La Fábrica (Real Madrid)
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La Fábrica ("The Factory") is the name given to
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
's
farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, 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 pl ...
and
academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
. 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, Real Madrid's training facility located in Valdebebas.


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 who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...
, known today as Real Madrid Castilla. RM Castilla is the most successful reserve side in the history of Spanish football, having amassed more points as of 2020 in the Spanish Second Division than any other reserve side. In 1980, RM Castilla even reached the final of the
Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...
, 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, is a Spanish association football team, and is Real Madrid's second reserve team. They play in , holding their home games at La Ciudad del Real Madrid in Valdebebas outside the cit ...
, 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 former 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." 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 as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...
titles, one Copa del Rey and six
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
s. A number of La Fábrica graduates contributed to Real's success in these years, including Pedro Casado, Enrique Mateos, Gregorio Benito, Juan Santisteban, Manuel Velázquez, Ramón Grosso, Fernando Serena and Ramón Marsal. Moreover, in the 1980s Real Madrid won five consecutive La Liga titles, two consecutive
UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...
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. This batch of "homegrown" Real Madrid players included Emilio Butragueño, Chendo, Manolo Sanchís, Ricardo Gallego, Míchel, Sebastián Losada, Miguel Pardeza and Rafael Martín Vázquez.


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-6-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 16 youth teams.


References


External links

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