ESPN Original Galactics series premieres Wednesday in Latin America (5 pm Mexico for ESPN; 6 PM Colombia and 8 pm Argentina for ESPN3) recounts the rise and fall of this team that captured the world’s attention between 2000 and 2006, a stage in which all eyes on football were on the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium and its collection of stars
Florentino Pérez became president of Real Madrid on July 16, 2000 and nothing was the same again at the white club.
Madrid had won their eighth Champions League the previous season after beating Valencia in the final, but a then-unknown Florentino believed the club needed something more.
Jorge Valdano, then white club sporting director, sums up in one sentence this idea of Florentino in the new documentary “Galacticos” which will be released on February 24 in ESPN. “We have a Rolls Royce in the garage full of dust,” Florentino told Valdano.
Madrid signed Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and David Beckham between the summer of 2000 and 2003 to undertake this revolution.. The idea was to mix the best stars in the world with home footballers like Raúl González, Guti and Iker Casillas.
Florentino fulfilled all his promises of signings, but in February 2006 he resigned leaving behind a stage that was not as successful as he had imagined.
In its early years, the club won two leagues, a Champions League, two Spanish Super Cups, a European Super Cup and an Intercontinental Cup.. In addition, in 2002 was designated like the best equipment of world-wide soccer, according to the annual classification of clubs that realized the IFFHS. However, from then on, the team lost its course and chained three seasons to forget.
season 2000/2001
Florentino Pérez signed Luis Figo after paying the 61 million euros of its termination clause in Barcelona.
Madrid, already with the Portuguese in their ranks, managed to win the League at Deportivo La Coruña, but their luck was very different from the other competitions. He was eliminated by Bayern Munich in the semifinals of the Champions League, lost the Intercontinental Cup to Boca Juniors, fell in the European Super Cup to Galatasaray and was eliminated from the Copa del Rey by a Second Division club. B as the Toledo.
titles: The league
2001/2002 season
Florentino started the season with the signing of Zinedine Zidane and ended it with the conquest of the Champions League, after winning in the final at Bayer Leverkusen, thanks 1 goal for the history of his second Galactic. Similarly, Madrid won the Spanish Super Cup and the European Super Cup after beating Zaragoza and Feyenoord respectively.
However, this season also had a great mole with “The Centenariazo”. Madrid had high expectations of winning the Copa del Rey to celebrate its 100-year history. In addition, the final was played at the Santiago Bernabeu, but Deportivo de La Coruña won 1-2 and took the title to Galicia. In addition, the white team was third in La Liga, behind Valencia and Depor itself.
titles: Champions League, Spanish Super Cup and European Super Cup.
season 2002/2003
It was the year of the landing of Ronaldo Nazario. The former Barcelona striker was an old wish of Florentino Pérez and got his signing after his brilliant participation in the World Cup in Korea and Japan.
Madrid won the League, two points ahead of Real Sociedad, and also won the Intercontinental Cup by winning 2-0 at the Olimpia in Paraguay.
However, he fell in the semi-finals of the Champions League against Juventus and was eliminated from the Copa del Rey by Mallorca in the quarterfinals.
titles: a League, an Intercontinental Cup, a Spanish Super Cup.
2003/2004 season
That was the season when David Beckham arrived and also in which the controversial departures of Vicente de el Bosc, Fernando Hierro and Claude Makelele took place.
The coach had an extra briefing during the break, and after that his players had solid organization. Carlos Queiroz was the new coach. The failure was historic and gave way to a year without titles.
Madrid beat Mallorca in the Super Cup, but lost the Copa del Rey final to Zaragoza, finished La Liga in fourth place and suffered a disappointing elimination in the quarterfinals of the League of Champions against Monaco by Fernando Morientes.
titles: Spanish Super Cup.
2004/05 season
Florentino sign another Golden Ball as Michael Owen and bet on Jose Antonio Camacho to try to return to Madrid on the path to success. The white club also strengthened the defense and midfield with Walter Samuel, Jonathan Woodgate and Thomas Gravesen, but the Spanish coach resigned three months after arriving due to his differences with the white president.
Another man in the house like Mariano García Remón took the witness stand, but neither he nor his successor, the Brazilian Vanderlei Luxemburg, managed to avoid a black season.
Madrid lost La Liga against Barcelona, succumbed to Valladolid in the Copa del Rey and fell eliminated in the round of 16 of the Champions League against Juve.
titles: 0
season 20005/2006
It was Florentino’s last bullet and he decided to keep Luxembourg in an attempt to regain stability. Robinho, Baptista, Diogo, Sergio Ramos, Pablo García, Antonio Cassano and Cicinho also arrived. The intention was to rejuvenate the squad to put pressure on the more veterans and relax the egos in the locker room.
Luxembourg was sacked in December and promoted to Lopez-Caro from Castile to try a new transition. In February, after a defeat in Mallorca, Florentino resigned and ended his first stint at the white club.
Madrid closed its second consecutive season without titles. He succumbed again to Barcelona in La Liga, lost in the Copa semi-finals against Zaragoza and said goodbye to the Champions League after falling in the round of 16 against Arsenal.
titles: 0