Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (also known as Real Madrid, Los Blancos, Los Merengues) is a professional association football club based in Madrid, Spain. It is the most successful team in Spanish football and was voted by FIFA as the most successful club of the 20th century, having won a record thirty-one La Liga titles, seventeen Spanish Cups, a record nine European Cups and two UEFA Cups. Real was a founding member of FIFA and the now-defunct G-14 group of Europe's leading football clubs as well as its replacement, the European Club Association.
Founded in 1902, Real Madrid has since spent all of its history in the top flight of Spanish football. In the 1940s, the club, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium and the Ciudad Deportiva were rebuilt following the Spanish Civil War. The club established itself as a major force in both Spanish and European football during the 1950s. In the 1980s, the club had one of the best teams in Spain and Europe (known as La Quinta del Buitre), winning two UEFA Cups, five Spanish championships in a row, one Spanish cup and three Spanish Super Cups.
The club's traditional home colours are all white. Its crest has been changed several times in attempts to modernise or re-brand; the current crest is a modified version of the one first adopted in the 1920. Real's home is the 80,354-person-capacity Santiago Bernabéu football stadium in downtown Madrid, where it has played since 1947. Unlike most European football clubs, Real Madrid's members (socios) have owned and operated the club since its inception.
It has a long-standing and fierce rivalry with FC Barcelona, although Atlético Madrid is actually the closest professional football club. The El Clásico between Real Madrid and Barcelona has been played since 1929. Real is the world's 2nd richest football club (€351m) in terms of revenue and the second most valuable (worth over €950m as of 2008).
After moving between grounds the team moved to the "Campo de O'Donnell" in 1912, which remained its home ground for eleven years. After this period, the club moved for one year to the Campo de Ciudad Lineal, a small ground with a capacity of 8,000 spectators. After that, Real Madrid moved its home matches to Estadio Chamartín which was inaugurated on 17 May 1923 with a match against Newcastle United. In this stadium, which hosted 22,500 spectators, Real Madrid celebrated its first Spanish league title. After some successes, the 1943 elected president Santiago Bernabéu decided that the Estadio Chamartín was not big enough for the ambitions of the club. A new stadium was built and was inaugurated on 14 December 1947. This was the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium as it is known today, although it did not acquire this name until 1955. The first match held on Bernabéu was played between Real Madrid and the Portuguese club Belenenses and won by The Whites with 3–1, the first goal being scored by Sabino Barinaga.
The capacity has changed frequently, peaking at 120,000 after a 1953 expansion. Since then, there have been a number of reductions due to modernizations (the last standing places went away in 1998–99 in response to UEFA regulations which forbids standing at matches in the UEFA competition), countered to some extent by expansions.[38] The last change was an increase of about five thousand to a capacity of 80,354, effected in 2003. A plan to add a retractable roof has been announced.
The Bernabéu has hosted the 1964 European Championship final, the 1982 FIFA World Cup final, the 1957, 1969 and 1980 European Cup finals and is due to host the 2010 Champions League Final.[41] The stadium has its own Madrid Metro station along the 10 line called Santiago Bernabéu.[42] The Bernabeu has recently been upgraded to Elite Football Stadium status by UEFA.
On 9 May 2006, the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium was inaugurated at the City of Madrid where Real Madrid usually trains. The inaugural match was played between Real Madrid and Stade Reims, a rematch of the 1956 European Cup final. Real Madrid won the match 6–1 with goals from Sergio Ramos, Cassano (2), Soldado (2), and Jurado. The venue is now part of the Ciudad Real Madrid, the club's new training facilities located outside Madrid in Valdebebas. The stadium holds 5,000 people and is Real Madrid Castilla's home ground. It is named after former Real footballer Alfredo di Stéfano.
Manuel Sanchís Hontiyuelo holds the record for Real Madrid appearances, having played 712 first-team matches between 1983 and 2001.Forward Raúl González comes second, having played 663 times. The record for a goalkeeper is held by Iker Casillas, with 418 appearances. With 127 caps (47 while at the club), Luís Figo of Portugal is Real's most capped international player.di Stéfano is the club's all-time top goalscorer, with 307 goals in 396 games between 1953 and 1964. Di Stéfano's 49 goals in 58 matches was for decades the all-time highest tally in the European Cup, until it was surpassed by Raúl González (also of Real Madrid) in 2005. Di Stéfano also holds the club record for most goals scored in the league, with 216. Real Madrid's current top-scorer is Raúl González with 212 in the league[48] and 305 in all competitions. The fastest goal in the history of the club (15 seconds) was scored by Brazilian Ronaldo on 3 December 2003 during a league match with Atlético Madrid.
Officially, Real Madrid's highest home attendance is 83,329 for a Copa del Rey match in 2006. The current legal capacity of Santiago Bernabéu is 80,354.The club's average attendance in 2007–08 season was 76,234, the highest in European Leagues. Real have also set records in Spanish football, most notably the most domestic titles (31 as of 2007–08) and the most seasons won in a row (5, during 1960–65 and 1985–90).With 121 matches (from 17 February 1957 to 7 March 1965), the club holds the world record for longest unbeaten run at home in La Liga.
The Whites also hold the record for winning UEFA Champions League nine times and for the most semi-final appearances .Raúl González is the all-time UEFA Champions League top scorer, with 64 goals. The team has the record number of consecutive participation in the Champions' Cup with 15, from 1955–56 to 1969–70. The fee of €76 million (over $100 million, £45.8 million) for Zinédine Zidane's transfer from Juventus to Real Madrid in 2001 is the highest ever paid in the history of football. The club's record sale came on 1 September 2008, when they sold Robinho to Manchester City for €42 million (£32.5 million).
It was under Florentino Pérez presidency (2000-2006) that Real Madrid started harbouring its current ambition of becoming the world's richest professional football club. The club ceded part of its training grounds to the city of Madrid in 2001 and sold the rest to four corporations: Repsol YPF, Mutua Automovilística de Madrid, Sacyr Vallehermoso and OHL. The sale wiped out its debts, paving the way for the club to buy the world's most expensive players such as Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Ronaldo and David Beckham. The city had rezoned the training grounds for development, a move which in turn increased their value, and then bought the site. Although there is no evidence thereto, the critics allege that the city overpaid for the property to help with the club's finance.
The sale of the training ground for office buildings cleared Real Madrid's debts of €270m and enabled the club to embark upon an unprecedented spending spree which brought big-name players to the club. Moreover, the money gained was spent on a state-of-the-art training complex on the city's outskirts.the 2004–05 season, Real Madrid ended Manchester United's eight-year reign as the biggest earners in world football. Real's income to the year ending 30 June 2005 jumped 17 per cent to €275.7m (£190m). Though Perez's policy resulted in increased financial success based on the exploitation of the club's high marketing potential around the world, especially in Asia, it came under increasing criticism for being focused too much on marketing the Real Madrid brand and not enough on the performances of the team.
In January 2007, Real Madrid paid their debts of €224 million and fell to second spot behind Manchester United. However, they reached the top again two months later after completing an image rights deal with Adidas worth 762 million. Manchester United's debt was €872 million in 2007, down from €1.25 billion in 2005.
In September 2007, Real Madrid was considered the most valuable football brand in Europe by BBDO, and is ranked as the second most valuable club in football with a value of €951 mil (£640 million / $1.285 billion) as of May 2008.[73] Also, it is the richest club in football (as of December 2008) with a revenue of €351 mil (£236 million / $474 million).
A study at Harvard University reached the conclusion that Real Madrid "is one of the 20 most important brand names and the only one in which its executives, the players, are well-known. We have some spectacular figures: In the world there are 287 million people interested in Real Madrid, with a huge difference with regard to Manchester, in second place.
Founded in 1902, Real Madrid has since spent all of its history in the top flight of Spanish football. In the 1940s, the club, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium and the Ciudad Deportiva were rebuilt following the Spanish Civil War. The club established itself as a major force in both Spanish and European football during the 1950s. In the 1980s, the club had one of the best teams in Spain and Europe (known as La Quinta del Buitre), winning two UEFA Cups, five Spanish championships in a row, one Spanish cup and three Spanish Super Cups.
The club's traditional home colours are all white. Its crest has been changed several times in attempts to modernise or re-brand; the current crest is a modified version of the one first adopted in the 1920. Real's home is the 80,354-person-capacity Santiago Bernabéu football stadium in downtown Madrid, where it has played since 1947. Unlike most European football clubs, Real Madrid's members (socios) have owned and operated the club since its inception.
It has a long-standing and fierce rivalry with FC Barcelona, although Atlético Madrid is actually the closest professional football club. The El Clásico between Real Madrid and Barcelona has been played since 1929. Real is the world's 2nd richest football club (€351m) in terms of revenue and the second most valuable (worth over €950m as of 2008).
After moving between grounds the team moved to the "Campo de O'Donnell" in 1912, which remained its home ground for eleven years. After this period, the club moved for one year to the Campo de Ciudad Lineal, a small ground with a capacity of 8,000 spectators. After that, Real Madrid moved its home matches to Estadio Chamartín which was inaugurated on 17 May 1923 with a match against Newcastle United. In this stadium, which hosted 22,500 spectators, Real Madrid celebrated its first Spanish league title. After some successes, the 1943 elected president Santiago Bernabéu decided that the Estadio Chamartín was not big enough for the ambitions of the club. A new stadium was built and was inaugurated on 14 December 1947. This was the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium as it is known today, although it did not acquire this name until 1955. The first match held on Bernabéu was played between Real Madrid and the Portuguese club Belenenses and won by The Whites with 3–1, the first goal being scored by Sabino Barinaga.
The capacity has changed frequently, peaking at 120,000 after a 1953 expansion. Since then, there have been a number of reductions due to modernizations (the last standing places went away in 1998–99 in response to UEFA regulations which forbids standing at matches in the UEFA competition), countered to some extent by expansions.[38] The last change was an increase of about five thousand to a capacity of 80,354, effected in 2003. A plan to add a retractable roof has been announced.
The Bernabéu has hosted the 1964 European Championship final, the 1982 FIFA World Cup final, the 1957, 1969 and 1980 European Cup finals and is due to host the 2010 Champions League Final.[41] The stadium has its own Madrid Metro station along the 10 line called Santiago Bernabéu.[42] The Bernabeu has recently been upgraded to Elite Football Stadium status by UEFA.
On 9 May 2006, the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium was inaugurated at the City of Madrid where Real Madrid usually trains. The inaugural match was played between Real Madrid and Stade Reims, a rematch of the 1956 European Cup final. Real Madrid won the match 6–1 with goals from Sergio Ramos, Cassano (2), Soldado (2), and Jurado. The venue is now part of the Ciudad Real Madrid, the club's new training facilities located outside Madrid in Valdebebas. The stadium holds 5,000 people and is Real Madrid Castilla's home ground. It is named after former Real footballer Alfredo di Stéfano.
Manuel Sanchís Hontiyuelo holds the record for Real Madrid appearances, having played 712 first-team matches between 1983 and 2001.Forward Raúl González comes second, having played 663 times. The record for a goalkeeper is held by Iker Casillas, with 418 appearances. With 127 caps (47 while at the club), Luís Figo of Portugal is Real's most capped international player.di Stéfano is the club's all-time top goalscorer, with 307 goals in 396 games between 1953 and 1964. Di Stéfano's 49 goals in 58 matches was for decades the all-time highest tally in the European Cup, until it was surpassed by Raúl González (also of Real Madrid) in 2005. Di Stéfano also holds the club record for most goals scored in the league, with 216. Real Madrid's current top-scorer is Raúl González with 212 in the league[48] and 305 in all competitions. The fastest goal in the history of the club (15 seconds) was scored by Brazilian Ronaldo on 3 December 2003 during a league match with Atlético Madrid.
Officially, Real Madrid's highest home attendance is 83,329 for a Copa del Rey match in 2006. The current legal capacity of Santiago Bernabéu is 80,354.The club's average attendance in 2007–08 season was 76,234, the highest in European Leagues. Real have also set records in Spanish football, most notably the most domestic titles (31 as of 2007–08) and the most seasons won in a row (5, during 1960–65 and 1985–90).With 121 matches (from 17 February 1957 to 7 March 1965), the club holds the world record for longest unbeaten run at home in La Liga.
The Whites also hold the record for winning UEFA Champions League nine times and for the most semi-final appearances .Raúl González is the all-time UEFA Champions League top scorer, with 64 goals. The team has the record number of consecutive participation in the Champions' Cup with 15, from 1955–56 to 1969–70. The fee of €76 million (over $100 million, £45.8 million) for Zinédine Zidane's transfer from Juventus to Real Madrid in 2001 is the highest ever paid in the history of football. The club's record sale came on 1 September 2008, when they sold Robinho to Manchester City for €42 million (£32.5 million).
It was under Florentino Pérez presidency (2000-2006) that Real Madrid started harbouring its current ambition of becoming the world's richest professional football club. The club ceded part of its training grounds to the city of Madrid in 2001 and sold the rest to four corporations: Repsol YPF, Mutua Automovilística de Madrid, Sacyr Vallehermoso and OHL. The sale wiped out its debts, paving the way for the club to buy the world's most expensive players such as Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Ronaldo and David Beckham. The city had rezoned the training grounds for development, a move which in turn increased their value, and then bought the site. Although there is no evidence thereto, the critics allege that the city overpaid for the property to help with the club's finance.
The sale of the training ground for office buildings cleared Real Madrid's debts of €270m and enabled the club to embark upon an unprecedented spending spree which brought big-name players to the club. Moreover, the money gained was spent on a state-of-the-art training complex on the city's outskirts.the 2004–05 season, Real Madrid ended Manchester United's eight-year reign as the biggest earners in world football. Real's income to the year ending 30 June 2005 jumped 17 per cent to €275.7m (£190m). Though Perez's policy resulted in increased financial success based on the exploitation of the club's high marketing potential around the world, especially in Asia, it came under increasing criticism for being focused too much on marketing the Real Madrid brand and not enough on the performances of the team.
In January 2007, Real Madrid paid their debts of €224 million and fell to second spot behind Manchester United. However, they reached the top again two months later after completing an image rights deal with Adidas worth 762 million. Manchester United's debt was €872 million in 2007, down from €1.25 billion in 2005.
In September 2007, Real Madrid was considered the most valuable football brand in Europe by BBDO, and is ranked as the second most valuable club in football with a value of €951 mil (£640 million / $1.285 billion) as of May 2008.[73] Also, it is the richest club in football (as of December 2008) with a revenue of €351 mil (£236 million / $474 million).
A study at Harvard University reached the conclusion that Real Madrid "is one of the 20 most important brand names and the only one in which its executives, the players, are well-known. We have some spectacular figures: In the world there are 287 million people interested in Real Madrid, with a huge difference with regard to Manchester, in second place.
Post a Comment