Football in Spain

ByMicheál Foley

Jason RichardsonKian CrowleySaul Kenny

Introduction

Football is the most popular sport in Spain. The Royal Spanish Football Federation (Real

Federación Española de Fútbol) is the national governing body and it organises La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Spain national football team, current champion of the FIFA World Cup. Modern football was introduced to Spain in the late 19th century by a combination of mostly British immigrant workers, visiting sailors and Spanish students coming from Britain.

The oldest football club in Spain is Recreativo de Huelva, formed on December 23, 1889 by Dr. Mackey and British workers employed by the Rio Tinto Company. Although Gimnàstic de Tarragona was formed in 1886 and Sevilla FC in 1890, the clubs did not form an actual football team until 1914 and 1905, respectively. The first official football game played in Spain took place in Seville on March 8, 1890 at the Tablada Hippodrome. Recreativo de Huelva played against Sevilla FC, a team made up of workers from the Seville Water Works. With the exception of two Spanish players on the Huelva team, all the players on both teams were British. This is the reason why the team is called Sevilla FC (football club) and not Sevilla CF (club de fútbol, in Spanish correct way). The Seville team won 2-0.

Introduction

In the Basque Country during the early 1890s, British shipyard workers and miners formed the Bilbao Football Club and Basque students returning from Britain founded the Athletic Club in 1898. This early British influence was reflected in the use of English names such as Recreation Club, Athletic Club and Football Club.

Barcelona and Real Madrid are the most successful Spanish clubs, in both the national league and continental competitions. They have won a combined 13 European Cups/Champions League titles and were runners-up 3 times each. Real Madrid is the most successful in Europe, having won it a record 9 times and the UEFA Cup twice, while FC Barcelona was the only team to achieve a Sextuple, in the year 2009. In La Liga's 80-year history (excluding the 3 seasons that the league was suspended due to the civil war), Barça and Real Madrid have won 51 titles between them. Over the years, Spanish clubs have won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 7 times and UEFA Europa League 6 times.

For this project we are going to look at four of the most popular teams in Spain.

Atletico Madrid Valencia Barcelona Real Madrid

FC Barcelona

HISTORY

FC Barcelona was formed on the 22nd October 1899. The founder of the club was Hans Kamper.

In 1961 Barcelona were the first team to beat Real Madrid.

FC Barcelona’s motto is “Mes que un club” which means more than a club.

FACTS

Barcelona have won La Liga 21 times and have won the UEFA cup 3 times

Their biggest signing was Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Inter Milan for 69.5 Million Euros.

UNICEF was the first sponsor on the jersey. The agreement was made on 14 th July 2006.

STADIUM

The stadium is called Camp Nou. It is the biggest stadium in Europe. It can hold up to 99,354 people.

CREST

The clubs original crest was a quarter diamond shaped crest topped by two branches, one of laurel

tree and the other palm.

PLAYERS

Some of the best players in the world are on the team such as

Lionel Messi, Xavi, David Villa and Andre Inista

FC Barcelona PhotosCamp Nou

StadiumMessiXavi

Real Madrid

HISTORYThe club was formed in 1902 as Madrid football club. The word Real is Spanish for royal and was bestowed to the club in 1920 by King Alfonso XIIIReal Madrid won its first league title in 1931FACTSThe full name of the club is Real Madrid Club de Futbol.Their nickname is Los Blancos.On the 13th June 1943 Real Madrid beat Barcelona 11-1 in a cup game.The club purchased Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United for 80 million Euros.In the 2011-12 season Real Madrid won the league for a record 32nd time.STADIUMThe stadium is called Estadio Santiago Bernabeu and was built in 1947.It is called after former chairman named Santiago Bernabeu. It can hold 85454 peopleCRESTThe current club crest (above) was designed in 2001 PLAYERSSome of their biggest players are Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil, Karim Benzema and Kaka

Real Madrid PhotosBernabeu

Stadium

Ronaldo

Jose Mourinho (Manager)

Valencia CF

HISTORYValencia was formed on March 18th 1919.The first presidents name was Octavio Milego Diaz and he was appointed by the toss ofa coin.The club won its first league title in the 1941-42 season.FACTSOne of the clubs nicknames is chotos (goats).Their most expensive player ever was Jaoquin Sanchez bought from Real Betis for 25 Million in 2006.Rafael Benitez was Valencias most successful manager winning 2 league titles and 1 UEFA within3 years.The club has 45000 season ticket holders.STADIUMValencia moved to its current stadium called Mestalla in 1923. Its capacity is 55,00 peopleCRESTThey have a bat as part of their club crest because bats are common in the area.PLAYERSValencia's most famous player is David Villa now Barcelona

Valencia FC Photos

Atletico Madrid

HISTORYThe club was founded on 26th April 1903 by three students.They won their first league title in the 1939-40 season and most recently in 1995-96..FACTSThere has been 29 club presidents since the club began.The first president was Enrique Allende in 1903 and the current president is Enrique Cerezo.Athletico Madrid have not beaten Real Madrid since 1999.The stripes on the jersey used to be blue and white and were changed in 1911 to red and

whiteSTADIUMThe stadium is called Vicente Calderon and holds 54960 people. They are due to move

to a new stadium in 2015CRESTThe current club crest (above) was designed in 1986 PLAYERSAtletico’s most famous ex player is Fernando Torres of Chelsea

Atletico Madrid Photos