Real Madrid CF
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| Full name | Real Madrid Club de Fútbol | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Los Galácticos (The Galactics), Los Merengues (The Whites), Los Blancos (The Whites) | ||
| Founded | 1902 | ||
| Ground | Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, Madrid, Spain | ||
| Capacity | 80,354 | ||
| Chairman | Spanish Florentino Pérez | ||
| Manager | Brazilian Vanderlei Luxemburgo | ||
| League | La Liga | ||
| 2004-05 | La Liga, 2nd | ||
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Real Madrid Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club ranked as the 'XX century best club by FIFA'. Formed on March 6, 1902, it competes in the Spanish first division or Primera División, from which it has never been relegated since the formation of Spain's national league in 1928. The club was originally named Sociedad Madrid Foot Ball Club, but was allowed to use the title Real (royal) after King Alfonso XIII of Spain gave the club an official blessing in June 1920.
The team plays in an all-white strip, which is the origin of their nickname Los merengues (the whites). The strip was derived from the English side Corinthians. Their home stadium is the Santiago Bernabéu in Chamartín, Madrid, which was founded on December 14 1947. It has a capacity of 80,354 spectators and its pitch measures 106x72 meters.
In its history, Real Madrid has 9 Champions league cups, 29 leagues and 17 Spanish cups.
Club Address: Avenida de Concha Espina 1, 28036 - Madrid
History
Since the middle of the 20th century, Real Madrid has consistently been the strongest team in Spain and Europe. Francisco Franco's government saw the team as a perfect (and much needed) propagandistic icon in Europe and used all the power of its totalitarian government to back it in the domestic league while raising resources to ensure an international success, however, it is not demostrated if Franco used Real Madrid or Barcelona. Though the degree that this support actually mattered is hotly debated in Spain and the club itself has always tried to be apolitical. It has won the European Cup more times (nine) than any other club, winning the first five of them with the legendary team of Alfredo di Stefano, Gento and (later) Ferenc Puskas. The rivalry between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona is legendary. Real Madrid was awarded by FIFA as the "World's best XX century Club" in 2001.
Recent history
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 galácticos (the galactics). Although the club had a fine tradition of producing local star footballers including Pirri (José Martínez), Francisco Gento, Raul Gonzalez, Fernando Hierro, and even importing stars from all over the globe including Roberto Carlos, Davor Suker, Clarence Seedorf and Steve McManaman, this trend of signing the biggest and arguably, most marketable star available became club policy shortly after Template:Ec2 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 Zinédine 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
, 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 (winning the Spanish Super Cup and finishing fourth in La Liga). This poor display led to the sacking of coach Carlos Queiróz, 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 Toshack was twice manager of the club. Recent seasons have also seen the arrival and departure of several other managerial appointments including: Vicente Del Bosque, José Antonio Camacho and Mariano García Remón. Real Madrid have recently turned to the services of successful Brazilian coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo in a bid to restore stability and discipline 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 FA Premier League 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 (€20m), who hasn't played a single match since being signed due to a left thigh injury. For 2005, Real reportedly tabled a bid of €70m for Sweden and Juventus star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, which Juve rejected; however, the "bid" proved to be a publicity stunt instigated by his agent instead of Real. Later in the 2005 close season, Real acquired young Brazilian superstar Robinho for a fee of $30m. In August 2005, Real Madrid signed Julio Baptista, a Brazilian midfield player from Sevilla who, with the signing of Carlos Diogo (from River Plate) and Pablo Garcia (from Osasuna) strengths the squad for 2005/06 season.
Major trophies
- European Cup/Champions League: 9 (season, score and finalist)
- 1955/56 4-3 vs. Stade de Reims-Champagne
- 1956/57 2-0 vs. A.C. Fiorentina
- 1957/58 3-2 vs. A.C. 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
- 2002.
- 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.
- 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.
- Uniquely, the 1980 Copa del Rey final saw Real's senior side play their own reserve side, then known as Castilla and now known as Real Madrid Castilla. The senior side won 6-1.
- 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.
- 1984/85.
- 1955/56.
- 35 Participations on UEFA Champions League
- 9 Participations on UEFA Cup
- 5 Participations on Intercontinental Cup
- 3 Participations on European Super Cup
Other trophies
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Current Squad 2005/06
The numbers are established according to the official website: www.realmadrid.com and www.lfp.es
As of September 10 2005
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*Squad Number For Cicinho has yet to be confirmed on January, 2006.
Real Madrid Castilla
Squad Changes During 2005/06 Season
In:
Carlos Diogo - Signed From CA River Plate-
Pablo García - Signed From CA Osasuna 
Júlio Baptista - Signed From Sevilla FC- Robinho - Signed From Santos FC
- Cicinho - Signed From São Paulo FC
- Sergio Ramos - Signed From Sevilla FC
- Carlos Sánchez - Return From Polideportivo Ejido
- Óscar Miñambres - Return From RCD Espanyol
In (Castilla):
- Rubén González Rocha - Return From Albacete Balompié
- Agustín Garcia Iñiguez - Signed From Albacete Balompié
- Álvaro Negredo Sánchez - Signed From Rayo Vallecano de Madrid
- Óscar Díaz Gónzalez - Signed From AD Alcorcón
- Filipe Luís Kasmirski - Signed From Figueirense FC
- Francisco Casilla Cortes - Promoted From Real Madrid C
- Javier Angel Balboa Osa - Promoted From Real Madrid C
- Borja Valero Iglesias - Promoted From Real Madrid C
- Esteban Granero Molina - Promoted From Real Madrid C
Out:
- Borja Fernández - On Loan To RCD Mallorca
- Javier Portillo - On Loan To Club Brugge KV
- Carlos Sánchez - On Loan To Unión Deportiva Almería
- César Sánchez - Transfered To Real Zaragoza
- Albert Celades - Transfered To Real Zaragoza
Santiago Solari - Transfered To FC Internazionale- Walter Samuel - Transfered To FC Internazionale
Luís Figo - Transfered To FC Internazionale
Michael Owen - Transfered To Newcastle United F.C.
Out (Castilla):
- Juan Olalla Fernández - On Loan To Rayo Vallecano de Madrid
- Diego León Ayarza - On Loan To DCS Arminia Bielefeld
- Juanfran - On Loan To RCD Espanyol
- Alejandro Pérez Aracil - Transfered To Gimnàstic de Tarragona
- Javier Paredes Arango - Transfered To Getafe CF
- Roberto Trashorras Gayoso - Transfered To RCD Mallorca
- Manuel Diego Tello Jorge - Transfered To Levante UD
- Rubén Arroyo Lloret - Transfered To Universidad de Las Palmas
- Victor Daniel Blanco Munoz - Transfered To Unión Deportiva Salamanca
- Adrián Quintairos Bugallo - Contract Expired
UEFA Champion League Official Squad 2005/06 Season
The numbers are established according to the official website: www.uefa.com
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Proposed Starting Lineup 2005/06 Season
 | The neutrality of this section is disputed. |
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Goalkeeper |
1 |
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Defense |
2 |
18 |
4 |
3 |
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Midfield |
6 |
23 |
5 |
8 |
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Forward |
10 |
9 |
Proposed XI Starting Lineup above is based on 4-4-2 Diamond format, which is favourite tactic by coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo.
Statistics 2004/05
| Primera División | Position | Pts | P | W | D | L | F | A |
| Real Madrid | 2 | 80 | 38 | 25 | 5 | 8 | 71 | 32 |
- Top Scores:
- Ronaldo - 21 goals
- Owen - 13 goals
- Raúl - 9 goals
- Top Goalkeepers
- Casillas - 36 goals In 37 Matches
- César - 1 goals In 2 Matches
Statistics 2005/06 Real Madrid CF
| Pre-Season Matches | P | W | D | L | F | A | |
| Real Madrid | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 9 |
| Primera División | Position | Pts | P | W | D | L | F | A | |
| Real Madrid | 3 | 9 | 2 | 3 | - | 2 | 9 | 6 |
- Top Scores:
- Ronaldo - 3 goals
- Raul - 2 goals
- J.Baptista - 1 goals
- Top Goalkeepers
- Casillas - 5 goals In 3 Matches
- Diego Lopez - - goals In - Matches
| UEFA Champion League | Position | Pts | P | W | D | L | F | A | |
| Real Madrid | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | 2 | 4 |
Statistics 2005/06 Real Madrid Castilla
| Second Division | Position | Pts | P | W | D | L | F | A |
| Real Madrid Castilla | 19 | 3 | 4 | 1 | - | 3 | 6 | 6 |
- Top Scores:
- Soldado - 3 goals
- Valero - 1 goals
- Barral - 1 goals
- Top Goalkeepers
- Cobeño - 6 goals In 4 Matchs
- Codina - 1 goal In 1 Match
Stadium Information
- Name - Santiago Bernabéu
- City - Madrid
- Capacity - 87,450
- Inauguration - 1947
- Pitch size - 106 x 70 mts.
- Other Facilities: Ciudad Deportiva
Famous players
Famous coaches
- Spanish Miguel Muñoz
- Dutch Leo Beenhakker
- Welsh John Toshack
- Serb Radomir Antic
- Argentinian Jorge Valdano
Fabio Capello- German Jupp Heynckes
- Dutch Guus Hiddink
- Spanish Vicente del Bosque
- Portuguese Carlos Queiroz
- Spanish Jose Antonio Camacho *around 4 games - smallest number of coaching Real
- Brazilian Vanderlei Luxemburgo (2004– )
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Presidents
- Spanish Julián Palacios, 1900-02, president of the original team
- Spanish Juan Padrós, 1902-04, first president on the club founding
- Spanish Carlos Padrós, 1904-08
- Spanish Adolfo Meléndez, 1908-16
- Spanish Pedro Parages, 1916-25
- Spanish Luis de Urquiio, 1926-29
- Spanish Luis Usera Bugallal, 1929-35
- Spanish Rafael Sánchez Guerra, 1935-39
- Spanish Adolfo Meléndez, 1939-40
- Spanish Antonio Santos Peralba, 1940-43
- Spanish Santiago Bernabéu, 1943-78
- Spanish Luis de Carlos, 1978-85
- Spanish Ramón Mendoza, 1985-95
- Spanish Lorenzo Sanz, 1995-2000
- Spanish Florentino Pérez, 2000–
Rivals from Madrid
The other two main clubs from Madrid are Atlético de Madrid and (less famously) Getafe. A fourth club, Rayo Vallecano, was recently relegated to the Segunda División B (Spanish third level), after spending most of its history in the first two levels.