1981-1990
The
second half of the 1980's were incredible. Real Madrid won two UEFA Cups and
five consecutive League titles, the fifth which set a record. It was a lustrum
(1985 to 1990) during which the Whites amazed with two quintets that stirred
the imagination: “El Buitre” and “The Five Machos,” whose only pending
achievement during their brilliant careers was winning the European Cup.
One
minute spells the difference between glory and failure
The
1980/81 season had an unpleasant finish for Madrid. On 26 April 1981, they lost
the League when the victory chant was already being sung in Valladolid. Real
Sociedad, who drew (2-2) against Sporting in the last minute at El Molinón
claimed the title. Barely one month later, on 27 May, an Alan Kennedy goal
(82nd minute) gave Liverpool the European Cup, when overtime was the only fair
option.
The
players strike
The
professional Real Madrid squad was one of four teams of the Primera Division to
back the strike called on 11 April 1982. On that day, the Whites played at
Castellón with Castilla footballers and defeated the hosts 2-1.
The
Bernabéu host the 1982 World Cup final
The
final of the 1982 World Cup took place at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. In a
thrilling match, Italy outplayed Germany and won 3-1. What most spectators will
remember most from that 11 July 1982 was the joy that overcame Sandro Pertini,
President if Italy, each time the Italian side scored.
Di
Stéfano returns to the Club
With
the Presidential elections on the horizon, candidate Luis de Carlos introduced
Alfredo di Stéfano and Amancio Amaro as coaches of the first team and Castilla
on 19 May 1982. The Arrow left Madrid in 1964 and returned to the Club 18 years
later. De Carlos defeated Ramón Mendoza in the election and Di Stéfano, who
signed on for two years, won five runners-up titles in his first year as the
Madridista coach.
The
Arrow's second farewell
Once
the 1983/84 season had ended, Alfredo di Stéfano again said goodbye to Real
Madrid. Twenty-one years later he went through the same experience. His
contract ended on 30 June 1984 and Luis de Carlos decided not to resign him due
to the failure to achieve sporting success.
Historic
downpour of goals against Anderlecht
On
12 December 1984, Emilio Butragueño became a European household name with an
unforgettable performance against Anderlecht at the Bernabéu. The Belgians were
coming off a 3-0 first leg win in Brussels and had the next round of the UEFA
Cup in sight, but Butragueño crushed all their hopes with three goals (the
other three were scored by Valdano, two, and Sanchís) and Real Madrid won
convincingly 6-1.
Ramón
Mendoza initiates a new era
After
two brief stints as a Director and an election-time defeat to Luis de Carlos,
Ramón Mendoza's became President of Real Madrid in 1985. Mendoza's arrival was
the dawn of a new era in the history of the Club.
Back-to-back
UEFA Cup champions
Real
Madrid's first two UEFA Cup titles were won back-to-back. The first in 1984
against Hungary's Videoton (3-0 at Sosto Stadium and 0-1 in Chamartín), and the
second one year later after defeating FC Köln 5-1 at the Bernabéu and losing
2-0 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.
Longest
League in history won by Madrid
The
1986/87 season went down in history as the longest League in Spanish football.
After 34 matchdays, each team played 10 more games in a three-part playoff: the top
six teams would play for the title, which Real Madrid won, the next six would
battle it out for a spot in the League Cup with the possibility of
participating in the UEFA Cup, and the last six would duke it out to stave off
relegation.
Five
years of fantasy and dominance
The
Real Madrid of the Quinta del Buitre and the The
Five Machos won five consecutive Leagues with extraordinary authority
(1985/86 to 1989/90) and equalled the record achieved between 1960/61 and
1964/65. During the fifth League, Madrid set a new record by scoring 107 goals
in 38 matches. The years belonged to Butragueño's fantasy and the dominance of
Hugo Sánchez, who won the Golden Boot along with CSKA Sofia's Hristo
Stoitchkov.
Temporary
Di Stéfano-Camacho duo
On
17 November 1990, after sacking John Benjamín Toshack, Ramón Mendoza turned
back to the wisdom of Alfredo di Stéfano and the youth of José Antonio Camacho
to coach the team; a temporary duo while the President tried to woo Luis
Aragonés away from Espanyol to immediately take charge of the Madridista squad.
Luis didn't wanted to disassociate himself from the Catalan side, so Mendoza
signed Antic
Source : http://www.realmadrid.com
