1902-1910

A new sport from England called football started to take a grip of our country. Its quick uptake meant that in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century the first organisations were created for its practice. One of them was the Madrid Football Club, a predecessor of Real Madrid. Julián Palacios was its first figurehead, but it was Juan Padrós who formally constituted the institution (1902). Interest grew at such a rate that Madrid proposed a tournament in homage to king Alfonso XIII. The initiative became the Copa de España.

The figure of Julián Palacios was ever-present in the club's early years. It was he who, in 1900, called a general meeting to decide which players would form Madrid's first team. The Padrós brothers took the reins shortly afterwards. Football was starting to generate a lot of attention and the number of members was growing in leaps and bounds. Its constitution as a company came on the 6th of March 1902, with a board of directors presided by Juan Padrós.
 
Those visionary directors made a proposal to the mayor of Madrid, Alberto Aguilera; the constitution of the first football tournament. The first competition was established in honour of king Alfonso XIII. Five companies registered for the tournament, which was held in the Hipódromo. It was the beginnings of the Copa de España and of what would become Madrid's hallmark, victory. The Whites won four titles from the first six editions.
 

1902 - 1910
  1. THE ROYAL FAMILY ATTENDS A REAL MADRID CHARITY MATCH (1914)

    King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria Eugenia attend a match between Real Madrid and a selection of players from the Toledo Infantry Academy. The match was organised to raise money for victims of the Moroccan War, and ended with a 5-3 win for the Whites

  2. CARLOS PADRÓS IN FULL KIT

    The former 'first great Real Madrid president' (1904-1908) wears the club’s kit of the era before taking office as the president of the newly founded Madrid Association of Football Clubs

  3. SPANISH CHAMPIONS, 1905

    The medal presented to each of the Real Madrid players who were proclaimed Spanish champions after beating Athletic Club. The Whites won the match on the 18th of April 1905 courtesy of a Prast goal. It was the club’s first national title.

  4. SPANISH CHAMPIONS MEDAL 1905

    Real Madrid’s first official Spanish title. The Whites beat Athletic Club 1-0 to win the third edition of the Copa del Rey

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Arthur Johnson, a pioneer at the helm of the team

A piece of land adjacent to the bullring in Madrid was made into a pitch for the new company's first matches. The Padrós' backroom became the scene of endless football discussions. One man who always had something to say was Arthur Johnson, an English national based in Spain. With the aid of his scrawlings, Mr Johnson demonstrated what he considered to be the ‘keys to playing football correctly'. Almost by accident, the Englishman had become the first coach in the history of Madrid.

First international match against Gallia Sport from Paris (1905)

Such were the dimensions football was taking on that Carlos Padrós had taken on a new challenge, to organise an international game. Madrid covered all the costs of bringing Gallia Sport from Paris to the capital. The champions of France and Spain head to head. Ninety minutes later in the Hipódromo, the match finished in a one-all draw and the teams set a date for a rematch in the neighbouring country.

The Federación Española de Fútbol is born (1909)

At the end of the first decade of the twentieth century, significant problems arose with the Campeonato de España and some companies had begun to bicker. This led to the creation of the Federación Española de Fútbol (1909), whose beginnings were complicated, despite the unanimity of the constituent assembly at the time.

Honours

Regional Championship - 5

Regional Championship

5
Spanish Cup - 4

Spanish Cup

4
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