Viva Madridista

rid Soccer club. This is and always will be Football not soccer!:-) The Begining "From small acorns great oaks grow" Like many of todays football clubs Real Madrid´s history started at the turn of the 20th century as a splinter of another club. Originaly part of Español de Madrid (itself a splinter of a previous club) CF Madrid was eventually founded in 1902 and played in the then regionalised central Spain league. You have to bear in mind that at this point in time crossing the country could be a week long affair! Although from 1905 tournaments took place in which all Spanish teams had the option to compete for the "Copa del Rey" (The kings cup). In 1928, by virtue of having previously won the Copa del Rey, the the now "titled" Real Madrid were asked to join the inaugural Spanish league. The Real title, meaning Royal, had been bestowed upon the club in 1920 by the then king of Spain, Alfonso XIII. Never in Real Madrid´s history have they been relegated from this division. Grand Influences Santiago Bernabeu Having the clubs stadium named after you is no mean feat. However in the case of Santiago Bernabeu it is more than merited, this man was Mr Madrid. Initially a player with the club, 70 years later he was still involved after held just about every position available from Team captain to Manager to club Director! Taking on the presidency of the club in 1943 Santiago found the club in a poor state (as was all Spanish football at this time) with the civil war only having terminated in 1939 and its effects still being felt. Seizing the mood of Madrid he embarked on a project to give the City a stadium ,read more in Real Madrid History: Stadium , to be proud of. 10 years later, in 1953, Santiago instigated the "Galactico" policy. Realising that overseas players could, in some positions, be better than Spanish ones he set out to sign the best players in the world at any one time. In 1955 Santiago made his last great contribution and persuaded what is now UEFA to inaugurate the European Cup competition, laterday name the Champions league. Alfredo Di Stefano The 1st and biggest success story of the "galactico" policy introduced by Santiago Bernabeu. The golden arrow was the nickname given to him by the Real madrid supporters after his arrival from his native Argentina in 1953. Initially intending to sign for Barcelona pressure from the Spanish dictatorship saw hiom instead sign for Madrid. As a centre forward in his eleven years with the club he went on to become the then greatest goalscorer in Real Madrid´s history. Along the way Di Stefano gained the record for most goals ever in the European cup and the Spanish league, European player of the year titles (1957 & 1959), Spanish league top goalscorer five times (1954,56,57,58 &59). The records set have since been broken however these days there are far more matches in both competitions Di Stefanos goals helped Madrid to 8 Spanish league titles, 1 Copa del Rey, 5 european cups & 1 intercontinental title. Despite this Di Stefano never played in the world cup finals although he did represent the national sides of Argentina, Colombia and Spain at one stage or another of his career. Real madrid Honours In the history of Real Madrid they have ammassed a collection of titles and trophies second to none: Spanish Champions 29 times: 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 Cup Winners 17 times: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 Winners 8 times:1947 1988 1989 1990 1993 1997 2001 2003 European Cup Winners 9 times:1955/56 1956/57 1957/58 1958/59 1959/60 1965/66 1997/98 1999/00 2001/02 UEFA Cup Winners 2 times:1984/85; 1985/86 Intercontinental Cup Winners 3 times:1960; 1998; 2002


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