handed in his irrevocable resignation on 20 November 1995. He was relieved by Lorenzo Sanz, who held recourse to Club by-law 49 to get elected as heir to Mendoza by the 11 directors who continued in the Board of Directors following the transfer of power.

Capello makes his debut with Real Madrid
On 20 May 1996, Lorenzo Sanz presented Fabio Capello as new head coach of Real Madrid. The Italian trainer landed in Madrid borne out by his five successful seasons with AC Milan, with whom he won the 1994 European Cup. Although Capello only stayed with the team during the 1996-97 season, he managed to win the League.

Seventh European Cup
After a less than impressive domestic run, coach Jupp Heynckes led the team to win the very much awaited -last one was in 1966, 32 years earlier- European Cup. The venue: Amsterdam Arena. Date: 20 May 1998. The Merengues conquered their seventh top European trophy with a goal by now Sporting Director Pedja Mijatovic against the Italian side of Juventus, who were the hot favourites that night.

Second Intercontinental Cup
Guus Hiddink was the manager in charge of guiding Real Madrid to their second Intercontinental Cup after the surprising resignation of Juan Antonio Camacho in July 1998, before the actual season even began. An extraordinary goal by Raúl in Tokyo sealed the more than fair 2-1 end result for the Whites.

Eighth European Cup & First Spanish Final
Vicente del Bosque took over John Benjamin Toshack as head coach of Real Madrid in mid-season and spearheaded the Madridistas towards raising their eighth European Cup -second Champions League title. The venue was superb: the newly built Saint-Denis stadium of Paris would host the first ever Spanish final -as well as the first ever final of the European Cup between two teams of the same country- on 24 May 2000. It was a vibrant game which saw Madrid triumph over Valencia with a final 3-0 result. It was the last European Cup of the 20th Century and, as the first one, it belonged to the Whites.

Florentino Pérez wins the elections
On 16 July 2000, Florentino Pérez was elected new President of Real Madrid after defeating Lorenzo Sanz in the polls. Pérez’s successful campaign was based on two pillars: get rid, for once and for all, of the historical Club debt and sign the best players in the world.

Best Club 20th Century
On 11 December 2000, during the FIFA gala in Rome, Florentino Pérez and Honourary Club President Alfredo di Stéfano received the accolade honouring Real Madrid as the Best Club of the 20th Century.

2001-2010

Figo, Beckham, Zidane, Ronaldo… The best players in the world joined the Club and formed one of the most spectacular teams in history. The Santiago Bernabéu was expanded and the new Real Madrid City in Valdebebas was built. The crowning moment was the Club’s ninth European Cup title.

The Real Madrid Sports City rezoned
After the mandatory formalities, Real Madrid’s Sports City was rezoned after a three-way agreement that was signed in the headquarters of Madrid’s Autonomous Community Council on 7 May 2001. The three parties implicated were Florentino Pérez, José María Álvarez del Manzano and Alberto Ruiz Gallardón in representation of Real Madrid, the City Council and the Madrid Autonomous Community, respectively. The agreement accrued income worth ESP 80,000 million – EUR 480 million for the Club.

The King of Spain, Honourary Centenary President
In the prelude to the celebrations of the Real Madrid Centenary, Florentino Pérez and the Board of Directors unanimously agreed to offer His Majesty the King of Spain the Honourary Centenary President distinction. The monarch accepted the honorary presidency with his habitual modesty.

A Centenary riddled with successes
The Club Centennial took place in 2002 and attracted worldwide acclaim. From the sporting perspective, Madrid won their ninth European Cup after defeating Bayer Leverkusen in Glasgow 2-1; the first European Super Cup against Feyenoord with an identical result (2-1); and their third Intercontinental Cup beating Club Olimpia by 2-0 in Tokyo. One could not have wished for a better 100-year anniversary.

Florentino Pérez resigns
On 27 February 2006, Florentino Pérez irrevocably resigned his Presidential post. Fernando Martín became the acting President, followed by Luis Gómez Montejano, who in turn called last summer’s Presidential elections.

Ramón Calderón elected President
The Real Madrid presidency was disputed by five candidates, Ramón Calderón, Juan Palacios, Juan Miguel Villar Mir, Lorenzo Sanz and Arturo Baldasano. Following the 2 July 2006 vote, Ramón Calderón was elected President after having won the in-person vote.

Capello’s comeback
On 5 July 2006, Fabio Capello signed for Madrid for the second time in his life. The Italian manager asked for and got the signings of Cannavaro, Emerson, Diarra, Reyes and Van Nistelrooy. The winter transfer window saw three new players join the Whites: Marcelo, Higuaín and Gago.

Death of Puskas
Ferenc Puskas Biro died on 17 November 2006 from an illness he had been suffering from for a long time; he was 79 years old.

Honourary Club Member Joseph Blatter
FIFA President Joseph Blatter was awarded the Club’s Gold and Diamond Insignia by Honourary President Alfredo di Stéfano, whom Blatter considers to be the all-time greatest football player. Real Madrid also made the FIFA Premier an Honourary Club Member.

ULEB Cup
The first of the two titles won by the basketball section in 2007 was the ULEB Cup. Real Madrid were practically invincible throughout the competition and defeated Unics Kazan and Lietuvos Rytas in the semifinals and final, respectively.

League champions
The ‘Together we can, together we stand’ campaign worked wonders and got the fans and the team to stand together and eventually win the Club’s 30th football League title. The Whites won the title after an impressive comeback against Mallorca the last day of the competition (3-1). It was Ramón Calderón’s first football title as President.

ACB Champions
One week later, the Basketball team also won its 30th League title by defeating Barcelona in the playoffs at the Palau Blaugrana. Pamesa and Joventut also fell against them on their road to victory. Felipe Reyes earned MVP honours in the final.

March 6 2008
Real Madrid turns 106 today. Since its foundation, the Club has been extremely successful and has embodied the greatest of sports values: to always have a fighting spirit and respect your opponent.

Back to Back league titles
The 2007/08 season began with a new project under new head coach Bernd Schuster and several new faces in the lineup: Robben, Heinze, Sneijder, Drenthe, Saviola, and Metzelder. Real Madrid took hold atop the table in Matchday 2 with a 0-5 victory over Villarreal, a position they never abandoned throughout the year. The Whites ended the campaign as the highest scoring (84 goals) and the least scored upon (36) team. They also established a new La Liga record by notching 85 points, 18 more than third place Barcelona.

Eighth Spanish Super Copa
After winning their second consecutive league title, Real Madrid faced Valencia in the Spanish Super Cup prior to the start of the 2008/09 season. Valencia won the first leg 3-2, but despite falling behind in the return leg at the Bernabeu, the Whites mounted an incredible turn around to claim their eighth Spanish Super Cup.

Florentino Perez begins second term as President
Florentino Perez returned to the presidency of Real Madrid on 1 June 2009 during an election campaign in which he ran unopposed, perhaps due to the overwhelming support of members as evidenced by several polls taken by major media outlets. Under the slogan “Excitement Returns”, the Florentino Perez candidacy brought about a sense of optimism that helped raise spirits after experiencing the dominance displayed by Barcelona. A new and exciting project backed by the legacy left by the same Board that ruled over the club for nearly six years is underway; six years during which Real Madrid lived some of its most memorable highlights ever.

source: realmadrid.com

HISTORY OF FC BARCELONA

admin — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 05:17:47 +0000

On November 29, 1899, Hans Gamper founded Futbol Club Barcelona, along with eleven other enthusiasts of ‘foot-ball’, a game that was still largely unknown in this part of the world.

He could never have imagined the magnitude of what that initiative would eventually develop into. Over more than one hundred years of history, FC Barcelona has grown spectacularly in every area and has progressed into something much greater than a mere sports club, turning Barça’s ‘more than a club’ slogan into a reality.

Barça has become, for millions of people all around the world, a symbol of their identity, and not just in a sporting sense, but also in terms of society, politics and culture. Throughout the most difficult of times, Barça was the standard that represented Catalonia and the Catalan people’s desire for freedom, a symbolism that has continued to be closely linked to the idiosyncrasy of the Club and its members to this day. Within the context of Spain, Barça is seen as an open and democratic club. And all around the world, Barça is identified with caring causes, and most especially children through its sponsorship agreement with Unicef.

For a whole century, FC Barcelona has passed through moments of glory and pain, periods of brilliance and other less successful ones, epic victories and humbling defeats. But all these different moments have helped define the personality of a Club that, due to its peculiar nature, is considered unique in the world.

With over one hundred years of history, there have naturally been many different periods, both in a social and a sporting sense. In the early years (1899-1922) , from the foundation of the club to the construction of Les Corts stadium, Barça was a club that had to distinguish itself from all the other football teams in Barcelona, to the point that it would come to be identified with the city as a whole. Barça soon became the leading club in Catalonia, and also associated itself with the increasingly growing sense of Catalan national identity.

From Les Corts to the Camp Nou (1922-1957), the club went through contrasting periods. Its membership reached 10,000 for the first time, while football developed into a mass phenomenon and turned professional, and these were the years of such legendary figures as Alcántara and Samitier. But due to material difficulties and the political troubles of the Spanish Civil War and post-war period, the club was forced to overcome several adverse circumstances, including the assassination of president Josep Sunyol in 1936, the very person who had propagated the slogan ‘sport and citizenship’. But the club survived, and a period of social and sporting recovery materialised in the form of the Camp Nou, coinciding with the arrival of the hugely influential Ladislau Kubala.

From the construction of the Camp Nou to the 75th anniversary (1957-1974) , Barça suffered mediocre results but was consolidated as an entity, with a constantly increasing membership and the slow but steady recovery, in the face of adversity, of its identity. A very clear sensation that was manifested for the first time ever in the words ‘Barça, more than a club’ proclaimed by president Narcís de Carreras. The board presided by Agustí Montal brought a player to Barcelona who would change the history of the club, Johan Cruyff.

From the 7th anniversary to the European Cup (1974-1992) the club saw the conversion of football clubs to democracy, the start of Josep Lluís Núñez’s long presidency, the extension of the Camp Nou on occasion of the 1982 World Cup and the Cup Winners Cup triumph in Basle (1979), a major success not just in a sporting sense but also in a social one, with an enormous and exemplary expedition of Barça supporters demonstrating to Europe the unity of the Barcelona and Catalan flags. Cruyff returned, this time as coach, and created what would come to be known as the ‘Dream Team’ (1990-1994), whose crowning glory was the conquest of the European Cup at Wembley (1992), thanks to Koeman’s famous goal.

International Dominance. From Wembley to Abu Dhabi (1992-2009) was when the club’s most recent developments occurred in between its three greatest achievements, becoming champions of Europe. Josep Lluís Núñez’s long presidency came to an end, and the club displayed its finest potential during the celebrations of the club Centenary. Following on from Joan Gaspart (2000-2003), the June 2003 election brought Joan Laporta into office, and the start of new social expansion, reaching 172,938 members, and more successes on the pitch, including three league titles, the Champions League titles won in Paris and Rome and the FIFA Club World Cup.

In the season 2008-09 the arrival of Josep Guardiola as first team coach brought new energy to the club and they recorded the most successful season in their entire history winning the six titles that will be forever burned into the memories of all Barça fans. Success on the field has helped the club expand its social role and heighten its media profile.

The grandeur of Futbol Club Barcelona is explained, among many other factors, by its impressive honours list. Very few clubs anywhere in the world have won so many titles. The Intercontinental Cup is the only major football trophy that has never made its way into the club museum, where the club’s greatest pride and joy remain the three European Cup titles won in Wembley (1992) Paris (2006), Rome (2009) and the FIFA Club World Cup in 2009.

Apart from winning Europe’s top title,, the Club also has the honour of being the only one to have appeared in every single edition of European club competition since the tournaments were first created back in 1955. Barcelona’s many achievements in Europe include being considered ‘King of the Cup Winners Cup’, having won that title a record four times

In addition, FC Barcelona also won three Fairs Cups (the tournament now known as the UEFA Cup) in 1958, 1960 and 1966. In 1971, Barça won that trophy outright in a match played between themselves, as the first ever winners of the competition, and Leeds United, as the last.

Source: fcbarcelona.com

Lippi keeps faith in ageing Italy

admin — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 20:22:17 +0000

Marcello Lippi, coach of defending champions Italy, said on Tuesday that his ageing squad is not a source of concern to him as he prepares for this summer’s 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™.

Italy will go into the tournament with many of the stars that took them to glory in Germany in 2006 and although key players such as Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluca Zambrotta and Andrea Pirlo are all the wrong side of 30, Lippi insists that it will make no difference over a month-long tournament.

“If I had to play a whole season with this team, I’d probably make other choices,” he told reporters here. “But for one month, it’s not a problem. The quality of a player is not just about age or technique, there’s also enthusiasm, experience, charisma, wisdom, familiarity with international matches… It’s about one month and six or seven matches. We don’t necessarily need players aged 24.”

It doesn’t interest me to talk about the future. Talking about after the World Cup doesn’t mean anything today.

Marcello Lippi on his plans after the FIFA World Cup

Italy’s last outing was a disappointing goalless draw in a friendly with Cameroon earlier in the month, but Lippi said he was not concerned by their display. “After the match, where we were missing six or seven big players and where I gave debuts to two young players, everyone said ‘They’re not in the right shape’,” he said. “But nothing counts today. What counts is June.”

Balotelli not an issue
One of the thorniest issues surrounding the Italy squad is 19-year-old Inter Milan striker Mario Balotelli, who continues to be overlooked by Lippi despite some impressive performances for his club and clamour for his inclusion in the FIFA World Cup squad from members of the Italian media.

Balotelli, though, is a divisive figure who has a turbulent relationship with club coach Jose Mourinho and is regularly the target of abuse from opposition fans. Quizzed over Balotelli’s non-selection, Lippi insisted it was a case of putting the needs of the team first.

“Every country has its debates,” he said. “In Brazil, it’s Ronaldinho. In Italy, it’s Balotelli. But it’s the coaches who make the decisions, motivated by the construction of the squad. They’re talented players, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we have to pick them. But I’ve never said that such-and-such a player was in or that such-and-such a player was out. There’s no-one ‘in or out’ and, until mid-May, I’ll look at everyone.

“As for Balotelli, he has great qualities and I’m sure that once he’s finished maturing at Inter there’s no doubt his qualities will be useful to the national side,” said Lippi.

Balotelli was born in Italy to Ghanaian parents and has occasionally been the subject of racist abuse. Lippi, though, says it is not his responsibility to make a symbolic stand against the racists by calling up the teenager.

“Everyone knows that I’m against every form of racism,” he said. “But a coach can’t make decisions based on this motive. And anyway, he’s already playing for the under-21s with (Angelo) Ogbonna and (Stefano) Okaka [who are also of African origin]. When I feel the time has come to call him up, I will do so, but purely for sporting reasons,” he said.

Lippi’s future beyond the finals has yet to be resolved, but the 61-year-old, who led Italy to glory at Germany 2006, refused to be drawn on whether he hopes to prolong his tenure with the Azzurri. “It doesn’t interest me to talk about the future,” he said. “Talking about after the World Cup doesn’t mean anything today.”

Italy were drawn alongside Paraguay, New Zealand and Slovakia in Group F at the FIFA World Cup. They begin their campaign against Paraguay on 14 June.

source:fifa.com

Chelsea

admin — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 05:48:17 +0000

Club Profile

Overview

Chelsea will be desperate to regain the Premier League crown after finishing second to Manchester United in the last two seasons. Former manager Jose Mourinho, bankrolled by owner Roman Abromovich’s millions, brought the first title to Stamford Bridge for 50 years when the Blues lifted the trophy in 2005. Chelsea became only the second team to win back-to-back Premier League titles when they clinched it a year later. Mourinho left the club by mutual consent in September 2007.

Although Chelsea reached the FA Cup final in 1994, they hardly set the world alight in their early Premier League days. Ruud Gullit became manager in 1996 and steered the Blues to an FA Cup triumph in 1997, while his successor Gianluca Vialli guided the team to victory in the League Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1998.

Shortly after, he led the team to the UEFA Super Cup after a 1-0 win over Real Madrid. The FA Cup followed in 2000. Vialli was replaced by Claudio Ranieri in 2000 and he led Chelsea to another FA Cup final appearance in 2002.

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought the Blues for £140m. After a trophyless season, he appointed Mourinho as new Chelsea manager and there was instant success. In 2005, Chelsea won the Barclays Premiership and League Cup, along with a Champions League semi-final appearance.

And Mourinho retained the Barclays Premiership crown the year after, equalling the club’s own Premier League record of 29 wins set the previous season. They were league runners-up in 2006/07 and also claimed the FA Cup and League Cup double.

They were also runners-up in the 2007/08 campaign, but by this time Mourinho had left the club. He was replaced by Avram Grant who led the Blues to the final of the Champions League and Carling Cup.

Grant left Stamford Bridge at the end of the season and was replaced by Luiz Felipe Scolari who will be charged with bringing the title back to the club. However he was sacked in February 2009 and replaced by Guus Hiddink who agreed to take charge until the end of the campaign while continuing to coach the Russian national side.

Club Heritage

Chelsea were formed in 1905 and were elected into the Second Division of the Football League. They just missed out on silverware 10 years later with an FA Cup final defeat. The Blues had to wait for their first major trophy in 1955, when under manager Ted Drake, they won the league title. Chelsea claimed the League Cup for the first time in 1965 and were defeated in the FA Cup final two years later.

Featuring the likes of Ron ‘Chopper’ Harris, Ian Hutchison and Peter Osgood, Chelsea overcame Leeds to win the FA Cup in 1970. In the following season, they clinched the European Cup Winners’ Cup with a replay victory over Real Madrid.

Financial problems meant the Stamford Bridge club dropped into the Second Division, and at one point they were close to falling to the Third Division.

They eventually won their place back in the top flight in 1984, but their stay only lasted four seasons. They clawed their way back to the First Division again as Second Division champions in 1989 and have remained there ever since.

Premier League History

1992/93 – Inaugural members of the Premier League
1993/94 - Lose FA Cup final
1996/97 – Ruud Gullit appointed player-manger
1996/97 – Win FA Cup
1997/98 – Gianluca Vialli becomes manager
1997/98 – Win League Cup, Cup Winners’ Cup and UEFA Super Cup
1999/00 – FA Cup winners
2000/01 – Claudio Ranieri becomes manager
2001/02 – Lose FA Cup final
2003/04 – Chairman Ken Bates sells Chelsea to Roman Abramovich
2000/05 – Jose Mourinho takes over as manager
2004/05 – Chelsea win Barclays Premiership and League Cup
2005/06 – Chelsea win Barclays Premiership
2006/07 – Win FA Cup and League Cup
2007/08 – Jose Mourinho leaves the club to be replaced by Avram Grant. Runners up in the Carling Cup, Barclays Premier League and Champions League. Part company with Grant. Luiz Felipe Scolari appointed manager in June.
2008/09 – Scolari is sacked in February 2009 and replaced by Russian national coach Guus Hiddink who will combine both roles until the end of the season. Carlo Ancelotti named new manager in June 2009.

source:premierleague.com

Manchester United

admin — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 05:17:41 +0000

Club Profile

Overview

Manchester United are the most successful Premier League club having won the title 11 times. It all began in 1993 when manager Sir Alex Ferguson ended a 26-year wait to lift the Premier League crown.

The signing of Eric Cantona for £1.2m from Leeds United proved a masterstroke as the Frenchman was instrumental in the title victory, along with the likes of Gary Pallister, Denis Irwin, Ryan Giggs and Paul Ince.

United retained the trophy in the following campaign and romped to further titles in 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003. More silverware was added to the Red Devils’ burgeoning trophy cabinet with FA Cup success in 1994, 1996, 1999 and 2004, plus League Cup victories in 1992 and 2006.

Perhaps the most memorable time in the club’s history was the treble-winning season of 1999 when they added the European Champions League trophy to the league title and FA Cup.

Chelsea briefly broke their league dominance with title wins in 2005 and 2006. But in the 2006/07 season, the Red Devils roared back to regain the Barclays Premiership.

They went one better in 2007/08, enjoying their most successful campaign since winning the treble. They saw off the challenge of Chelsea and Arsenal to win an exciting Barclays Premier League title race and defeated the Blues on penalties in the Champions League final after a 1-1 draw between the two sides in Moscow.

In 2008/09, United made it a hat-trick of titles, also winning the Carling Cup but narrowly missing out to Barcelona in the Champions League final.

Club Heritage

Formed as Newton Heath L&YR F.C in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902. Six years later they clinched the Division One title, then the FA Cup in 1909, and another title triumph in 1911.

Matt Busby became manager in 1945 and steered United to championship victories in 1952, 1956 and 1957. They became the first English club to compete in the European Cup and reached the semi-final, before going out to Real Madrid. Tragedy struck in 1958 when the plane carrying the team home from a European match crashed, killing eight players.

Busby survived and led his rebuilt team to an FA Cup win in 1963, then league titles in 1965 and 1967. United won the European Cup in 1968 with victory over Benfica in the final – the first English club to do so. When Busby resigned in 1969, his successors failed to continue his glorious triumphs and United were relegated five years later.

They managed to regain their top-flight status at the first attempt and later won the FA Cup in 1977. More FA Cup success followed in 1983 and 1985. But it was United’s 1990 FA Cup replay win over Crystal Palace that proved to be the springboard to becoming the force they are today.

It saved under-pressure manager Alex Ferguson from losing his job and he went on to win the European Cup Winners’ Cup the season after and began their Premier League dominance with the 1993 title.

Premier League History

1992/93 – Inaugural members of the Premier League
1992/93 – Eric Cantona signs from Leeds United for £1.2m
1992/93 - Win FA Carling Premiership
1993/94 – Win FA Carling Premiership and FA Cup
1995/96 – Win FA Carling Premiership and FA Cup
1996/97 – Win FA Carling Premiership
1998/99 – Win FA Carling Premiership, European Cup, and FA Cup
1999/00 – Win FA Carling Premiership
2000/01 – Win FA Carling Premiership
2001/02 – Juan Sebastian Veron breaks the British transfer record with a £28m move from Lazio
2002/03 – Win Barclaycard Premiership
2003/04 – Win FA Cup
2005/06 – American Malcolm Glazer takes control of club
2005/06 – Win League Cup
2006/07 – Win Barclays Premiership
2007/08 – Win Barclays Premier League, win European Cup
2008/09 – Win Barclays Premier League, Carling Cup, World Club Championship.

Source:premierleague.com

Albiol: We’re staying grounded

admin — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 15:56:25 +0000

Though he may not be one of Los Blancos’ biggest-name stars, there can be little doubt that centre-back Raul Albiol has been a key figure in Real Madrid’s bid for this season’s La Liga crown. Having adapted swiftly to life at the Bernabeu following his June 2009 switch from Valencia, only four of his fellow Merengue squad members have played more league minutes under coach Manuel Pellegrini than the 24-year-old, a regular in the Spanish national set-up and a member of La Roja squad which triumphed at the UEFA EURO 2008.

All of which is quite a turnaround from events just six years ago, when a car accident nearly cost the rugged defender his life. “At that time all I was thinking about was getting better, football took a back seat. It took me a while to start believing again that I could get back to playing football at the highest level. I just took things one small step at a time, working hard and improving, and now that I’m here I just want to enjoy it,” Albiol told FIFA.com in an exclusive interview.

“I’m aware of just how far I’ve come and what I need to do to stay here, which is the hardest part. Being a Real Madrid central defender is very demanding, it’s a huge responsibility,” continued the player, whose footballing rehabilitation after the accident came during a loan spell at Getafe, before maturing and making his name back at Valencia.

Yet despite joining Madrid from Los Chés, undoubtedly a big club in their own right, Albiol soon realised that the capital outfit was a different proposition entirely. “It really hits you at first and I had the typical nerves you experience as a new boy. As a 14 or 15-year-old I’d look up to Guti, Raul or [Iker] Casillas as I watched them on TV and now they’re my team-mates! I’m very happy though, everybody’s welcomed me really warmly and I’ve settled in quickly.”

The squad is humble and hard-working and even winning the EURO didn’t go to their heads.

Raul Albiol, Spain defender.

“I’ve been really impressed by the enthusiasm and desire of Raul, and by how committed he is in training,” said Albiol, when quizzed about which players have caught his eye the most since his move. “Cristiano Ronaldo too, who’s a great pro, a great team-mate and is always joking around. He’s very different to the impression people outside the club have of him.”

Although the Madrid big-spenders have only the league title still to aim for this season, there will be no shortage of players turning out for their respective nations at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. “We’re dreaming of lifting the Trophy. It must be an incredible feeling,” said Albiol, well placed to make the cut for Spain boss Vicente del Bosque’s finals squad.

“We [Spain] have the enthusiasm, belief and desire, and we’ve also got a winning mentality. And aside from the quality the players have, our team spirit, togetherness and the good atmosphere in the dressing room are all a real plus.”

The powerful defender also had words of praise for boss Del Bosque, the man who guided Spain to a flawless South Africa 2010 qualifying campaign. “He’s a very calm person, with a lot of experience. He knows the players really well, he knows a lot about football and about being in competitions, and he enjoys communicating with his players.”

Despite the squad’s undoubted talent and the former Real Madrid coach’s impressive winning pedigree, La Roja still came undone in the last four of the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009, an exit which also spelled the end of their record unbeaten run of 35 games. “We didn’t lose against the USA that day because of a lack of humility or because we got too big for our boots. The squad is humble and hard-working and even winning the EURO didn’t go to their heads,” said Albiol, who appeared three times at South Africa 2009.

We’re dreaming of lifting the Trophy. It must be an incredible feeling.

Albiol on Spain’s aims in South Africa.

“We kept our feet on the ground ahead of every game in World Cup qualifying, and we’ll be treating the World Cup in the same way. If we do get knocked out it will because our opponents were better on the day, not because we were big-headed,” said this father of two young girls, before underlining the difficulty of Group H rivals Chile, Honduras and Switzerland. “On paper we’re the favourites but you have to prove that out on the pitch. We need to make sure we win our first game. Nobody is going to make it easy for us, we’re going to have to work really hard.”

“We’ve learned (from the USA defeat) that at a major tournament you can lose to anybody. Any team can have an off day but if that happens you’re going home,” said Albiol, whose Spain team will face opponents from a fearsome-looking Group G containing Brazil, Portugal, Côte d’Ivoire and Korea DPR should they reach the Round of 16.

“Any of those teams would be difficult - it’d be a tough game but if you want to go far you have to be ready to beat anybody. Even a good team, one that’s strong and with a winning mentality, has to prove itself against any opponents.”

And even in the face of the FIFA Confederations Cup disappointment, Albiol has certainly not been put off the many charms of hosts South Africa. “We had a lovely experience in South Africa. It’s just a shame we only saw a couple of animals on our safari!” he said with a chuckle as the interview drew to a close. “We’ve noticed just how excited the South Africans are about the start of their World Cup. And it’s our duty to put on a good show for them.”

source:fifa.com

Rooney out for three weeks

admin — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 11:47:44 +0000

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has said striker Wayne Rooney will be out for two to three weeks with the ankle injury he picked up playing against Bayern Munich on Tuesday.

Rooney’s injury was confirmed as a minor ligament strain by the club yesterday and Ferguson said in this morning’s press briefing that the England international would be back within three weeks.

That rules Rooney out of the second leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich but could see him return for the derby against Manchester City on 17 April.

(There is) no bone damage or serious ligament damage. The nation can stop praying.

Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United manager.

Ferguson said: “(There is) no bone damage or serious ligament damage. The nation can stop praying.”

That was a reference to Rooney’s importance to England’s 2010 FIFA World Cup™ hopes, and Ferguson added: “It was a panic. We are relieved. When we saw him hobble off, you are hoping when you send him for a scan, you get some good news.

“And it could have been worse given the way he hobbled off. But it’s out of the way, we can put it to one side and get on with our job on the pitch.”

Source:fifa.com