Real Madrid Club ..Past and Present

Real Madrid Club , commonly referred to as Real Madrid or simply Real, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally worn a white home kit since its inception. The honorific title real is Spanish for "royal" and was bestowed to the club by King Alfonso XIII in 1920 together with the royal crown in the emblem. Real Madrid have played their home matches in the 81,044-capacity Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in downtown Madrid since 1947. Unlike most European sporting entities, Real Madrid's members have owned and operated the club throughout its history. The club was estimated to be worth $5.1 billion in 2022, the world's most valuable football team. In 2021, it was the second highest-earning football club in the world, with an annual revenue of €640.7 million. Real Madrid is one of the most widely supported teams internationally. Being one of the three founding members of La Liga that have never been relegated from the top division since its inception in 1929, Real Madrid holds many long-standing rivalries, most notably El Clásico with Barcelona and El Derbi Madrileño with Atlético Madrid. The club established itself as a major force in both Spanish and European football during the 1950s and 60s, winning five consecutive and six overall European Cups and reaching a further two finals. This success was replicated on the domestic front, with Madrid winning twelve league titles in the span of 16 years. This team, which included Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás, Francisco Gento, and Raymond Kopa, is considered by some in the sport to be the greatest of all time .

EnterIn domestic football, the club has won 68 trophies; a record 35 La Liga titles, 19 Copa del Rey, 12 Supercopa de España, a Copa Eva Duarte, and a Copa de la Liga European football, Real Madrid have won a record 20 trophies; a record 14 European Cup UEFA Champions League titles, two UEFA Cups and four UEFA Super Cups. In worldwide competitions, they have achieved a record seven club world championships. Real Madrid was recognized as the FIFA Club of the 20th Century on 11 December 2000 with 42.35% of the vote, and received the FIFA Centennial Order of Merit on 20 May 2004. The club was also named Best European Club of the 20th Century by the IFFHS on 11 May 2010. In June 2017, Madrid succeeded in becoming the first club to win consecutive titles in the Champions League era. In May 2022, they won a record-extending fourteenth European Cup, making it five titles in the last nine seasons. Real Madrid are ranked fourth behind Bayern Munich, Manchester City, and Liverpool in the UEFA club rankings. History Early years Real Madrid's origins go back to when football was introduced to Madrid by the academics and students of the Institución Libre de Enseñanza, which included several Cambridge and Oxford University graduates. They founded Sky Football in 1897, commonly known as La Sociedad as it was the only one based in Madrid, playing on Sunday mornings at Moncloa. In 1900, conflict between members caused some of them to leave and create a new club, Nueva Sociedad de Football, to distinguish themselves from Sky Football. Among the dissenters were Julián Palacios, recognized as the first Real Madrid president, Juan Padrós and Carlos Padrós, the latter two being brothers and future presidents of Real Madrid. In 1901, this new club was renamed as Madrid Football Club. Later, following a restructuring in 1902, Sky was renamed as "New Foot-Ball Club". On 6 March 1902, after a new Board presided by Juan Padrós had been elected, Madrid Football Club was officially founded. 

Three years after its foundation, in 1905, Madrid FC won its first title after defeating Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Cup final. The club became one of the founding sides of the Royal Spanish Football Federation on 4 January 1909, when club president Adolfo Meléndez signed the foundation agreement of the Spanish FA. After moving between grounds the team moved to the Campo de O'Donnell in 1912. In 1920, the club's name was changed to Real Madrid after King Alfonso XIII granted the title of Real to the club. In 1929, the first Spanish football league was founded. Real Madrid led the first league season until the last match, a loss to Athletic Bilbao, meant they finished runners-up to Barcelona Real Madrid won its first League title in the 1931-32 season and retained the title the following year. On 14 April 1931, the arrival of the Second Spanish Republic caused the club to lose the title Real and the royal crown on its emblem, going back to being named Madrid Football Club until the end of the Civil War. Football continued during the Second World War, and on 13 June 1943 Madrid beat Barcelona 11-1 in the second leg of a semi-final of the Copa del Generalisimo, the Copa del Rey having been renamed in honour of General Franco. It has been suggested Barcelona players were intimidated by police, including by the director of state security who "allegedly told the team that some of them were only playing because of the regime's generosity in permitting them to remain in the country." The Barcelona chairman, Enrique Piñeyro. was assaulted by Madrid fans. However, none of these allegations have been proven and FIFA and UEFA still consider the result as legitimate. According to Spanish journalist and writer, Juan Carlos Pasamontes, Barcelona player Josep Valle denied that the Spanish security forces came before the match. Instead, at the end of the first half, Barcelona coach Juan José Nogues and all of his players were angry with the hard-style of play Real Madrid was using and with the aggressiveness of the home crowd. Under his presidency, the club, its stadium Estadio Real Madrid Club de and its training facilities Ciudad Deportiva were rebuilt after the Spanish Civil War damages. Additionally, during the 1950s former Real Madrid Amateurs player Miguel Malbo founded Real Madrid's youth academy, or "cantera," known today as La Fábrica. Beginning in 1953, he embarked upon a strategy of signing world-class players from abroad, the most prominent being Alfredo Di Stefano.