Real Madrid CF has probably had the most success a football team could. With an incredible 33 La Liga titles, 19 Copa del Rey trophies, the most impressive 13 European Cups/Champions Leagues, and two UEFA Cups, Real are first in their class in a race to be the best football club in history. Real have fierce Rivalries against Barcelona (El Clasico) and Atletico Madrid (El Derbi Madrileno), Real has been the most supported club in the country for all of its history. A lot of the top athletes in the world have played in the club’s white shirts. Some of them are legends like Alfredo Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas.
History
The club was formed in 1902, the club was originally named Madrid Football Club; it was not until 1920 when Kings Alfonso XIII bestowed them with the name of “real” which translates to “royal” which is English. These early years were reasonably productive for Real which is evident from the Four consecutive Copa del Rey victories from 1905 until 1908. By the outbreak of the WWII, Real could boast with two La Liga titles and seven Copa del Rey trophies.
The post-war phase saw Santiago Bernabeu Yeste take over as the club’s president, after having served in various capacities at the club after joining the youth ranks around 1909. Faced with a difficult task of rebuilding the club Bernabeu went on to construct the first stadium of its kind – later renamed as the Santiago Bernabeu stadium – and bring in a number of top-profile international players to compete at this level at the European stage.Read about Real Madrid Football Club History At website With a team of a true dream built around the talent of Alfredo Di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas and Francisco Gento, Real cruised to four La Ligas and one Copa del Rey by the close of the 1960s. More impressively, they claimed their first 5 European Cups ever organized, by destroying every opposition that crossed their path from 1956 until 1960. The legendary group is believed by many to be the most successful football team ever created.
The following two decades were equally as exciting for the club’s growing army of loyal supporters. As well as sweeping up the domestic competitions , by winning an unheard of 14 La Ligas as well as 5 Copa delReys, the year 1966 witnessed Real bring one more European Cup to their rich collection, after beating Partizan Belgrade 2-1 in the final. The decade ended with a bad note however, when Santiago Bernabeu Yeste passing away in 1978.
Real Madrid and General Franco connections
In an article about the past of Real Madrid it would be irresponsible not to mention the name of General Franco The dictator of Spain who ruled for more than five decades . His favorite team to play for was Real Madrid, which served the team with unjust favors over the years.
The majority of these claims are controversial and frequently without clear evidence. One of these stories, which is controversial and uncertain is that of and the appointment of Alfredo Di Stefano which according to some , was on the way to Barcelona at the time Castro was involved and changed the way things were going. Another story, that isn’t confirmed, is confirmed, recounts the story of how Barcelona was under threat with the regime and the team lost to Real Madrid with 1-11.
A new generation
The 80s’ early years saw Real’s decline from the map a little after which they re-emerged with the highly skilled “La Quinta del Buitre” generation comprised of five youngsters who graduated from the academy and directed by the legendary Emilio Butragueno. After a 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 won their two UEFA Cups, in 1985 and 1986.
The 90s were generally a disappointing time to the club’s fans, especially when it was a slow beginning in the decade. But the emergence of the promising striker Raul helped Real grow and win 2 La Liga titles and one Copa del Rey trophy before at the end of the century. The cherry on top happened in 1998, when Real ending a 32-year drought and claiming their 7th European Cup by outlasting Juventus 1-1 in the final. They re-won the title in 2000 in an all-Spanish match against Valencia and defeated them with a comfortable 3-0 victory.
Following that, the club was taken over by former politician Florentino Perez. He immediately made a decision to cobble together the biggest football squad in the world. After securing at least one star player from around the world each summer – and starting in 2000 with Luis Figo in 2000 – Perez had a great time assembling a superstar-studded team which quickly earned the name of “Los Galacticos.”
Galacticos
In the presidency of Real Madrid in the 2000s, Florentino Perez, was responsible for several of the biggest transfer deals for international teams. His idea of forming the most effective team was to get big names and not so much thinking of balancing the team. When Florentino Perez was the president and the club brought together an elite group of players, commonly referred to the Galacticos. The Galacticos era of Real Madrid included players such as Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, David Beckham, Christiano Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos.
The record is four times the record for transfer fees set between 2000 and 2012 … For instance, in the year 2000 is Luis Figo bough from Barcelona for EUR62 million while in 2001 Zinedine Zidane snatched from Juventus at EUR77.5 million. In 2009 is Cristiano Ronaldo was rescued out of Manchester United for EUR94 million In 2009, Gareth Bale bough from Tottenham for EUR100 million.
In hindsight Perez goals didn’t pan out. Although the venture couldn’t be regarded as sound, the event was quite spectacular and football fans would have been enjoying the extravaganza. The project didn’t end without outcomes, Real Madrid took a Champions League title in 2003, and in addition, a Spanish league title the following year.
Following a relatively quiet 3 year period during the presidency of Ramon Calderon – during which Real was able to secure two La Liga titles – Perez returned as president in 2009. The Galacticos policy was carried on by hiring Kaka, Christiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and manager Jose Mourinho; still, any further silverware was difficult to get. After winning in 2012 the La Liga and the 2011 and 2014 Copa del Reys, Real finally took home its tenth Champions League in 2014 with the thrilling extra-time win against Atletico Madrid.
Credit
Due to large transfer fees as well as wages for superstar players Real Madrid are notorious for the huge amount of debt it owes. According to Spanish expert Jose Maria Gay de Liebana the amount of debt at the close of the 2009-2010 campaign was EUR659,9 million. Madrid’s city officials Madrid has helped to make the team economical and financially, as for example, in 2001 by purchasing the training facility at the stadium for EUR480 million.