La Fábrica ("The Factory") is the name given to

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

and

academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

. Considered one of the best player development centres in the world, La Fábrica has produced a number of players that have contributed to Real Madrid's sustained sporting success since its inception. La Fábrica is housed in

Ciudad Real Madrid The Ciudad Real Madrid (Real Madrid City) is the name given to Real Madrid's training complex, located outside Madrid in Valdebebas near Barajas airport. Also hosting the club's youth academy, known conceptually as '' La Fábrica'', the facility ...

, Real Madrid's training facility located in

Valdebebas Valdebebas () is an urban development under construction in the city of Madrid, Spain near Barajas Airport. It will host around 12,500 apartments and houses for a population of 40,000 inhabitants. The Valdebebas Woodland Park is being constructed w ...

History

In 1942, AD Plus Ultra, a local Madrid club then in the Spanish Third Division, agreed to become Real Madrid's feeder club in return for financial support. In 1972, AD Plus Ultra became Real's official

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

, known today as

Real Madrid Castilla Real Madrid Castilla Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football team that plays in Primera Federación – Group 1 for the 2022–23 season. It is Real Madrid's reserve team. They play their home games at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium with a cap ...

. RM Castilla is the most successful reserve side in the history of Spanish football, having amassed more points in the

Spanish Second Division Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

than any other reserve side. In 1980, RM Castilla even reached the final of the

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...

, Spain's premier domestic cup competition, where they lost the title to Real Madrid's first team squad. Similarly, in the 1950s, ''Real Madrid Aficionados'' (English: Real Madrid Amateurs) was formed as an amateur competitive team affiliated with Real Madrid. That club eventually became

Real Madrid C Real Madrid Club de Fútbol C, commonly known as Real Madrid C, was a Spanish association football team that played in the Tercera División – Group 7. It was Real Madrid's second reserve team. They played their home games at La Ciudad del ...

, and served as Real's second reserve team – after RM Castilla – until the team was disbanded in 2015. The youth academy system itself was established and developed in the 1950s by former ''Real Madrid Aficionados'' player Miguel Malbo under the tutelage of the then-Real Madrid president, Santiago Bernabéu. Malbo went on to serve as Director of La Fábrica for over 50 years.

Isidoro San José Isidoro San José Pozo (born 27 October 1955) is a Spanish retired footballer. Mainly a right back

, former Real Madrid player, La Fábrica alumnus and deputy director at La Fábrica, said of Malbo's legacy at Real Madrid, "In his day, he was one of the people that contributed most to Real Madrid, and to Madrid's

cantera Cantera, literally meaning "quarry" in Spanish, is a term used in Spain to refer to youth academies and farm teams organized by sports clubs. It is also used to refer to the geographical area that clubs recruit players from. The term is widely u ...

." Since its beginnings in the 1950s, countless players have progressed through the ranks of La Fábrica's youth academy, and some of these graduates have contributed to Real Madrid's formidable sporting success both domestically and internationally. Some periods of success are particularly noteworthy. Between 1955 and 1965, Real Madrid won eight

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

titles, one Copa del Rey and six

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

s. A number of La Fábrica graduates contributed to Real's success in these years, including

Pedro Casado Pedro Casado Bucho (20 November 1937 – 10 January 2021) was a Spanish footballer who played as a defender. Club career Casado spent one full decade under contract to Real Madrid, but only played seven La Liga seasons effectively with the tea ...

Enrique Mateos Enrique Mateos Mancebo (15 July 1934 – 6 July 2001) was a Spanish footballer who played as a striker. He amassed La Liga totals of 123 games and 48 goals over the course of 13 seasons, representing in the competition Real Madrid, Sevilla an ...

Gregorio Benito Gregorio "Goyo" Benito Rubio (21 October 1946 – 2 April 2020) was a Spanish footballer who played as a central defender. He spent most of his 16-year professional career with Real Madrid. Club career Benito was born in El Puente del Arzobis ...

Juan Santisteban Juan Santisteban Troyano (born 8 December 1936) is a Spanish retired Association football, football midfielder and Coach (sport), manager. Honours Player ;Real Madrid *Intercontinental Cup (football), Intercontinental Cup: 1960 Intercontinental ...

Manuel Velázquez Manuel Velázquez Villaverde (24 January 1943 – 15 January 2016) was a Spanish footballer who played as a central midfielder. Club career Born in Madrid, Velázquez spent all of his 12 years in La Liga with Real Madrid. After three seasons ...

Ramón Grosso Ramón Moreno Grosso (8 December 1943 – 13 February 2002) was a Spanish football forward and manager. He spent 12 La Liga seasons with Real Madrid, appearing in 366 competitive matches (75 goals scored) and winning 11 major titles, including ...

Fernando Serena Fernando Rodríguez Serena (28 January 1941 – 15 October 2018) was a Spanish footballer who played as a right winger. He appeared in 144 La Liga matches during nine seasons, scoring a combined 23 goals for Real Madrid, Osasuna and Elche. Wit ...

and

Ramón Marsal Ramón Marsal Ribó (12 December 1934 – 22 January 2007) was a Spanish footballer, who played three seasons in the dominating Real Madrid team in the 1950s. His career came to an early end due to an injury.

. Moreover, in the 1980s Real Madrid won five consecutive La Liga titles, two consecutive

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

s (then known as the UEFA Cup), and reached three consecutive Champions League (then known as the European Cup) semi-finals with a squad composed mostly of players formed at La Fábrica, also known as

La Quinta del Buitre is the moniker given by Spanish sport journalist Julio César Iglesias to the five homegrown Real Madrid players who were at the core of the team that dominated Spanish football in the 1980s. The name ("Vulture's Cohort") was derived from Emili ...

. This batch of "homegrown" Real Madrid players included

Emilio Butragueño Emilio Butragueño Santos (; born 22 July 1963) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a striker. He was best known for his spell with Real Madrid. Nicknamed ''El Buitre'' (The Vulture), he was a member of the '' La Quinta del Buitre'' ...

, Chendo,

Manolo Sanchís Manuel Sanchís Hontiyuelo (; born 23 May 1965) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a sweeper. A part of the famous ''La Quinta del Buitre'' which stemmed from the Real Madrid youth academy, he was the only of its five members to ...

Ricardo Gallego Ricardo Gallego Redondo (born 8 February 1959 in Madrid) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Most of his professional career was associated to Real Madrid, for which he appeared in more than 300 official game ...

, Míchel,

Sebastián Losada Sebastián Losada Bestard (born 3 September 1967) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a striker. He amassed La Liga totals of 131 matches and 34 goals over nine seasons in representation of five teams, starting his career with Real M ...

Miguel Pardeza Miguel Pardeza Pichardo (born 8 February 1965) is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played as a forward. He was part of Real Madrid's generation of footballers known as '' La Quinta del Buitre'', but spent the better part of his ca ...

and

Rafael Martín Vázquez Rafael Martín Vázquez (born 25 September 1965) is a Spanish former professional Association football, footballer who played mostly as an Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder. He represented most notably Real Madrid CF, Real ...

Organization

Real Madrid Castilla is a fully professional team; all other teams at La Fábrica are youth teams including everything from under-19-year-olds to under-8-year-olds. Each youth team competes in a league of its own. Youth players must aspire to progress through the ranks if they wish to eventually debut in Real's first-team squad. La Fábrica has more than 270 youth players spread across all 12 youth teams. Iker Casillas 2012

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:La Fabrica Buildings and structures in Barajas District, Madrid Real Madrid CF Football academies in Spain