Real Madrid in La Liga

Real Madrid In La Liga

Real Madrid C.F. is an association football club based in Madrid, that competes in La Liga, the most senior football league in Spain. The club was formed in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, and played its first competitive match on 13 May 1902, when it lost 3–1 in the semi-final of the Campeonato de Copa de S.M. Alfonso XIII against FC Barcelona. Real Madrid played against other local clubs in various regional tournaments disputed from 1902 to 1940. However, in 1929 the club became one of the founding members of La Liga, Spain's first national league. As of 2012, Real is one of only three clubs never to have been relegated from the top level of Spanish football, the others being Athletic Bilbao and FC Barcelona.

From 1902 to 1929 Real won the Copa del Rey five times and the regional championship 15 times. Real Madrid had a successful start in La Liga, finishing second in the competition's first season, and winning the league in 1932 for the first time. In the 1947–48 season, Real Madrid finished eleventh, which remains, as of 2012, the club's lowest finishing position. Real Madrid won La Liga four times and the European Cup five times during the 1950s. However, the most successful period for the club in terms of domestic titles was the 1960s, when Real Madrid won eight league championships. It is also the only Spanish football team to win five consecutive titles, a feat which it has achieved on two occasions (1960–65 and 1985–90).

Real Madrid first participated in European competition during the 1954–55 La Liga season, when it played in the Latin Cup. It won its first European title, and the inaugural European Cup, during the 1955–56 season. Real Madrid won the first five editions of the European Cup, and a further four times, the last of which was in 2002. Its nine trophies is the record number of victories by any club. The club won the UEFA Cup during the 1984–85 season and retained the trophy the following year. It won its first double of league championship and Copa in 1962. Real Madrid is the second most successful club in UEFA competitions, winning 15.

The club has won the La Liga championship 32 times, the Copa del Rey 18 times, the Copa de la Liga once, the Supercopa de España 10 times (including Copa Eva Duarte), the European Cup nine times, the UEFA Cup twice, the European Super Cup once and the Intercontinental Cup three times. The table details the club's achievements in the early regional championships and in all national and international first-team competitions for each completed season since the club's formation in 1902.