This term has other meanings, see Real Madrid.
Real Madrid (Spanish: Real Madrid Club de Fútbol) is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Recognized by FIFA as the best football club of the 20th century. Real Madrid is one of three clubs that have never left the top Spanish division, the other two being Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao[3]. It is one of the most titled clubs in Spanish football. He has 67 national trophies to his credit: a record 35 La Liga titles, as well as 19 Copa del Rey, 12 Spanish Super Cups and 1 League Cup[4]. He is the record holder for the number of victories and goals in the Champions League (13 times, the only team to win this tournament – then the European Champions Cup – 5 times in a row).
According to Deloitte, in the 2016/17 season, Real Madrid was the second highest earning club with an annual income of 674.6 million euros[5]. It is one of the most valuable sports clubs in the world. In 2019, it was recognized as the most valuable football club, with a total value of $4.2 billion.
Base
In 1896, the Sky Football Club was created, which became the progenitor of the Madrid club. But the official founding date is March 6, 1902, when the brothers Padros and Julián Palacios open a club called Madrid Football Club. On June 29, 1920, King Alfonso XIII of Spain awarded the club the title of Royal, which in Spanish sounds like Real. Hence the modern name of the club – Real Madrid.
From the moment of its foundation, the club began to claim leadership in Spanish football: already in 1903, it reached the final of the country’s Cup, where it lost to Athletic Bilbao. A few years later, the honorary trophy “moved” to the capital for a long time: Madrid won the Spanish Cup four times in a row. The championships of Spain began to be held only from the 1928/29 season, and before that, the clubs determined the strongest by region. “Madrid” (since 1920 – “Real Madrid”) during this time excelled in the metropolitan area 16 times.
heyday
By the mid-50s of the last century, when it was decided to create a continental football federation in Europe, which would establish regular competitions for both club and national teams, Real Madrid was not the main authority in Spain. However, it was Real Madrid that won the 1954/55 championship, making it the first Spanish delegate to the European Cup. From that moment, Real Madrid established itself at the top of Europe for five years. Successes in the international arena were accompanied by victories in the domestic championship, of which there were 12 in the period from 1954 to 1969. For a decade and a half, it turned out that if Madrid lost the championship at home, they would definitely win the Champions Cup. Thus, they consistently participated in the most prestigious European tournament for 15 years in a row, the first time they did not get into it only in 1970. During that golden era at Real Madrid, the naturalized Argentine Alfredo Di Stefano (the best football player in Europe in 1957 and 1959), the Frenchman Raymond Kopa (winner of the Golden Ball in 1958), the Hungarian Ferenc Puskas (the second football player in Europe in 1960), Francisco Gento – Six-time winner of the Champions Cup. In the mid-60s, the company of the “long-lived” Gento was José Santamaria, Amancio, Pirri, Miguel Angel.Gradually, as the veterans left, the victorious traditions in Europe were lost. The next take-off had to wait almost twenty years, when a new generation came, led by Emilio Butragueno, whose closest associates were Michel, Hugo Sanchez, Manolo Sanchis, Martin Vasquez and Miguel Pardesa. They have won two UEFA Cups and five consecutive championships.
1970s – 1990s
In the mid-seventies, Real Madrid celebrated a crushing victory over Barcelona (4: 0) in the final of the Spanish Cup in the 1973/1974 season. In 1978, Real Madrid acquired Uli Stielike and Juanito, who, despite the dissimilarity of the playing style, will become idols of Madrid fans for many years to come. June 4, 1980 Madrid won the final of the country’s Cup, defeating Castilla 6:1. The following year, Real again reminded Europe of itself by reaching the final of the European Champions Cup. However, in a fierce battle with Liverpool, the Madrid team, led by Vujadin Boskov, were forced to concede with a score of 0:1. In December 1983, Alfredo di Stefano became the coach of Real Madrid, and Martin Esker, Michel, Sanchis and Emilio Butragegno, who soon became one of the symbols of the team, joined the team. Already in the first game for the “royal” club, Butragueno scored twice and brought victory to Madrid in the match against Cadiz.
On May 24, 1985, Ramon Mendoza assumed the presidency, whose reign will be marked by outstanding achievements. In 1985 and 1986, Madrid won the UEFA Cup, beating Videoton and Cologne in the final matches. At home, Real Madrid performed with particular inspiration: it seemed that its players could win back from any score. Once they managed to do something completely unbelievable: after losing to Borussia Mönchengladbach with a score of 1:5, the Madrid players scored four unanswered goals at the Santiago Bernabeu and advanced to the next round. After several relatively unsuccessful seasons, the post of head coach of Real Madrid was taken over by Jorge Valdano, who had previously worked fruitfully at Tenerife. The mentor entrusted a place in the main team to Redondo, Laudrup, Amaviska, Kike Flores.
On January 8, 1995, the Valdano team destroyed their main rivals from Barcelona, \u200b\u200bwinning the championship match with a score of 5: 0, and subsequently won the league title. However, Real Madrid failed the next season, and the famous Italian Fabio Capello took the coaching bridge in July 1996. The composition of the team was noticeably updated, which included Seedorf, Mijatovic and Roberto Carlos. One season was enough for Capello’s team to win the championship. In May 1998, Real Madrid won the Champions Cup for the seventh time, defeating Juventus (1: 0) in the decisive match, and a few months later they also won the Intercontinental Cup against Vasco da Gama.
After the unsuccessful 1998/1999 season, the Real Madrid management decided to entrust the post of head coach to Vicente del Bosque and did not fail: the club won the Champions Cup for the eighth time, beating Valencia (3:0) in the final match. Raul proved himself to be a real leader of the team. In 2001, Real Madrid won the national title for the 28th time.
