real madrid

Real Madrid Club de Ftbol of Spain is the world's most successful football club for the 20th century, as ranked by the governing body of international football FIFA, just ahead of Manchester United. Formed on March 6, 1902, it competes in the Spanish first division or Primera Divisin, from which it has never been relegated since the formation of Spain's national league in 1928. The club was originally named Madrid Club de Ftbol, but were allowed to use the title Real after King Alfonso XIII of Spain gave the club an official blessing in June 1920. The team play in an all-white uniform, which is the origin of their nickname Los merengues (the whites). Their home stadium is the Santiago Bernabu in Chamartn, Madrid, which was founded on December 14 1947. It has a capacity of 80,354 spectators and its pitch measures 106x72 meters. Since the middle of the 20th century, Real Madrid has consistently been ranked as one of the top football clubs in Europe. It has won the European Cup more times (nine) than any other club, winning the first five European Cups. The rivalry between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona is legendary, and draws as much from Spanish politics as it does from footballing matters. In recent years, Real Madrid have become famous for signing some of the world's best footballers, giving the club a new nickname of Los galacticos (the galacticos). This trend began shortly after Euro 2000 with the world record €60m acquisition of Portuguese playmaker Luis Figo from FC Barcelona, who had risen to prominence with some influential displays in the tournament. He was joined the following year by then two-time FIFA World Player of the Year Zinedine Zidane from the Italian side Juventus, again for a world record fee - this time approximately €71m. The following season, they purchased Ronaldo, top scorer in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, for around €39m from Internazionale. In the summer of 2003, their target was David Beckham, captain of the English national side, who signed from Manchester United for approximately €36m. Cynics argued that this particular development had as much to do with finance as football, with the Beckham brand ensuring increased revenue from merchandising. However, Beckham made a good start with Madrid, despite their relative underachievement in the 2003/2004 season (finishing fourth in the Primera Liga). This poor display led to the sacking of coach Carlos Queiroz, who had also made the trip to Madrid from Manchester United in 2003 after leaving his position as assistant manager at the English club. The pressure to win trophies means that managers who fail to deliver are sacked, resulting in a high turnover of managers. John Toschack was twice manager of the club. Recent seasons have also seen the arrival and departure of several other managerial appointments including: Vincente Del Bosque, Jos Antonio Camacho and Mariano Garcia Remon. Real Madrid have recently turned to the services of Brazillian legend Vanderlei Luxemburgo in a bid to restore stability and dicipline within the locker room. Real's main target in the 2004 offseason was Patrick Vieira; the club made an offer of €35 million (23.1 million) to English Premiership champions Arsenal for his services. Arsenal rejected Real's overtures, and Real instead made two surprise signings, of Liverpool's Michael Owen (€12m) and Newcastle's Jonathan Woodgate (€24m), who hasnt played a single match since being signed due to a knee injury.

The other two main clubs from Madrid are Atltico de Madrid and (less famously) Getafe. A third club, Rayo Vallecano, was recently relegated to the Segunda Divisin B (Spanish third level), after spending most of its history in the first two levels. Club Address: Avenida de Concha Espina 1, 28036 - Madrid

Famous players

Awards

European Cup/Champions League: 9 (scoreline and finalists)

1955/56 4-3 vs. Stade de Reims-Champagne
1956/57 2-0 vs. A.C. Fiorentina
1957/58 3-2 vs. AC Milan
1958/59 2-0 vs. Stade de Reims-Champagne
1959/60 7-3 vs. Eintracht Frankfurt
1965/66 2-1 vs. Partizan Belgrade
1997/98 1-0 vs. Juventus
1999/00 3-0 vs. Valencia
2001/02 2-1 vs. Bayer Leverkusen

European Super Cup: 1

2002

Intercontinental Cup: 3

1960; 1998; 2002

UEFA Cup: 2

1984/85; 1985/86

Spanish First Division titles - La Liga: 29

1931/32; 1932/33; 1953/54; 1954/55; 1956/57; 1957/58; 1960/61; 1961/62; 1962/63; 1963/64; 1964/65; 1966/67; 1967/68; 1968/69; 1971/72; 1974/75; 1975/76; 1977/78; 1978/79; 1979/80; 1985/86; 1986/87; 1987/88; 1988/89; 1989/90; 1994/95; 1996/97; 2000/01; 2002/03

Spanish King's Cup - Copa del Rey: 17

1904/05; 1905/06; 1906/07; 1907/08; 1916/17; 1933/34; 1935/36; 1945/46; 1946/47; 1961/62; 1969/70; 1973/74; 1974/75; 1979/80; 1981/82; 1988/89; 1992/93

Spanish Super Cup: 7

1988; 1989; 1990; 1993; 1997; 2001; 2003

Regional Championship: 18

1903/04; 1904/05; 1905/06; 1906/07; 1907/08; 1912/13; 1915/16; 1916/17; 1917/18; 1919/20; 1921/22; 1922/23; 1923/24; 1925/26; 1926/27; 1928/29; 1929/30; 1930/31