Real Madrid all-time team

2016 Champion's league

This is my selection of a 25 member all-time team for Real Madrid.  The number 25 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the Champions' League.  

Real Madrid is the most successful club in soccer's history.  They have won more titles in Europe than any other clubs. Led by President Santiago Bernabeu, the club began to dominate European football during the 1950's.  They won five straight European Cup between 1956 and 1960.  The team that beat Eintracht Frankfurt in 1960 was widely considered to be greatest club in history.  At the time of writing, they won a record of 11 European Cups/Champions' league titles.  They won a record 6 European Cups, and after the European Champions League became the Champions' League, they won 5 more, also a record for the competition.

2001 Champions' League

The Team
GK: Ricardo Zamora (Spain)
The first ever star goalkeeper in history.  He is also remembered for a spectacular last minute save he made in the 1936 Copa de España final while playing for Real Madrid against FC Barcelona. The award for the best goalkeeper in La Liga, the Ricardo Zamora Trophy, is named in his honour and he was voted one of the greatest players of the 20th century by World Soccer magazine. He was also Spain's most capped player for 45 years.

GK: Iker Casillas (Spain)
Iker Casillas is Spain's most decorated goalkeeper. He won three Champions' League with Real Madrid.  For Spain, he captained Spain into winning the WC in 2010 and two European Championships in 2008 and 2012.  He is capped over 150 times. 

Casillas and the 2015 Champions' League

GK: Franisco Buyo (Spain)
Buyo at the time of his retirement was the third highest in La Liga appearance record.  he spent over a decade with Real madrid, winning 13 titles with them.  He earned 7 caps.



CB/RB: Sergio Ramos (Spain)
Part of the all-conquering Spanish team that won the WC and two European Championships.  He is the youngest player ever to receive his 100th caps. He joined Real Madrid as a teenager. He scored the tying goal as Real Madrid won their 10th European Cup in 2014.  He also won his second Champions' League title by scoring a goal in the 2016 Final.

Sergio Ramos

RB: Chendo (Spain)
Chendo was a product of Real Madrid academy.  He played his entire career with Real Madrid.  He was a part of the team that won back-to-back UEFA Cup titles in the mid-1980's.  He retired after the 1998 European Champions' League Final.  He represented Spain at both WC Finals in 1986 and 1990.

CB: Jose Santamaria (Uruguay)
Jose Santamaria was a member of Real Madrid's all-conquering team of the late 1950's.  He spent his 18-year career with Nacional and Real Madrid, winning 17 major titles the two teams combined, including four European Cups with the latter.  He was considered one of the best ever center-backs.

CB:  Fernando Hierro (Spain)
At one point, he was Spain's all-time leading scorer and he was a center-back.  He was capped 90 times, whilst appearing in four World Cups and two European Championships. For Real Madrid, he won three Champions' League titles.  He is considered to be Spain's greatest defenders.

Hierro

CB: Manuel Sanchez Hontiyuelo (Spain)
Son of Manuel Sanchez Martinez, he was was a member of the legendary Quinta del Buitre of Real Madrid.  He spent his entire career with Real Madrid and played over 700 matches.  He won back-to-back UEFA in the mid-1980's, and then, two Champions' league title at the end of his career.  For Spain, he was capped 48 times.

CB:  Jacinto Quincoces (Spain)
One of the greatest defenders of the pre-war era. He won the first ever title for Real Madrid in 1930.  Widely considered one of the first soccer idols in Spain.

Quincoces

LB:  Jose Antonio Camacho (Spain)
Camacho is widely considered to be Spain's greatest leftback.  He played at  the 1982 and 1986 FIFA World Cups, as well as the Euro 1984 and 1988. Spain reached the Final in 1984.  He was with the great Real Madrid side of the 1980's.  He won 19 titles with Real Madrid, including two UEFA Cups.

LB: Roberto Carlos (Brazil)
He was regarded one of the best leftbacks in history.  He had 125 caps for Brazil playing in three WC Finals. He won 3 Champions League titles with Real Madrid and one WC title with Brazil in 2002.  In 1997 he was runner-up in the FIFA World Player of the Year.  He is especially famous for a free kick from 35m out against France in the  Tournoi de France 1997. The goal is considered one of the greatest goals ever scored.

Roberto Carlos

CM: Fernando Redondo (Argentina)
Fernando Redondo was known as one of the best central midfielders in Real Madrid's history.  He won two Champions' League for them. For the national team, he only picked up 29 caps because he had issues with various managers.

Redondo

CM: Miguel Munoz(Spain)
He was the captain of Real Madrid's first two European Cup winning sides in 1956 and 1957.  He became the coach of the side in 1959. He won two more European Cup as the coach.

DM:  Jose Pirri (Spain)
He is regarded as one of Spain's greatest player.  He played in two WC Finals. He played for Real Madrid for 15 years, between 1964 and 1979, winning ten Spanish league titles, four Spanish cups, and the 1966 European Cup. He was a member of the Real Madrid team that was known as the Yé-Yé team.

Pirri

RW/FW: Amancio Amaro (Spain)
Nicknamed "El Brujo".  He scored one of the most beautiful goal in European Cup history when Real Madrid lifted the title in 1966. He won the 1964 European Football Championship.

AM/RW: Raymond Kopa  (France)
He was considered to be "Les Bleus"'s greatest player before the emerge of Platini. He won the the European Footballer of the Year in 1958 and three European Cups with Real Madrid in the 1950's.  He also played with Stade de Reims before joining the legendary Real Madrid team of the 1950's. 

LW:  Francisco Gento (Spain)
He is regarded as one of the greatest left wings in history.  He won 6 European Cups(a record) and 12 La Liga titles with Real Madrid.  
In a 14-year international career, Gento earned 43 caps for Spain, playing at the World Cup in 1962 and 1966.

AM: Zinedine Zidane (France)
He was named the best European footballer of the past 50 years in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll, and has been described as one of the greatest players in the history of the game.  He won the FIFA World Player of the Year award three times.  He led France to victory at  the World Cup in 1998 and the European Championship in 2000.  With Real Madrid, he also won the Champions League in 2002, where he scored one of the greatest goals in history at the Final. 

Zidane

ST: Carlos Santillana (Spain)
Santillana moved to Real Madrid in 1971 as a heir apparent to Puskus.  He played over 450 matches for Real Madrid.  He won back-to-back UEFA Cup in the mid-1980's.

ST: Emilio Butragueño (Spain)
Nicknamed El Buitre (The Vulture), he was a member of the legendary Quinta del Buitre of Real Madrid, along with Manolo Sanchís, Rafael Martín Vázquez, Míchel and Miguel Pardeza. That team won 5 straight La Liga and two UEFA Cups from 1985 to 1990.  He went to the WC Finals in 1986 and 1990.  He scored 4 goals against the great Danish side in 1986 quarter-final.

Butragueño

CM/AM/FW:  Alfredo Di Stefano (Argentina)
The best player in the world before the emerge of Pele and Maradona. He won 5 straight European Cups with Real Madrid. He was credited in turning Real Madrid into a legendary club. He was one of the younger member of the great River Plate in the 1940's.

Di Stefano

ST/FW: Ferenc Puskas  (Hungary)
He was one of the greatest footballers in history.  He scored 84 goals in 85 international matches for Hungary. He became Olympic champion in 1952 and led his nation to the final of the 1954 World Cup where he was named the tournament's best player.  He played with Honved at home and went to Real Madrid after the Soviet invasion.  With Alfredo Di Stefano, Raymond Kapo, etc, Real Maadrid became the greatest club team in history.

Di Stefano and Puskas

ST: Raul (Spain)
He was probably the best Spanish player in the late 1990's.  He won 3 Champions' League trophies with Real Madrid in 1998, 2000 and 2002.  He moved to Germany in 2010 and played with Schalke 04 He is the fourth highest goal scorer in the history of La Liga with 228 goals. 

Raul

ST: Hugo Sanchez (Mexico)
He was considered to be the best Mexican player of all-time. He is remembered for his career in Spain where he played for both Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid.  He won 5 straight Pichichi title in Spain.  With Real Madrid, he won five consecutive league titles (from 1985-86 to 1989-90), the Copa del Rey in 1989, and the UEFA Cup in 1986.  The team was the dominant team in Spain during the 1980's.

FW/LW: Cristano Ronaldo (Portugal)
He is one of the greatest forward of his generation.  He is the most expensive players in history from 2009-2013 when he moved from Manchester United to Real Madrid.  At the time of writing, he won the Ballon d'Or winner three times and won Champions' League titles with both Manchester United and Real Madrid.  In 2016, he helped Portugal to win the European Championship, a month after winning the Champions' League with Real Madrid.

Ronaldo

Honorable Mention
Juan Alonso, Luis Molowny, Marquitos, Michel Salgado, Michel, Pepe, Rafael Gordillo, Xabi Alonso, Manuel Sanchez Martinez, Gunter Netzer, Ronaldo, Pahino, Rene Petit, Jose Maria Zarraga, Ignacio Zoco, Josep Samitier, Ricardo Gallego, Michel, Vicente del Bosque, Michael Laudrup, Luis Figo, Juanito, Marcelo, Ivan Zamorano.

Squad Explanation

• Ricardo Zamora and Iker Casillas are considered among the greatest keepers ever played in history.  The battle was between Juan Alonso and Buyo for the third spot. I took Buyo because he had contributed more although Juan Alonso had won more important titles.
• Miguel Munoz and Manuel Sanchez Jr were chosen because of their importance and services to the club. Manuel Sanchez Sr missed out. Munoz was the captain for the first ever European Cup.
• Sergio Ramos has scored plenty of important goals for the club. He actually kept Salgado out of squad because Ramos can play two, different position.
• Pepe does not appear in many Real Madrid all-time list, but his performance in the last few seasons and his long service to club earned him a place in the honorable mention.
• Amancio Amaro's goal won the 1966 European Cup.  He was the hero of 1966.  I took him ahead of Luis Figo, Michael Laudrup and Michel.
• Josep Samiter played most of his career for Barcelona FC.  Luis Figo, at least, spent more time here.  Thus, he made the honourable mention.
• Ronaldo (Brazil) did not win much here.
• Dida was not successful with the club and he was never  considered.

Formation

-- Sergio Ramos is a better centerback than rightback, but he won't start ahead of Hierro or Santamaria.  So I put him at rightback.  

-- Raul is not a centre forward so I put on the right side as a secondary striker or forward. This is the only way where I can play both Raul and Cristano Ronaldo.