Rivalries
El Clásico
The rivalry with Barcelona projects what some regard as the political tensions felt between Castilians and Catalans.
From the early days of football in Spain the two clubs were seen as representatives of the Spanish State and Catalonia, as well as the two cities themselves which have moved in different directions culturally speaking.
Though Spain's first socialist party was founded in Madrid, almost all the ideas that have shaped country's modern history - republicanism, federalism, anarchism, syndicalism and communism - have tended to be associated with Barcelona.
On the other hand, Madrid is the seat of the government and of the royal family. Especially during the Francoist era, it came to represent the fascist, conservative, centripetal forces.
During the 1950s, the rivalry was intensified further when the clubs disputed the signing of Alfredo di Stéfano, who finally played for Real Madrid and was key in the subsequent success achieved by the club.
The 1960s saw the rivalry reach the European stage when they met twice at the European Cup, Real Madrid winning in 1960 and Barça winning in 1961.
In 2000, the rivalry was reinforced following the controversial decision by Luís Figo to leave Barça and sign for Real Madrid.
The two teams met again in the 2002 UEFA Champions League semi-final. Real Madrid, the eventual champion, won the clash dubbed by Spanish media as the Match of the Century.
As the two biggest and most successful clubs in the Spanish league, the rivalry is renewed on an annual basis with both teams often challenging each other for the league championship.
The rivarly was amplified to unprecedented heights in August 2009 as Real Madrid, in response to FC Barcelona caputuring the treble of League, Cup and Champions League, ushered in a new era of Galacticos with the acquisition of back to back FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon d'or winners Kaká and Cristiano Ronaldo, as well as Karim Benzema and Xabi Alonso among other stars, with expenditure totalling €300 million, while Barcelona also signed Zlatan Ibrahimovic to add to their already all star cast, thereby creating an arrayed star studded face off.
El Derbi madrileño
The club's nearest neighbour is Atlético Madrid, a rivalry is shared between fans of both football teams.
Although Atlético was originally founded by three Basque students in 1903, it was joined in 1904 by dissident members of Madrid FC.
Further tensions came because initially Real supporters came from the middle class while the Atlético supporters were drawn from the working class.
Today these distinctions are largely blurred. They met for the first time on 21 February 1929 in matchday three of the first League Championship at the former Chamartín.
It was the first official derby of the new tournament, and Real won 2–1.
The rivalry first gained international attention in 1959 during the European Cup when the two clubs met in the semi-final.
Real won the first leg 2–1 at the Bernabéu while Atlético won 1–0 at the Metropolitano.
The tie went to a replay and The Whites won 2–1. Atlético, however, gained some revenge when, led by former Real Madrid coach José Villalonga, it defeated The Whites in two successive Copa del Generalísimo finals in 1960 and 1961.
Between 1961 and 1989, when Real dominated La Liga, only Atlético offered it any serious challenge, winning Liga titles in 1966, 1970, 1973 and 1977.
In 1965, Atlético became the first team to beat Real at the Bernabéu in eight years.
Real Madrid's record against Atlético in more recent times is very favorable.
A high point coming in the 2002–03 season, when The Whites clinched the La Liga title after an impressive victory at Atlético 0-4 at the Vicente Calderón Stadium.