Real Madrid

Real Madrid Club de Futbol (Royal Madrid Football Club) are a football club who play in the Primera Liga, the top division of football in Spain. They are commonly known as Real Madrid, or simply just Real outside of Spain.

Real Madrid FC

Real Madrid C.F. were founded in 1902 and received the title “Real” along with the crown on their crest in 1920 from King Alfonso XIII of Spain. They play at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, which has been their home since 1947. Unlike most of the big clubs in Europe, Real Madrid’s members – also known as socios - have owned and operated the club throughout it’s history.

The Real Madrid jersey has traditionally been plain white since their inception, which gives rise to their nicknames in Spain of Blancos or Los Merengues (Meringues).

Real Madrid Logo

The first crest that Real Madrid wore on their shirts was a simple design interlacing what were the three initials of the club – MCF. The Real Madrid Logo back then was dark blue, which stood out on the plain white shirts. As the team evolved, so did the logo, becoming a more streamlined circle shape in 1908 and then with the addition of King Alfonso’s crown in 1920.

In 1931 the monarchy was abolished and Real Madrid C.F. once again became simply Madrid CF with all symbols of the monarchy removed. These were once again restored in 1941 with the restoration of the monarchy and the Real Madrid Logo became what it looks like today.

Real Madrid vs Barcelona

The match between Real Madrid and Barcelona is one of the most fiercely contested rivalries in the world and is undoubtedly the biggest match on the Spanish football calendar. It’s known as “The Classic” (El Clasico) and from the start of La Liga represented the clash of two of the biggest rival regions in Spain. Real Madrid C.F. represent not only Madrid but the province of Castile while FC Barcelona represent Catalonia as well as the city of Barcelona.

During the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, all regional cultures were suppressed. Only Castillian Spanish was allowed to be spoken officially as other languages were banned in the country. Symbolising the Catalan people’s desire for freedom Barcelona became “More than a club” (Mes que un club). Real Madrid on the other hand were seen as a symbol of the oppressive fascist regime; Santiago Bernabeu, whom their stadium is named for fought on the Nationalist side in the Spanish Civil War.

The rivalry has outgrown even Franco with over 500 million people watching the so-called “Match of the Century” between the two clubs in 2002.

Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid

The clubs nearest rival is Atletico Madrid. Atletico Madrid were founded in 1903 by three Basque students, one year after Real Madrid FC. They were joined one year later by dissident members of Madrid C.F. Tensions rose between the two when Atletico were merged with the team of the Spanish Air Force in the 1940’s and became Atletico Aviacion.

The derby between the two clubs is called El derbi madrileno. They met for the first time in 1929 in the Spanish League but the match first gained international attention in 1959 when they met in the semi-finals of the European Cup. Real Madrid won the first leg 2-1 at the Bernabeu while Atletico won the second 1-0 at the Metropolitano. The match went to a replay, which Real won 2-1 on their way to winning their fourth consecutive European Cup.

The teams met in the 2013-2014 Champions League final, which was also held in the city of Madrid – the first final to host two teams from the same city. Real Madrid C.F. were victorious that day winning 4-1 after extra time, and were victorious once more in the 2015-2016 final, winning on penalties.

Real Madrid Roster

The Santiago Bernabeu has seen some great Real Madrid players down the years. Alfredo Di Stefano was one of the first legends for Real Madrid C.F., playing for the club between 1953 and 1964. He scored 216 league goals and 308 goals in total for the club, putting him third in the all-time list of highest scoring Real Madrid players.

That list is led by Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored more than 376 goals since signing from Manchester United for L80million. Former club captain Raul scored 323 goals for the club in 16 years between 1994 and 2010.

Raul is the leading appearance-maker for Real Madrid FC, making 741 appearances including 550 in the league. He played in the famous Galacticos team which included goalkeeper Iker Casillas who is second on the list with 725 appearances.

The youngest player to ever play for Real Madrid is Martin Odegaard who first played for the club at the tender age of 16 years and 157 days against Getafe in the Primera Division.

Real Madrid C.F. Stadium

Real Madrid play their games at the Santiago Bernabeu, which has been their home since 1947. The stadium seats 85,454 people making it the tenth biggest soccer stadium in the world and the third biggest in Europe after the Camp Nou in Barcelona and Wembley in London.

The stadium is in the Chamartin district of Madrid and was originally called the Nuevo Estadio Chamartin and was renamed after Bernabeu in 1955 after a unanimous vote by members. The stadium has hosted the European Cup final on four occasions, the European Nation’s Cup final in 1964 and the World Cup final in 1982.

Plans have been mooted to add a retractable roof to the stadium with the naming rights potentially sold off to cover the cost of extra building work.

Photos:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kozumel/3346741957/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jansolo09/4533130822/
https://pixabay.com/pl/real-madryt-wpr-kapelusz-mistrz-1415775/
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