A Club Full of History

Real Madrid is not the oldest football club in the World, not even in Spain (that privilege goes to Recreativo de Huelva) and it hasn't got the largest stadium, or the biggest number of season ticket holders. But throughout the world, when the name Real Madrid is mentioned, no person who has ever heard of football can fail to have heard of them. Whether it's because of the likes of Di St�fano and Puskas, who played in Real's all-conquering team in the 1950s, or Butrague�o, M�chel and Hugo S�nchez in the 1980s, or even some of today's stars, such as Ra�l, Hierro or Roberto Carlos, there is no doubting its unique and enduring impression on the world of football.

But it is not just players, both past and present that make Real Madrid the great institution it is. Unmatched success at home and abroad, and with it, an impressive trophy cabinet are the hallmark of the club. Real Madrid has won more editions of Europe's premier club competition, the European Cup, than any other team. And in the league, nobody comes even close. Almost all of this success can be traced back to the vision of one man.

In 1943, Santiago Bernab�u became the tenth president of Real Madrid and retained that post until 1975. In that time, the club won 6 European Cups, 1 Intercontinental Cup, 16 league titles and 6 Spanish Cups. It was his drive to make Real Madrid the best team in the World, that led him to pursue the best players and coaches to share his vision. He also wanted a stadium worthy of such a team, and it celebrated the 50th anniversary of its inauguration on December 14th 1997.

Real Madrid won the first five European Cups, adding a sixth in 1966. The pages below show the match reports and line-ups for the finals, plus a look back (in Spanish) from each of them by the only player ever to have won 6 European Cups, Paco Gento:

	First Cup (1955-1956)
	Second Cup (1956-1957)
	Third Cup (1957-1958)
	Fourth Cup (1958-1959)
	Fifth Cup (1959-1960)
	Sixth Cup (1965-1966)

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