History of Real Madrid CF

Real Madrid Club de Fútbol is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club was formed in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, and played its first competitive match on 13 May 1902, when it lost 3–1 in the semi-final of the Campeonato de Copa de S.M. Alfonso XIII against FC Barcelona. Real Madrid played against other local clubs in various regional tournaments, that served as qualifiers for the Copa del Rey, from 1902 to 1940. In 1929, the club became one of the founding members of La Liga, Spain's first national league. As of 2024, Real is one of only three clubs never to have been relegated from the top level of Spanish football, the others being Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona.

From 1902 to 1929, Real won the Copa del Rey five times and the regional championship 15 times. Real Madrid had a successful start in La Liga, finishing second in the competition's first season, and winning the league in 1932 for the first time. In the 1947–48 season, Madrid finished eleventh, which remains, as of 2024, the club's lowest final position. Real Madrid won La Liga four times and the European Cup five times during the 1950s. However, the most successful period for the club in terms of domestic titles was the 1960s, when Real Madrid won eight league championships. It won its first double of league championship and national cup in 1962. Real is also the only Spanish football team to win five consecutive titles, a feat which it has achieved on two occasions (1960–65 and 1985–90).

In addition to their domestic success, Real Madrid's reputation as a major club was established by their outstanding record in the European Cup. To date, they have been crowned champions of Europe a record fifteen times. Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás and other famous players helped the club win the European Cup five times in a row between 1956 and 1960, which included a memorable 7–3 Hampden Park final against German side Eintracht Frankfurt in 1960. The club won the trophy for a sixth time in 1966 with a team known as the Ye-Ye that defeated Yugoslavian club Partizan 2–1 in the final while being composed entirely of Spanish-born players, a first in the competition. They were also runners-up in 1962, 1964 and 1981. Winning the competition five consecutive times saw Real permanently awarded the original cup and earning the right to wear a multiple-winner badge since 2000. They have also won the UEFA Cup twice and were twice runners-up in the European Cup Winners' Cup.

In 1996, president Lorenzo Sanz appointed Fabio Capello as coach. Although his tenure lasted only one season, Real Madrid were proclaimed league champions and several important players arrived at the club, such as Roberto Carlos, Predrag Mijatović, Davor Šuker and Clarence Seedorf, 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 Mijatović. Real Madrid would go on to win again in 2000, 2002 (under manager Vicente del Bosque), 2014 (under manager Carlo Ancelotti), 2016, 2017, 2018 (under manager Zinedine Zidane), 2022 and 2024 (again under Ancelotti). Madrid are also eight-time winners of the Intercontinental Cup/FIFA Club World Cup, defeating Peñarol, Vasco da Gama, Club Olimpia, San Lorenzo, Kashima Antlers, Grêmio, Al Ain and Al Hilal in 1960, 1998, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2022 respectively.

Real Madrid's origins go back to when football was introduced to Madrid by the academics and students of the Institución Libre de Enseñanza. They founded (Sociedad) Sky Football in December 1897, commonly known as La Sociedad (The Society) as it was the only club 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, called Nueva Sociedad de Foot-ball (New Society of Football), to distinguish themselves from Sky Football. Nueva Sociedad was founded in October 1900 in a tavern on Calle de la Cruz. The dissenters were led by Julián Palacios, recognized as the first Real Madrid president.

The other dissenters included brothers and future presidents of Real Madrid, Juan Padrós and Carlos Padrós, as well as Adolfo Meléndez, Antonio Neyra, Manolo Mendía, Varela, and the Giralt brothers (Armando, José and Mario). In October 1901, Nueva Sociedad de Foot-ball was renamed as Madrid Football Club. The first field the club used to play matches was a camp in Moncloa, located on the current Vallehermoso street. They utilised the El Solar de Estrada in 1901, which was owned by Claudio Estrada, a member of the club and the father-in-law of president Julián Palacios. The club later played matches at the Tiro del Pichón between 1901 and 1902.

On 6 March 1902, after a new Board presided by Juan Padrós had been elected, Madrid Football Club was officially founded. The Padrós brothers summoned other football enthusiasts to a meeting in the back room of Al Capricho, the family's fashion business. They viewed football as a mass sport that should be accessible to representatives of all social classes, and thought the new club should embody that idea. The brothers proposed the name, Madrid Football Club, which was unanimously accepted. The membership fee was also set, two pesetas a month, and the color of the shirt was chosen to be white in honour of a famous English team Corinthian, which Juan Padrós had met on one of his trips. The club had 28 founding socios (members).

The club played its first ever match on 9 March 1902. It featured two teams of Madrid FC players and was played between the streets of Alcalá and Goya, next to the old Plaza de Toros. The two teams wore blue and red respectively, with the blue team winning the match 1–0. Madrid paid an annual rent of 150 pesetas for the pitch, and the players changed into their playing kits in a tavern called La Taurina. The regulations governing the club, comprising 22 articles, were drafted on 18 April and approved by provincial governor José Sanchez Guerra on 22 April 1902. Madrid FC played its first match against another club on 2 May 1902 at the Hipódromo in a friendly against New Foot-Ball Club that ended in a 1–1 draw.