[Gim]

Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (also known as Real Madrid, Los Blancos or Los Merengues) is a professional Spanish football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902, it plays in La Liga and is one of the most successful football clubs of the 20th century, having won thirty La Liga titles, seventeen Copa del Rey and being European Champions for a record nine times. The team is also member of the G-14 group of leading European football clubs.

It plays its home games at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid. Real Madrid is unusual in that, unlike most football clubs, it has been owned and operated only by its members (socios) since 1902. On December 23, 2000, FIFA awarded the Spanish team the title of the "Best Club of the 20th Century". Los Blancos is the most successful club in UEFA club football competitions history with nine European Cups and two UEFA Cups; more than any other European club.

Recently Real Madrid has received the Elite status for the Santiago Bernabeu,an essential condition for hosting European finals such as that of the Champions League. The Club is extremely pleased with the recognition after years of hard work. It´s the perfect present for a modern and functional stadium that will turn 60-years old in one month.

Football was introduced to Madrid by the professors and students of the Institución Libre de Enseñanza who included several Oxbridge graduates.They founded the club Football Sky in 1895, playing on Sunday mornings at Moncloa. This club split in 1900 into two different clubs New Foot-Ball de Madrid and Club Español de Madrid. The president of the latter club was Julián Palacios. The latter club split again in 1902, resulting in the formation of Sociedad Madrid FC on March 6, 1902.The first president was Juan Padrós Rubió, the first secretary was Manuel MendÃ*a and the first treasurer was José de Gorostizaga. Juan Padrós Rubió would be later succeeded by his brother, Carlos Padrós from Spain. Only three years after its foundation, in 1905, Madrid FC won its first major title in the Estadio ChamartÃ*n stadium. The team won the first of four consecutive Copa del Rey titles (at that time the only statewide competition). In 1912 it moved to its first ground called Campo de O'Donnell after moving between some minor grounds.In 1920 the club's name was changed to Real Madrid after the King granted the title of Real (Royal) to the club.
Santiago Bernabéu Yeste became President in 1945.Under his presidency, the club, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium and the Ciudad Deportiva were rebuilt following the Spanish Civil War. Beginning in 1953 he embarked upon a strategy of signing world-class players from abroad, the most prominent of them being the signing of Alfredo Di Stéfano and built the world's first multinational side.

In 1955, acting upon the idea proposed by the French sports journalist and editor of L'Équipe Gabriel Hanot, and building upon the Copa Latina (a tournament involving clubs from France, Spain, Portugal and Italy), Bernabéu met in the Ambassador Hotel in Paris with Bedrignan and Gustav Sebes and created what today is known as the UEFA Champions League.It was under Bernabéu's guidance, that Real Madrid became established as a major force in both Spanish and European football. The club won the European Cup five times in a row between 1956 and 1960, which included the memorable 7–3 Hampden Park final against Eintracht Frankfurt in 1960. Winning the competition five consecutive times saw Real permanently awarded the original cup and earning the right to wear the UEFA badge of honour.The club won the European Cup for a sixth time in 1966 defeating FK Partizan 2–1 in the final with a team composed entirely of nationally-born players - a first in the competition.It was also runner-up in 1962, 1964 and 1981. The team have also won the UEFA Cup twice and was twice runner-up in the European Cup Winners Cup.
By the early 1980s, Real Madrid had lost its grasp on the La Liga title until a new batch of homegrown stars, known as El Quinta del Buitre started to dominate the Spanish football.The name ("Vulture's Cohort") was derived from the nickname given to one of its member, Emilio Butragueño. The other four members were Manolo SanchÃ*s, MartÃ*n Vázquez, MÃ*chel and Miguel Pardeza.With La Quinta del Buitre (reduced to four members when Pardeza left the club for Zaragoza in 1986) Real Madrid had one of the best teams in Spain and Europe during the second half of the 1980s, winning two UEFA Cups and five Spanish championships in a row.

MartÃ*n Vázquez went to play for Torino in 1990. He made a return to Real Madrid in 1992, leaving the club again for good in 1995 (to Deportivo La Coruña). In 1995 and 1996 Butragueño and Michél left the club and went to play for Atlético Celaya in Mexico.In 1996 President Lorenzo Sanz appointed Fabio Capello as coach. Although his tenure lasted only one season, Real Madrid was proclaimed league champion and players like Roberto Carlos, Predrag Mijatović, Davor Å*uker and Clarence Seedorf arrived at the club to strengthen a squad that already boasted the likes of Raúl, Fernando Hierro and Fernando Redondo. As a result, Real Madrid (with the addition of Fernando Morientes in 1997) finally ended its 32-year wait for the seventh European Cup in 1998 under manager Jupp Heynckes, defeating Juventus 1–0 in the final, thanks to a goal from Predrag Mijatović.

In July 2000 Florentino Pérez was elected club president vowing to erase the club's debt and modernise the club's facilities, however the primary electoral promise that propelled Pérez to victory was the signing of LuÃ*s Figo.On July 16, Pérez won the election.The club controversially got its training ground re-zoned and used the money to begin to assemble the famous Galáctico side including players such as Zidane, Ronaldo, LuÃ*s Figo, Roberto Carlos, Raul and David Beckham. It is disputable whether the gamble paid off as despite a European Cup win in 2002, followed by the League in 2003, the club then failed to win a major trophy for the next three seasons.

Ramón Calderón was elected as club president in July, 2006 and subsequently appointed Fabio Capello as the new coach and Predrag Mijatović as the new sporting director. Real Madrid won the La Liga title in 2007 for the first time in four years.However, despite the achievement of winning La Liga, Capello was sacked one month later, in June 2007, and was replaced by German manager Bernd Schuster.Schuster failed to win Supercopa de España after a 5-3 defeat against Sevilla F.C. at Santiago Bernabeu.


The first crest of Real Madrid had a simple design. It consisted of a decorative interlacing of the three initials of the club, "MCF" for Madrid Club de Futbol, in dark blue on a white shirt. The first change in the crest occurred in 1908,when the letters adopted a more streamlined form and appeared inside a circle.The next change in the configuration of the crest did not occur until 1920, when King Alfonso XIII granted the club his royal patronage, which came in the form of the title "Real," roughly "Royal." Thus, Alfonso's crown was added to the crest and the club styled itself Real Madrid Club de Futbol.With the disposition of the monarchy in 1931 all the symbols of the Royalty were eliminated, and so that the crown on the crest and the title of Real that years before the club had obtained were removed. In its place, the dark mulberry band of the Region of Castile was added.In 1941, two years after the end of the Civil War, the crest's "Real Corona", or "Royal Crown", was restored and the mulberry stripe of Castile was retained as well. In addition, the colors were modified, in that the crest was made full color, with gold being the most prominent, and the club was again called Real Madrid Club de Futbol.
The most recent modification to the crest occurred in 2001, when the club wanted to better position itself for the twenty-first century and further standardize its crest. One of the modifications made was changing the mulberry stripe to a more bluish shade.

Real Madrid have always worn white shirts and shorts, although it initially adopted a blue oblique stripe on the shirt (the design was kept in the club crest), but unlike today dark blue socks.The striped shirt was replaced by a 100% white version in around 1905.In the same year, the blue socks were replaced by black ones. In the early 1940s the manager changed the kit again, adding buttons on the shirt and club's crest on the left side of the shirt (which have remained ever since).

Real's traditional away colours are all black or all blue.

The 2007–08 Real Madrid away strip consists of a dark blue shirt. The adidas three stripes are yellow. It is worn with dark blue shorts and black socks. For the 2007–08 season, there is also a third kit, which is black with thick 'electric yellow' lines forming separate panels of the shirt. Real's kit is currently manufactured by Adidas, which is contracted to supply the club's kit since 1998.Real Madrid's first shirt sponsor was Zanussi, agreed for the 1982–83 and 1983–84 seasons.Following that, the club was sponsored by Parmalat and Otaysa before a long-term deal was signed with Teka in 1994; in 2001, ended the contract with Teka and for one season Real Madrid used the Realmadrid.com logo to promote its website.Then, in 2002 a deal was signed with Siemens Mobile and in 2006, the logo Benq Siemens appeared on its shirt.Real Madrid's current shirt sponsor is bwin.com following the economic problems of Benq Siemens.

After its foundation in 1902 the club moved in its first years between some minor grounds before moving to the 'Campo de O'Donnell' in 1912.This ground remained its home ground for eleven years. After these years the club made a move again, this time to the 'Campo de Ciudad Lineal', a small ground with a capacity of 8,000 spectators. After twelve months the club moved again. This new ground would make a longer appearance. The 'Estadio ChamartÃ*n' was inaugurated on the 17th of May 1923 with a match of Real Madrid against Newcastle United. In this stadium, which hosted 22,500 spectators, Real Madrid celebrated its first Spanish league title.After those successes, the 1943 elected president Santiago Bernabéu decided that the Estadio ChamartÃ*n wasn't big enough for the ambitions of the club. A new stadium was built and was inaugurated on the 14th of December 1947.This was the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium as it is known today, although it didn't acquire this name until 1955. The first match that was played in the new stadium was between Real Madrid and OS Belenenses (3–1) and the first goal was scored by Sabino Barinaga. The initial capacity was 75,300.

The capacity has changed frequently, peaking at 120,000 after a 1953 expansion.Since then, there have been a number of reductions due to modernisations (the last standing places went away in 1998–99 in response to UEFA regulations which forbids standing at matches in the UEFA competition), countered to some extent by expansions. The last change was an increase of about five thousand to a capacity of 80,400, effected in 2003. A plan to add a retractable roof has been announced.

Santiago Bernabéu hosted the 1957, 1969 and 1980 European Cup finals, the 1964 European Championship final, and the 1982 FIFA World Cup final.The stadium has its own Madrid Metro station along the 10 line called Santiago Bernabéu. Its location, in the heart of Madrid's business district, is quite unusual for a football stadium.On May 9, 2006 the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium was inaugurated at the City of Madrid where Real Madrid usually trains. The inaugural match was played between Real Madrid and Stade de Reims, a rematch of the 1956 European Cup final. Real Madrid won the inaugural match 6–1 with goals from Sergio Ramos, Antonio Cassano (2), Roberto Soldado (2), and Jose Manuel Jurado. The venue is now part of the Ciudad Real Madrid, the club's new training facilities located outside Madrid in Valdebebas. The stadium holds 6,000 people and it is named after former Real footballer Alfredo Di Stéfano.

Manuel SanchÃ*s Hontiyuelo holds the record for Real Madrid appearances, having played 710 first-team matches between 1983 and 2001. Forward Santillana comes second, having played 643 times. The record for a goalkeeper is held by Francisco Buyo, with 343 appearances. With 127 caps, LuÃ*s Figo of Portugal is Real Madrid's most capped international player.

Alfredo Di Stéfano is the club's top goalscorer with 311 goals in all competitions between 1953 and 1964 having surpassed Santillana's total of 290. Di Stéfano's 49 goals in 58 matches was for decades the all-time highest tally in the European Cup, until it was surpassed by Real Madrid's Raúl in 2005, and Chelsea's Andriy Shevchenko (then playing for A.C. Milan) and Real Madrid's Ruud van Nistelrooy in 2006. Di Stéfano also holds the club record for most goals scored in the league, with 216. Real Madrid's current top-scorer is Raúl González with 193.

Officially, Real Madrid's highest home attendance is 74,419 for a Copa del Rey match in 2006. The current legal capacity of Santiago Bernabéu is 80,400. Real Madrid's average attendance was 69,200 during the 2003–04 season and 71,900 in the 2004–05 season.Real Madrid have also set records in Spanish football, most notably the most domestic titles (30 as of 2006–07) and the most seasons won in a row (5, during 1960–65 and 1985–90).

Real also set UEFA Champions League records for most winnings (nine) and for most semifinal appearances (21).In addition, Raúl González with 58 goals is the best UEFA Champions League scorer so far. The team have also the record number of consecutive participations in the Champions' Cup with 15, from 1955–56 to 1969–70. The fastest ever Champions League goal was scored by FC Bayern München's Roy Makaay in 10.2 seconds against Real Madrid in 2007. The world-record fee of €76 million (US$87 million, £47 million) for Zinedine Zidane's transfer to Real Madrid in 2001 is the highest ever paid.



During most home matches the majority of the seats in the stadium are occupied by season ticket holders, of which there are approximately 65,000.In order to become a season ticket holder one must first be a socio, or club member. Not all members are able to get a season ticket. In addition to members, the club has over 1,800 peñas (official, club-affiliated supporters' groups) in Spain and around the world. Real Madrid has the first highest average all-time attendance in Spanish football and regularly attract over 65,000 fans to Santiago Bernabéu; it was the second best-supported La Liga team in the 2004–05 season, with an average gate of 71,900.The club has a large and diverse fanbase, who hold some long-standing rivalries with other clubs; the most notable of these is with FC Barcelona, with whom it regularly contests El Clásico.

The rivalry with FC Barcelona projects what some regard as the political and cultural tensions felt between Castillians and Catalans.During the dictatorships of Primo de Rivera and (especially) of Francisco Franco, all regional identities were openly suppressed (e.g. the peripheral languages were officially banned). However, during the Spanish Civil War itself, members of both clubs like Josep Sunyol and Rafael Sánchez Guerra, suffered at the hands of Franco supporters.During the 1950s, the rivalry was intensified further when the clubs disputed the signing of Alfredo Di Stéfano, who finally played for Real Madrid and was key in the subsequent success achieved by the club.The 1960s saw the rivalry reach the European stage when they met twice at the European Cup, Real Madrid winning in 1960 and FC Barcelona winning in 1961. In 2000 the rivalry was reinforced following the controversial decision by LuÃ*s Figo to leave FC Barcelona and sign for Real Madrid.The two teams met again in the 2002 UEFA Champions League semi-final. Real Madrid, the eventual champion, won the clash dubbed by Spanish media as the Match of the Century. As the two biggest and most successful clubs in Spain,nowadays the rivalry is renewed on an annual basis with both teams often challenging each other for the league championship. The flashpoint of this rivalry is the twice-a-season El Clásico which draws vast audiences from around the world.

The club's nearest neighbour is Atlético Madrid, which is too seen as big rival by Real Madrid fans. Although Atlético was originally founded by three Basque students in 1903, it was joined in 1904 by dissident members of Madrid FC. Further tensions came because initially Atlético supporters came from the working class while the Real supporters were drawn from the middle class. Today these distinctions are largely blurred. The rivalry first gained international attention in 1959 during the European Cup when the two clubs met in the semi-final. Real won the first leg 2–1 at the Bernabéu while Atlético won 1–0 at the Metropolitano. The tie went to a replay and Real won 2-1. Atlético, however, gained some revenge when, led by former Real coach José Villalonga, it defeated Real in two successive Copa del GeneralÃ*simo finals in 1960 and 1961.

Between 1961 and 1980 when Real dominated La Liga, only Atlético offered Real any serious challenge, winning La Liga titles in 1966, 1970, 1973 and 1977. In 1965, when it finished as La Liga runner-up to Real after an intense battle for the title, Atlético became the first team to beat Real at the Bernabéu in eight years. Real Madrid's record against Atlético in more recent times is very favourable.A high point coming in the 2002–03 season, when Real clinched the La Liga title after beating Atlético 4–0 at the Vicente Calderón stadium.

Players

Current squad

As of September 29, 2007.[56][57]


1 GK Iker Casillas (vice-captain)
2 DF MÃ*chel Salgado (vice-captain)
3 DF Pepe
4 DF Sergio Ramos
5 DF Fabio Cannavaro
6 MF Mahamadou Diarra
7 FW Raúl (captain)
8 MF Fernando Gago
9 FW Roberto Soldado
10 FW Robinho
11 MF Arjen Robben
12 DF Marcelo
13 GK Jordi Codina
14 MF Guti (vice-captain)
15 MF Royston Drenthe
16 DF Gabriel Heinze
17 FW Ruud van Nistelrooy
18 FW Javier Saviola
19 MF Júlio Baptista
20 FW Gonzalo HiguaÃ*n
21 DF Christoph Metzelder
22 DF Miguel Torres
23 MF Wesley Sneijder
24 MF Javier Balboa
25 GK Jerzy Dudek
Out on loan
FW Antonio Cassano (on loan to Sampdoria)
MF Pablo GarcÃ*a (on loan to Murcia)
MF Esteban Granero (on loan to Getafe)
MF Adrián González (on loan to Celta)

For recent transfers, see List of transfers of La Liga - 2007/2008 season.


Honours

Domestic

* La Liga

Winners (30): 1931–32, 1932–33, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1971–72, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1994–95, 1996–97, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07
Runners-up (17): 1928-29, 1933-34, 1934-35, 1935-36, 1941-42, 1944-45, 1958-59, 1959-60, 1965-66, 1980-81, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1998-99, 2004-05, 2005-06

* Copa del Rey

Winners (17): 1904–05, 1905–06, 1906–07, 1907–08, 1916–17, 1933–34, 1935–36, 1945–46, 1946–47, 1961–62, 1969–70, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1988–89, 1992–93
Runners-up (19): 1902-03, 1915-15, 1917-18, 1923-24, 1928-29, 1929-30, 1932-33, 1939-40, 1942-43, 1957-58, 1959-60, 1960-61, 1967-68, 1978-79, 1982-83, 1989-90, 1991-92, 2001-02, 2003-04

* Supercopa de España
Winners (8): 1947, 1988, 1989*, 1990, 1993, 1997, 2001, 2003
Runners-up (3): 1982, 1995, 2008 (* Won Copa del Rey and La Liga)

* Copa de la Liga

Winners (1): 1984–85
Runners-up (1): 1982-83
European

* UEFA Champions League

Winners (9): 1955–56, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1965–66, 1997–98, 1999–00, 2001–02.
Runners-up (3): 1961-62, 1963-64, 1980-81

* Intercontinental Cup

Winners (3): 1960, 1998, 2002
Runners-up (2): 1966, 2000

* Copa Iberoamericana
Winners (1): 1994

* UEFA Cup

Winners (2): 1984–85, 1985–86

* UEFA Cup Winners' Cup

Runners-up (2): 1970-71, 1982-83

* UEFA Supercup

Winners (1): 2002
Runners-up (2): 1998, 2000

* Latin Cup

Winners (2): 1955, 1957

* FIFA Order of Merit

Winners (1): 2004

[Gim]

support your team it's your duty
HALA MADRID

[lfc7]

what a great thread looking on going madrid in the near future no one can say u dont know anything about your own club lol

[robinho10]

hey everyone jus brought the game gonna start with real madrid and need some help
what formation to play and who to buy

[DaGringoKilla]

Real madrid are my second team behind arsenal mainly because most of my favorite players played or play for madrid will start a madrid game in the future fo sure

[Gim]

Originally posted by lfc7:
what a great thread looking on going madrid in the near future no one can say u dont know anything about your own club lol

first of all I would like to thank you choosing our side

we are the best

[Gim]

Originally posted by DaGringoKilla:
Real madrid are my second team behind arsenal mainly because most of my favorite players played or play for madrid will start a madrid game in the future fo sure

I as a Real Madrid and Steaua Bucharest fan(they are similar as style and fans and football but not colors)use often the 4-4-2 with wingers going up,or the 4-3-1-2

Real Madrid is well known for their attacking football
they had great players Amancio,Di Stefano,Hugo Sanchez,Paco Gento,Manuel Sanchis,Hierro,Zidane,Figo,Roberto Carlos,Beckham,Raul,Ruud Van Nistelrooy,Robinho

now back at the tactics

in order to create a invincible team you start with the beginning
Gk = you won't have problems here Casillas is legendary
Defence=quite a problem for Real since 2001 needs refreshing try to sign players with good marking,tackling,concentration,strength,anticipati on
Midfielders=for renewing the Madrid attacking spirit you need very good pacey,dribbling,finishing dazzling wingers-C.Ronaldo with fit great here for the creativity in the midfield you would need the skill of Kaka
Strikers=you need good strikers !!! not very powerful strikers like Luca Toni etc
Madrid is known for its beautiful football =dribbling,running,passing,shooting,nice combinations it's about talent and the beautiful game

Madrid play a creative attacking football
I recommend combining 4-4-2 tactics with the 4-3-1-2 killer see what you like better

[Gim]

I often use

GK
DR DC DC DL

MR MC MC ML
| |
| FC FC |



or

GK
DR DC DC DL
MC MC MC
AMC
FC FC

[Gim]

here you go

a graphic showing of the tactics


I think you should use a attacking mentality
much creativity ,quick game,maximum closing down

[Gim]

Run the club to its 10th Champions League
make the dream come true and win all win Real Madrid
Let there be the treble!