Real Madrid

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Real Madrid Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club, ranked as the world's most successful club for the 20th century by the governing body of international football (FIFA), just ahead of Manchester United. 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 Madrid Club de Fútbol, but was allowed to use the title Real 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). 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.

Since the middle of the 20th century, Real Madrid has consistently been ranked as one of the top football clubs in Europe. Franco's government saw the team as a perfect (and much needed) propaganditic 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. It has won the European Cup more times (nine) than any other club, winning the first five of them. The rivalry between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona is legendary, and draws as much from Spanish politics as it does from footballing matters.

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). This trend began 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 Zinedine 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 Template:Wc, for around €39m from Internazionale.

Real began its spending spree when Florentino Pérez took over the club's presidency. He had a background in the construction industry, and shortly after coming to office, used his contacts to broker a deal for the Spanish government to purchase Real's then-current practice facility. The property had large commercial potential, as it lay near the center of Madrid, but the deal raised many eyebrows within and outside of the country. The government paid the club roughly €500 million for the property, an amount considered by critics of the deal to be far above its value at the time. The deal also fueled accusations of government favoritism toward Real. [1] (http://www.sigames.com/the_bootroom.php?type=view&article_id=873) The asymmetry in resources between Real Madrid and its rivals is still unparalleled in any other world sport.

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 English Premiership 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 (€24m), who hasn't played a single match since being signed due to a left thigh injury. For 2005, Real reportedly tabled a bid of €70 million for Sweden and Juventus star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, which Juve rejected; however, the "bid" proved to be a publicity stunt instigated by his agent.

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.

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The Bernabeu seats over 80,000.

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Real Madrid in white v. Real Sociedad in black on January 5, 2005

Club Address: Avenida de Concha Espina 1, 28036 - Madrid

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