Real Madrid may have snatched all the achievements available in the football world. They hold a record of 32 Spanish League titles, 19 Copa Del Rey, and 13 Champions League titles. They are the most successful club in the world, beating other giants like Manchester United or Juventus.
During this time, they underwent a fierce rivalry with Atletico Madrid (El Derbi Madrileno) and Barcelona (El Clasico). Throughout history, they were also strengthened by the world’s best players, such as Alfredo di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas, or Cristiano Ronaldo.
Back in the past, the emergence of football in Madrid could not be separated from the role of academics and the students at the Institucion Libre de Ensenanza. Cambridge and Oxford’s graduates who first knew about football from their home country (England) then formed a football association.
Sky Football was formed in 1897. They have the nickname La Sociedad (The Society), known as the only football community in Madrid at that time. They underwent training every Sunday morning at Moncloa.
In 1900, conflicts within the club began to spread. Some of them left and formed the Nueva Sociedad de Football (New Society of Football) as a rival club for Sky Football. Among the founders of Nueva, three of them were Julian Palacios, Juan padros, and Carlos Padros, three people who would later become president of Real Madrid.
Nueva then changed its name to Madrid Football Club, which followed Sky’s change to New Football Club.
On March 6, 1902, when the management ranks were formed and Juan Padros was chosen as the top leader, Madrid Football Club was officially established.
Three years after being established, the club won its first trophy. Madrid FC had beat Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Cup in 1905.
Madrid FC became one of the founders of the Spanish football federation, Real Federacion Espanola de Futbol (Royal Spanish Football Federation) on January 4, 1909. Not long after it and after many field moves, the club ensured they would be at Campo de O’Donnell.
At that time, Spain still adhered to a monarchy system where the king held absolute power. King Alfonso XIII who enjoyed football then awarded Madrid FC with an honorary title “Real” (Equivalent to “Royal” in England, or “Luxury (given by the kingdom)” in Indonesia). Since 1920, they officially bear the name Real Madrid and have the right to put a crown on their logo.
However, the power of the monarchy collapsed in 1931. Everything about the kingdom was abolished, including the Real title and the crown logo. The club’s name returned to Madrid CF.
From 1937 to the early 1940s, club activities were completely stopped because of the Spanish civil war and World War II.
On June 13, 1943, Real Madrid’s biggest victory over Barcelona in history occurred. They defeated rivals from Catalonia with a score of 11-1, although there were reports that Barca’s players getting intimidation from the authorities. Even so, UEFA and FIFA still recognize these results.
The period after that was the most successful period for the club. Santiago Bernabeu Yeste, who had previously been the captain of the team while playing for Real Madrid, being the coach as well as the club director, in 1945 was promoted to be the club president. The first thing he did was to do the construction of the stadium and the training complex.
The new stadium, named after the president’s name, was inaugurated in 1947 and remains the home of Real Madrid. He also pioneered the Real Madrid academy, now known as La Fabrica.
He also started the galacticos’ trend for the Spanish capital team. In the 1950s, he began recruiting stars from all over the world, such as Alfredo di Stefano from Argentina, or Ferenc Puskas from Hungary. The highest achievements of this generation were Champions Cup (now Champions League) champions FIVE consecutive times from 1956 to 1960.
The club still added several trophies until President Bernabeu died in 1978.
In the next period, Madrid still maintains its status as the best club in Europe and the world. In the 1980s, they were known for the deadly ability of La Quinta del Buitre, the combination of five “vultures” in Emilio Butragueno, Manuel Sanchez, Martin Vazquez, Michel, and Miguel Pardeza.
In the next decade, Los Galacticos was echoed through Florentino Perez’s thick wallet. He recruited Zinedine Zidane, the world’s most expensive player in 2001. Zidane then added the Champions League trophy to Madrid in 2018.
Zidane, Raul Gonzales, Cristiano Ronaldo are few of the stars who have defended Madrid today.
In the next few years, or even forever, Madrid will still be the biggest club.
