Real Madrid

Real Madrid is Spain’s most successful soccer team which the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) named as the best club of the 20^th century in 2000. With the nicknames Los Merengues (The Meringues) and Los Blancos (The Whites), it is also the richest club in the world with a revenue estimate of US$400 million. It is the world’s most popular football team and one of the “winningest,” having a record 31 La Liga titles and nine Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League titles tucked under its sleeves.

Early years to the 20^th Century. The club’s present status is carved out through its checkered history. Founded in 1902 as the Madrid Football Club, it started slow, winning its first Spani8sh championship to beat the Bilbao Athletic Team in 1905. In 1931, it won its first league, followed by a winning streak for a few years. In 1943, it prevailed on FC Barcelona by 11-1 after losing its previous match to the same team 0-3. Seven years after opening its own Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, it again won the league this time against Valencia in 1954. The year 1961 saw the club achieving the feat of being the team with the most league wins at 24 out of 31 games. In the Spanish league in 1995, Real Madrid again prevailed on Barcelona 5-0 before winning the UEFA European Cup in 1998 and being named the best team of the 20^th century by the FIFA in 2000, and celebrating its 30^th league win in the 2006-2007 season.

Current Players and Team Honors. Real Madrid’s current players could not be the best in the world but they are considered as star players for pooling their resources together in making the club win most of its games against equally prestigious teams in football. They include Iker Casillas, Jerry Dudek and Jordi Codina as goalkeepers; Michael Salgado, Pepe and Sergio Ramos as defenders; midfielders Mahamadou Diarra, Fernando Gago, Cristiano Ronaldo, a men’s shampoo endorser, Arjen Robben, who is dubbed as the club’s “flying wing,” Gati, Von der Vaart, Sneijder, and Drenthe; and strikers Raul, team captain, Van Nistelrooy, and Gonzalo Higuain. Along with the club’s early players, they have helped the club achieve the following team honors: (a) 30 Liga titles between 1931 and 2007, (b) 17 Copa del Rey victories 1904 to 2007, (c) Seven Spanish Supercup titles, (d) Two Latin Cup titles, (e) Nine European Cup titles from 1956 to 2002, (f) Three Intercontinental Cup titles, (g) Two UEFA Cup titles, (h) One European Cup victory, (i) Two Pequeñas Copa del Mundo victories in 1952 and 1956; (j) One Copa de la Liga title in 1985, (k) 12 Regional Championship titles from 1904 to 1929, and (l) 14 Santiago Bernabeu trophies. The club also collected trophies for winning the games from 1949 to 2003, with the last two trophies for winning the Naranja championships in 1990 and 2003.

Ownership and Management. Real Madrid is owned by its supporters and members who are called socios, and who elect the club president through an assembly of delegates which they form as the club’s governing authority. Management of the club is entrusted to a management staff consisting of a President, Honorary Life President, First Vice-President, Second Vice-President, Secretary of the Board, Director General, Director for the President’s Office, and Director for the Social Area. The technical staff is composed of the head coach, assistant coach, fitness trainer, goalkeeper coach, technical assistant and match delegate.For more details click here.