Real Madrid CF -- History and Trophies
Country: Spain
City: Madrid
Home Grounds
Campo de O'Donnell (1912-1923)
Campo de Ciudad Lineal (1923-1924)
Estadio ChamartÃn (1924-1947)
Santiago Bernabéu (1947-)
Main Trophies
La Liga: 33
Copa del Rey: 19
European Cup/Champions League: 13
UEFA Cup: 2
History
Though the club was founded in 1902, it was originally named Madrid Football Club; it wasn't until 1920 that King Alfonso XIII bestowed them with the title of "real" – or "royal" in English. These early years were reasonably successful for Real, as evidenced by their four consecutive Copa del Rey victories from 1905 to 1908. By the outbreak of the WWII, Real could boast with two La Liga titles and seven Copa del Rey trophies.
The two decades that followed were as glorious for the club's growing army of supporters. In addition to cleaning up the domestic competitions by claiming an unprecedented 14 La Ligas and 5 Copa del Reys, the year of 1966 saw Real add another European Cup to their rich collection by defeating Partizan Belgrade 2-1 in the final. The decade was closed out on a sour note, however, with Santiago Bernabéu Yeste passing away in 1978.
Real Madrid and General Franco connections
In an article about the history of Real Madrid it would be wrong to
not mention General Franco, the dictator of Spain whose leadership
lasted over five decades and his favorite team was Real Madrid, which
served the team with some unjust favors over the years.
Many of such claims are sensitive subject and often without clear evidence. One such controversial and uncertain story is that about the signing of Alfredo Di Stéfano which according to some was on the way to Barcelona when Castro got involved and change the matters of affairs. Another story, that neither is confirmed, tells how Barcelona was threatened by the regime and when lost to Real Madrid with 1-11.
A new generation
The early 80s saw the club drop off the map a bit, but they soon returned with the talented "La Quinta del Buitre" generation consisting of five youth academy graduates and led by the great Emilio Butragueño. After an initial period of struggle, Real finished the decade with five consecutive La Liga titles and two Copa del Rey trophies. It was during this time that Real claimed their only two UEFA Cups, in 1985 and 1986.
Comparatively speaking, the 90s were mostly a disappointment for the
club's supporters, especially during a slow start to the decade. But the
emergence of the talented striker Raúl saw Real improve and grab two La
Liga titles and one Copa del Rey trophy before the end of the century.
The cherry on top came in 1998, with Real ending a 32-year drought and
claiming their seventh European Cup by outlasting Juventus 1-0 in the final. They repeated as champions in 2000 in an all-Spanish affair against Valencia, dispatching them with a comfortable 3-0 victory.
Shortly thereafter, the club was taken over by former politician
Florentino Pérez, who immediately set his mind on cobbling together the
most famous football team in the world. After signing at least one
global superstar every summer – starting with Luis FÃgo in 2000 – Pérez
successfully assembled a star-studded team that would quickly earn the
name of "Los Galácticos."
Galácticos
The president of Real Madrid in the 2000s, Florentino Pérez, was responsible for some of the biggest transfers was in international football. His idea of forming the best team possible was to buy big names and not so much thinking of balancing the team. Then Florentino Pérez was the president the club brought together a team of superstars, famously called the Galácticos. The Galácticos era of Real Madrid included players such as Zinedine Zidane,Luis Figo,David Backham, Christiano Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos.
Four times is the world record concerning transfer fees broken between 2000 and 2012 ... In
2000 is LuÃs Figo bough from Barcelona for €62 million; in
2001 is Zinedine Zidane bough from Juventus for €77.5 million; in
2009 is Cristiano Ronaldo is bough from Manchester United for €94 million; in
2009 is Gareth Bale bough from Tottenham for €100 million.
In hindsight Pérez ambitions didn't really work out. Although that
the project couldn’t be considered as sound it was spectacular and many
football fans were probably enjoying the extravaganza. And it wasn't all
without results, Real Madrid took a Champions League title in 2003 and
also a Spanish league title the same year.
After a relatively quiet three years under Ramón Calderón – during which
Real still managed to clinch two La Ligas – Pérez returned as president
in 2009. As a result, the Galácticos policy was continued by signing
Kaká, Christiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and manager José
Mourinho; still, any additional silverware was proving hard to obtain.
But after managing to win the 2012 La Liga and the 2011 and 2014 Copa
del Reys, Real finally won its tenth Champions League in 2014 with a
dramatic extra-time victory over Atlético Madrid.
As a result of big transfer fees and wages for star players Real Madrid are notorious for its huge debts. According to the Spanish professor José Maria Gay de Liébana the debt at the end of the 2009-2010 season were €659,9 million. The city of Madrid have helped the team economical, for example in 2001 by buying the training ground of the club for €480 million.
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