Real Madrid returned to the United States three summers on from the last visit which is also the 21st time in the club’s history. The club’s first visit to the North American country was right back in 1927. In that year, the White Team played out a 1-1 stalemate with Galicia SC in New York. The club has since gone on to contest 46 games on US soil and will play a further three this summer, with meetings against Barcelona (Las Vegas), Club América (San Francisco) and then Juventus (Los Angeles).
The crazy adventure in 1927
The match vs Galicia SC was actually part of a bigger tour which saw Real Madrid visit several countries in the Americas. That year they spent 18 hours at sea after leaving from the port of Barcelona towards South America in July.
"It wasn't at all pleasant," Santiago Bernabeu later said. He continued: "We encountered a ferocious storm along the Uruguayan coast. But we got used to these like an attack on goal, we came through the bad moments with philosophy and absolute resignation. We tried to make the best of it."
Los Blancos played 15 matches in six different countries during the tour, with games being played in Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Cuba, Mexico and the United States. Bernabeu was with the travelling party, but starting goalkeeper Candido Martinez and goalscorer Juan Monjardin weren't and players from other clubs like Jose Maria Yermo of Arenas and Travieso of Athletic Club were brought in to make up the numbers.
Back home, Spanish football was planning for the creation of a professional league and, as a result of being away, Real Madrid were fined 1,000 pesetas. Real Madrid played their first match in the Americas against a team made up of players from Buenos Aires which ended in a 0-0 draw in Argentina. After a 3-2 defeat against similar opposition, Los Blancos got their first win in America when they beat Boca Juniors 2-1.
However, a 4-0 thrashing by Newell's Old Boys the next day soon put a dampener on proceedings. By September, the team had passed through Uruguay, Peru and Cuba and made their way to Mexico. Fights in the stands at one game caused some players to get involved and Jose Maria Munagorri took matters into his own hand.
Munagorri then had to grab hold of a boat after he'd gone into the sea to rescue his teammate Jose Maria Pena. Pena had encountered a group of sharks while out for a swim in the sea and was eventually rescued by the boat crew.
Before travelling to New York, the Real Madrid squad thought that a revolution was taking place when they heard gun shots. It turned out to be people celebrating Mexican Independence Day on September 16. After that, Los Blancos played their final match of the tour against a Galicia SC side made up of Irish, Italian and Czech players in Brooklyn.
Di Stéfano’s Madrid
Following on from the first visit, it wasn’t until 30 years later that the club returned to the USA. In 1959, the Whites contested two games at Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field baseball ground. In those days, Di Stéfano, Puskas and Gento led a side that rewrote the history books courtesy of the trophy triumphs in the European Cup. Two years later, in 1961, the side visited Los Angeles for the first time. On that occasion, Madrid ran out comprehensive 9-0 winners over Los Angeles United, where Di Stéfano scored a hat trick. In that contest it was actress Rita Hayworth who took the honorary kick-off.
Madrid yeyé
The madridistas’ fourth stateside visit came in 1965, at the start of the season that yielded the club’s sixth European Cup crown. The yeyé side, including Grosso and Zoco recorded a 1-1 draw with Independent in New York. In 1967, Houston welcomed Real Madrid as the Whites edged out West Ham in a 3-2 win. The following year, our team travelled to New York’s Yankee Stadium and recorded a 4-1 triumph over the New York General.
Return during the glorious years with the 'Quinta del Buitre'
More than two decades later, the Whites returned. In 1990, coming from a 5 Liga trophies in a row led by the 'Quinta del Buitre' and Hugo Sanchez, they spent 25 days in Mexico and America. After a fantastic league campaign of 107 goals in 1989-90, Toshack's side, with Buyo, Gordillo and top scorer Hugo Sánchez emerged victorious in three of the four games they played in Los Angeles, California. The members of the 'Quinta del Buitre' did not travel as they were at the World Cup in Italy.
21st century
The Whites’ first visit to the USA in the 21st century took place in 2002, the year of the club’s centenary, with the team travelling to New Jersey to face Roma. Three years later, with a squad boasting the likes of Ronaldo and Beckham , the madridistas kicked off a tour also saw them take in the Asian continent in Chicago as the Whites got the better of both Chivas de Guadalajara (3-1) and LA Galaxy (2-0).
The team also contested two games in the USA in 2006. The first run-out was in Seattle against DC United (1-1), before Utah witnessed the Whites claim a 2-0 victory over Real Salt Lake City. In 2009, Real Madrid chose Washington as their destination and the FedEx Field provided the setting as the madridistas eased to a 3-0 win over DC United.
LA takes centre stage
Real Madrid’s first pre-season training camp in Los Angeles was in 2010. The team faced off against the LA Galaxy at the Rose Bowl, before doing battle with Mexico’s América in San Fransisco. The following year, the Whites were back for more and claimed wins in Los Angeles, San Diego and Philadelphia, whilst the 2012 trip involved visits to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York and Philadelphia and the 2013 pre-season featured trips to Phoenix, Saint Louis, Los Angeles and Miami, where the team lifted the International Champions Cup after seeing off Chelsea in the final. Meanwhile, in 2014, Los Angeles, Dallas and Michigan played host to the Whites’ expedition.
Most recent visits
Following a one-year absence, Real Madrid returned to the USA in 2016 for games in Ohio, Michigan and New Jersey. The 2017 tour served up the first-ever Clásico played outside of Spain as Miami hosted the showdown in a year that also involved visits to Santa Clara, Los Angeles and Chicago. In 2018, Miami, Maryland and New Jersey were the settings for meetings with Manchester United, Juventus and Roma and our team were back stateside in 2019 for the fourth summer in the row for matches in Houston, Maryland and New Jersey against Bayern, Arsenal and Atlético respectively.
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