26 August 1963 - Di Stéfano Makes A Different Kind Of Headline

On 26 August 1963, Real Madrid striker Alfredo di Stéfano, who had been kidnapped two days earlier, was released unharmed.



The abduction occurred in Caracas, Venezuela, while Real Madrid were on a preseason tour of South America. Paul del Rio, a 19-year old member of the Venezuelan revolutionary group Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional, took di Stéfano at gunpoint from his hotel. By doing so, he hoped to draw attention to the FALN's attempts to stage a Fidel Castro-type revolution in Venezuela.



They released di Stéfano (pictured, the day of his release) unharmed outside the Spanish embassy and he returned to Madrid shortly afterward.



In August 2005, di Stéfano was reunited with del Rio for the premiere of a film titled Real, the Movie that recounted the events of 1963. By that time, del Rio had long since given up his revolutionary activities and was a well-known sculptor and painter.

6 July 2009 - Ronaldo's Real Big Welcome

On 6 July 2009, over 80,000 people gathered at the Bernabéu to meet Real Madrid's newest star, Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo. The event was the culmination of an effort that took over two years and £80 million to complete.

Rumors of Real Madrid's interest in Ronaldo surfaced in March 2007, but Manchester United were unwilling to part with him and signed him to a five-year extension worth £31 million. But while winning the Premier League with United in 2007, 2008, and 2009, as well as the 2008 Champions League, the winger began to reciprocate the interest from the Spaniards. And on 11 June 2009, the two clubs reached a deal. Real Madrid paid an £80 million transfer fee to United, while Ronaldo received a 6-year deal worth €11 million per year. The signing was part of a second Galácticos wave that included Kaká, Karim Benzema, and Xabi Alonso.

To welcome Ronaldo to Madrid, the club hosted a presentation at the Bernabéu. 80,000 people showed up to watch Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez hand Ronaldo the number 9 shirt that had once been worn by club legends Hugo Sanchez, Ronaldo, and Alfredo di Stéfano.

Ronaldo went on to score 33 goals in his first season and 53 the next season, though Real Madrid finished second in the league to Barcelona both times.

30 May 1957 - For Fiorentina, It's Close But No Cigar

On 30 May 1957, Real Madrid won their second consecutive European Cup, beating Fiorentina 2-0.

Real Madrid were the defending champions while the Viola earned the right to participate in the tournament by winning their first Serie A title the previous season. That season heralded a rise in Fiorentina's fortunes that saw them finish in Italy's top two for the next four years.

Their success carried over into the European Cup, where they advanced to the Final with wins over IFK Norrköping, Grasshopper, and Red Star Belgrade, but once there, they ran into the European Cup buzzsaw that was Real Madrid. Madrid had won the inaugural European Cup the season before, and--despite needing a playoff against Rapid Wien to get out of the first round--rolled into the Final with victories over Nice and Manchester United.

Playing before a partisan crowd of 124,000 at Madrid's home ground, the Bernabéu, Fiorentina managed to keep the match close. Unlike the previous final, which Madrid won 4-3 over Stade de Reims, the 1957 Final was a defensive battle, with both sides struggling to create scoring chances. Madrid eventually caught a break when the referee awarded a 69th-minute penalty kick that midfielder Alfredo di Stéfano converted with ease. Six minutes later, forward Francisco Gento scored on a breakaway, chipping the ball over Fiorentina keeper Giuliano Sarti.

It was Fiorentina's last appearance in the European Cup/Champions League Final, while Madrid went on to win the next three. In all, they played in ten more and accumulated their current tally of nine titles. Fiorentina eventually won European glory, however, claiming the 1961 Cup Winners' Cup.

4 September 1960 - Champions Of Two Continents

On 4 September 1960, Real Madrid won the inaugural Intercontinental Cup, beating Peñarol 5-1.

UEFA and CONMEBOL established the Intercontinental Cup to pair the reigning European Cup holders against the current Copa Libertadores champions. For the first meeting in 1960, those teams were Real Madrid and Peñarol.

The Cup was played in two legs, with the winner determined by points, as opposed to aggregate goals. In the first leg, played on 3 July in Montevideo, the two sides battled to a scoreless draw, earning a point each. In the event they drew again in the second leg, they would have gone to replays until one side emerged with a win.

Ultimately, however, Real Madrid handled the second leg with ease. Playing at the Bernabeu before a crowd of over 100,000, the hosts rolled to a dominating 5-0 lead with goals from Ferenc Puskás (2', 8'), Alfredo di Stéfano (3'), Herrera (40'), and Francisco Gento (54'). Peñarol received a late consolation goal from striker Alberto Spencer in the 80th minute.

Peñarol won the Cup the following year, then again in 1966 and 1982. Real Madrid won it twice more, in 1998 and 2002.

23 September 1953 - The Beginning Of A Beautiful Friendship

On 23 September 1953, center forward Alfredo di Stéfano debuted for Real Madrid in a friendly against AS Nancy. The French side won 4-2.

Nicknamed "the Blond Arrow," Di Stéfano is considered to be one of the greatest footballers in history. He was born in Buenos Aires on 4 July 1926 and signed his first professional contract in 1944 with River Plate. He stayed with River Plate until 1948, including a brief loan spell with Hurucán. In 1948, as the result of players' strike in Argentina, he moved to Colombian side Los Millonarios.

In 1952, Millonarios were invited to Madrid to play in a tournament celebrating Real Madrid's 50th anniversary, which the Bogotá club won. Di Stéfano impressed the scouts in attendance and initially signed with Barcelona, but issues arose over his contract rights. Real president Santiago Bernabéu took advantage of the delay and convinced di Stéfano to sign instead with the Meringues. The incident aggravated the already-strained relations between the two Spanish giants.

Di Stéfano, who had already won both accolades and silverware with River Plate and Millonarios, reached greater heights with Real, including eight La Liga titles (1954-55, 1957-58, 1961-64) and five consecutive European Cup trophies (1956-60). He also won the Ballon d'Or in 1957 and 1959.

At the international level, di Stéfano played for three different sides--Argentina (four appearances), Colombia (six), and Spain (31), but never played in the World Cup.

He left Real after the 1963-64 season, accumulating 418 goals in 510 matches for the Spanish club. He retired from playing in 1966 after two seasons with Espanyol.

19 September 1948 - The Colombian Capital Classic

On 19 September 1948, Santa Fe defeated local rivals Millonarios 5-3 in the first official Bogotá derby, El Clásico Capitalino. (The coin toss for that match is shown to the right, with Sante Fe's captain on the right and Millonarios' captain on the left).

Millonarios was founded in 1946, though it traces its history back to 1937 through two earlier versions of the club. The name "Millonarios" had originally been a nickname given to the club for its heavy spending to bring in foreign players. Santa Fe was founded in 1941 in a Bogotá café and was named after the street on which the café was located.

The clubs first met in a local league match in 1942, when Millonarios were known as Club Deportivo Municipal, but the 1948 derby was the first meeting between the clubs as they currently exist and the first in the División Mayor del Fútbol Profesional Colombiano ("Dimayor" for short). 1948 was the inaugural season for the Dimayor, who had just seceded from FIFA over a dispute with the Colombian amateur football organization.

Both Millonarios and Sante Fe benefitted from working outside FIFA's constraints on transfer and player payments, and both were able to lure high-profile signings from both sides of the Atlantic. Millonarios acquired Alfredo di Stéfano and Adolfo Pedernera from River Plate, while Sante Fe signed Neil Franklin from Stoke and Charlie Mitten from Manchester United.

Santa Fe won the Dimayor in that first season, while Millonarios won it the next year. Between them, Santa Fe and Millonarios have won 19 first division titles, though the last title for either club was Millonarios' title in 1988.

13 June 1956 - Wolverhampton Weren't Invited, Apparently

On 13 June 1956, Real Madrid defeated Stade de Reims 4-3 in the very first European Cup Final, held at the Parc de Princes in Paris before a crowd of 38,239.

The tournament was conceived by Gabriel Hanot, a French sports journalist and editor of L'Équipe, who was motivated by the British press declaring Wolverhampton Wanderers "Champions of the World" after the club's string of successful European friendlies.

Real advanced to the Final with wins over Swiss side Servette (7-0 agg.), Yugoslavian team Partizan (4-3 agg.), and AC Milan (5-4 agg.). Reims secured their place in the Final by defeating Denmark's AGF Aarhus (4-2 agg.), Hungary's Vörös Lobogó, and Scotland's Hibernian, the only British team in the tournament (3-0 agg.).

In the Final, Reims took an shocking early lead with a 6th minute goal from defender Michel Leblond and another in the 10th minute from forward Jean Templin. Real equalized before the break with goals from midfielder Alfredo Di Stéfano (14') and forward Héctor Rial (30').

In the second half, Reims again took the lead with a goal from midfielder Michel Hidalgo (62'), but the Spanish side proved stronger down the stretch, getting an equalizer from defender Marquitos (67') before Rial scored the match winner in the 79th minute.

It was the first of five consecutive European Cup titles for Real, who now hold a record nine titles. Reims made it back to the Finals only once, in 1959, where they again lost to Real Madrid.

13 May 1960 - 3 Plus 4 Equals Number 5

On 13 May 1960, Real Madrid won their fifth consecutive European Cup Final, beating Eintracht Frankfurt by the score of 7-3 in front of a crowd of 135,000 people at Hampden Park in Glasgow.

Real's road to the Final was relatively easy, with impressive victories over Luxembourg side Jeunesse Esch (12-2 agg.), Nice (6-3 agg.), and La Liga rivals Barcelona (6-2 agg.), though the Meringues did lose the first leg to Nice 3-2 at the Stade du Ray before claiming a 4-0 win in the second leg at the Bernabéu.

Frankfurt's path was similarly smooth, with wins over Swiss side Young Boys (5-2 agg.), Austrian side Weiner Sportclub (3-2 agg.), and a 12-4 aggregate demolition of Glasgow Rangers.

In the Final, Frankfurt took an early lead with a goal from striker Richard Kress in the 18th minute. Real then opened the floodgates, however, with a hat-trick from their star Argentinian striker, Alfredo di Stéfano (27', 30' 73') and four goals from their equally-stellar Hungarian forward, Ferenc Puskás (46', 56', 60', 71'). Frankfurt's forward Erwin Stein scored two late goals (72', 75'), but the brace was a small consolation, as the match was effectively over by then.

Although one-sided, the match is widely considered one of the greatest European finals in history.