The Real Madrid Handbook

Book excerpt: The ultimate guide to Real Madrid. The Real Madrid Handbook is an entertaining compendium of fascinating facts, match coverage, stories, personalities and trivia from the biggest club team on the planet. Rab MacWilliam traces the history of Real Madrid from the early 20th century, examining its progress in the domestic cup and league, and analyses the impact that the Republic, the Spanish Civil War and the repressive authoritarian aftermath had on the club. He relates how the stunning success in European football in the mid-1950s to the early 1960s was one of the factors that helped to ease Spain's integration into Europe and explores the club's rise to become one of the most skilful and dominant teams in the global game over the last thirty years. Fascinating, informative, irreverent and insightful, The Real Madrid Handbook is the perfect guide to the history of this extraordinary club.