There was a time when a patch of land where four skyscrapers now violate the northern horizon of Madrid smelled of grass, mud and dreams of glory. In the 50s, many people from the working class of Madrid would go on to be star players for Real Madrid. Real Madrid’s talent school was one of the best in Europe in these years. Miguel Malbo was the pioneer in designing the talent school, back then. The infrastructure and working methods that were then applied by the technicians of the Real Madrid quarry for decades.

La Fábrica would have a focus on affection and remember that behind the footballer there is also a person who is growing. La Fábrica has produced many thousands of talents in the football scene, but only a very small percentage of them reached the first team of Real Madrid or their celebrated national team. The coaches of Real Madrid have always believed in the strength of youth and in the autochthonous product when the club looked away from La Castellana to straighten its course or alleviate the effects of a specific sports crisis.

The home of Real Madrid’s youth development.

La Quinta del Buitre, led by Emilio Butragueño, would transcend the football world to become a social phenomenon while the whole country tried to assimilate to the complex times of the political transition. La Quinta del Buitre was a group of homegrown Spanish boys coming through La Fábrica. The group had 5 members, four of them was from Madrid (Emilio Butragueño, Sanchís, Rafael Martín Vázquez and Míchel) and one from Huelva (Miguel Pardeza), to bring the flair back to Madrid from the 50s. The original name came from a Julio César Iglesias article in 1983. The name was “Amancio y la quinta del Buitre” which meant Amancio and the five of the Vulture. Amancio was the coach of the Real Madrid Castilla. The article Julio César Iglesias wrote is about the incredible batch of young people who were part of the Castilla. Castilla had become champions of the Spanish Second Division, being the only subsidiary to achieve it in history. That team was led by the Madridista Amancio Amaro. Amancio played an attacking, possession heavy style. They would always try to win the game in a beautiful way.

Picture of the Castilla team and Amancio y la quinta del Buitre by the well-liked journalist Julio César Iglesias

The Castilla team finished last season 7th in the league after an amazing Real Murcia team won the league in 1982-83. The following season would be totally different because the second team of clubs like Real Madrid and Bilbao would dominate the league. Castilla would start off the season with 1 draw and 2 big wins against Vigo and Huelva. Following the brilliant start, Castilla would lose two games. Emilio Butragueño had scored 4 goals against Huelva which was the first a player to do that for Castilla. Castilla would, after the two bad games, go on a 12 game streak without a loss.

Against Bilbao Athletic, there was a massive hype around the Castilla team and specially Amancio y la quinta del Buitre. It was the 28th of November 1983. Bilbao Athletic and Real Castilla were 1st and 2nd in the league at the time. Both teams were the most exciting things happening outside of Maradona and Spanish politics. The Castilla team was well aware that something huge was about to happen. The team was winning games by big margins and Emilio Butragueño was scoring game in and out. They won games in such an entertaining way that they gathered huge crowds in the old Ciudad Deportiva, Real Madrid’s training ground and Castilla’s usual home stadium. The entrance for second division games in Spain was free which meant teams in the league didn´t have money to buy talent but instead had to produce local talent. When Castilla realised that they would have way more than 5.000 supporters at the game, they started to charge for admission. The games played by Castilla were so entertaining for the fans that they moved all of Castilla’s matches to the Santiago Bernabeu itself. The first game at the Santiago Bernabeu for Castilla was the game against Bilbao Athletic. The big star for Bilbao was Julio Salinas, who would score more goals than Emilio. Amancio y la quinta del Buitre had filled 70% Bernabeu´s capacity, which was 63.000 people.

Emilio Butragueño would put on a show on Santiago Bernabeu.

This itself was impressive, but Amancio y la quinta del Buitre would even put on a show and win the game with 4-1. The team wasn´t even affected by the huge pressure from the fans, instead, they embraced it. Amancio Amaro devoted all of his team´s talent “into feeding a short, blondish forward with the face of a child and an amazing ability to fool his markers inside the box. Emilio Butragueño, nicknamed ‘Buitre’ because of the similarity of his last name with the Spanish word for vulture, was the leader of that team, the unpredictable factor who could finish off a match in five minutes of inspiration”. – Eduardo Álvarez

Emilio Butragueño had a hard start at Real Madrid because of his height. This came close to resulting in him joining Atletico Madrid, he even trained with Atletico a few times. However, Emilio´s hardcore Madridista father went to Emilio´s room and asked him: “Son, how on earth are you going to play for Atletico? I can’t let you do that”. Emilio´s father would, through his contacts at Real Madrid, give his son another chance at Real Madrid and in time Emilio would play 14 years with Los Blancos.

Alfredo Di Stefano, after becoming a legend as a Los Blancos player, was at that time the coach for Real Madrid team. Di Stefano noticed “Amancio y la quinta del Buitre” in the Segunda Division and was slowly moving the players from Amancio y la quinta del Buitre to the first team. The first two to start for the first team were Sanchís and Martín Vázquez, who played against Real Murcia on December 4, 1983. Sanchis would even score a goal in his first game with the team. They won 1-0 away from home.

Sanchís scored in his debut for Real Madrid´s first team.

A few weeks later, Miguel Pardeza would debut for the first team against Espanyol, ​​and on February 5, 1984, Butragueño would take his first step on Santiago Bernabeu for the first team. The reason why Emilio was not the first player to debut for the first team was because of Real Madrid´s offence already was stacked with forwards Juan Gómez “Juanito” and Carlos Alonso “Santillana”. Real Madrid’s forwards were top class at the time while the midfield was mediocre for a top team. Manuel Sanchis had the ability to play defensive midfielder and Martín Vázquez playing like the offensive midfield in the squad, and that´s why they came into the team before Emilio. The hype was still greater around Butragueño. Butragueño would be on the bench against Cadiz. At half time Real Madrid was 2-0 down against Cadiz. Alfredo Di Stéfano would say to Butragueño “Nene, calentá!”(“Kid, warm up!” with a heavy Argentinean accent). Butragueño would come into the game instead of Santillana. Butragueño’s nickname among his teammates wasn´t El Buitre, but instead “El Niño”. Butragueño would turn around the game with 2 goals and 1 assist. Butragueño would become an international phenom and this would put Real Madrid back in the spotlight in Spain. The first interview Butragueño had on national TV he was asked who was his football inspiration and he answered Johann Cruyff as his biggest football inspiration, which left many Real Madrid fans confused.

Butragueño´s superb debut against Cadíz

Amancio y la quinta del Buitre would play some games for the Castilla and some for the first team, except Michel, he didn´t debut for the first team for this season. Castilla would have a superb season and even ended up winning the league, which was the first and only time Real Madrid second team won the Segunda Division. Unfortunately, Castilla cannot get promoted to the first division, because a subsidiary team can´t play in the same league with their first team. This was also the only time that two subsidiaries occupied the first two places in the Second Division. Míchel would not debut until the second of September of that same year, in the first league match of that season.

Quinta del Buitre members:

Emilio Butragueño‘s style of play was pictured through his characteristic movement, the so-called “neutral feint”. He worked inside the penalty box and with the ball asleep at his feet. It was not that his body gave false clues, it was that he didn´t give any. Then with the defender completely hypnotized, he would start getting the space for a needed shot or assist, although Emilio wasn´t so much a goal scorer. Instead, was he great at highlighting the creation of space, which is one of the most underrating aspect of football. Eden Hazard and Lorenzo Insigne are great examples of these type of players. Emilio had a great collaboration with Hugo Sánchez which result in 208 goals over five seasons.

Martín Vázquez´s individual technique made him one of the best offensive midfielders in the world, although his reserved nature and his inconsistency would make him one of the scapegoats to the sometimes unfair Madridista fans. He himself was okay with it because someone should be the guy in the group.

Michel was described by Martín Vázquez as of the best midfielders of this country ever, not only for his quality but also for how he handled the ball with both legs. In addition, he had an extraordinary ball displacement, a center with a thread that benefited a lot from Butragueño, Hugo Sánchez, and Santillana. He had a great vision of the game and a lot of leadership. Michel played as a right midfielder.

Manuel Sanchís is a central defender that stood out for his defensive composure and positioning. Manuel played with such aggression that most of the hardcore 80s defenders from Italy would have massive respect for him. He set a new standard in Spania with his skillset. Hierro was heavily inspired by Sanchís with a similar playstyle.

Miguel Pardeza was as an offensive player with skills, vision and scoring ability. Miguel Pardeza was a decent goalscorer but was also the perfect spark plug for a team, as an early Mertens at Napoli. He could also play as another forward like Butragueño.Butragueño.

Left to right: Butragueño, Pardeza, Michel, Sanchís, Vazquez

The first season for the Amancio y la quinta del Buitre was not a superb season for Real Madrid. Real Madrid was slowly going through a rebuild and the Quinta would be the core of the new super team. At the time Hugo Sanchez played for Atletico Madrid and was also the top scorer in the league. Real Madrid squad had an average age of 23,38 years, which is extremely low for a team. Real Madrid only brought in two players that season in Valdano (from Zaragoza) and Michel (from the second team). Amancio would play his classic 4-4-2 with his fast-paced play.

Real Madrid played in the UEFA Cup that season which much more success. Real Madrid first game of the season was against Barcelona. Barcelona would destroy the young Madrid team 3-0 and that was for many the end of Madrid´s title hope because of the difference between Barcelona and Real. The first European game was against Wattens-Wacker from Austria. They smashed the Austrian team 5-0 with 2 goals from Michel. This was Michel’s second game for Real Madrid´s first team. The interesting thing about their team is that it was a mixture of technically gifted players (like Butragueño and Michel), and Jose Antonio Camacho and Miguel Porlán “Chendo” who were players that would fight for every ball.

Going further through the young Madrid team’s first season, Real Madrid played in the last 16 of the UEFA Cup. Real Madrid was playing against RSC Anderlecht. The Anderlecht team had players like Morten Olsen, Frank Arnesen and a young Vincenzo Scifo. Anderlecht had won the previous round against a Fiorentina team with Socrates, by scoring 6 goals in the game in Brussels. Anderlecht would continue beating big teams with a 3-0 win against Real Madrid in Brussels. Anderlecht scored all their goals in the last 20 minutes of the game.

The second leg at Santiago Bernabeu would be crazy. There were 91.000 people at the stadium and they would enjoy the show. Butragueño and Valdano would destroy Anderlecht´s defence with Morten Olsen. Valdano said, “Miedo Escénico” (stage fright), which was seen in the electric atmosphere in the stands. This would be a classic Real Madrid comeback: scoring 6 goals and winning the game 6-1 at home.

Real Madrid would get through to the Quater Final and they met Tottenham. Real Madrid would also overcome this challenge with an own goal from Perryman in the first leg. Real Madrid would then go on to the Semi-Final meeting Inter Milan. The other semi-final was between my team Željezničar and the Hungarian team Videoton. Željezničar would go on to lose the series against Videoton. Real Madrid would make another sensational comeback after losing 2-0 against Inter at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, but Amancio was fired the week after. Luis Molowny would take over as the coach. Luis Molowny would change up their tactics by changing the formation to a 4-3-3, because of their squad’s massive offensive firepower. Santillana would take over the second leg, scoring two goals in the first half, and Michel would get them through by scoring the third to make it 3-0. The line up didn´t have many of the members of Quinta del Buitre (former Amancio y la quinta del Buitre). The main member of the group, Butragueño, was on the bench. The final would be a walk in the park for Real Madrid against Videoton. They won the first game 3-0 and only lost 1-0 the second game. This was Real Madrid´s first UEFA Cup, but not the last.

Real Madrid celebrating their first UEFA Cup in 1985

The next season would be amazing for Real Madrid. In 1985/86, with the team already had a mixture of superstars and potential superstars. Being practically full-time footballers with the first team, the “Quinta del Buitre” began to take off with Santillana, Valdano and Hugo Sánchez to achieve the first League of the five consecutive titles and another UEFA Cup. Luis Molowny would achieve one league title and 2 UEFA Cups at his time at Real Madrid. Luis Molowny would resign after this season. Luis Molowny´s success was amazing, winning the league with 12 points in the old 2 points system. Hugo Sánchez was their big transfer that summer and it paid off massively for Real Madrid. Hugo scored 22 goals that season and won the Pichichi Trophy for the second season in a row. They dominated the league from the start to the end and Butragueño´s role was to feed the animal Hugo Sánchez in the box.

Real Madrid played against Inter Milan in the semi-final of the UEFA Cup again. They lost the first game 3-1 with an amazing performance by Tardelli. Real Madrid would make another classic comeback in the second leg, winning 5-1. The first 90 minutes ended 3-1, but on a dodgy note, because both penalties Hugo scored were controversial. They scored two more goals in overtime to end the series. They would then go on to beat a super talented 1. FC Köln and collect their second UEFA Cup title.

Real Madrid celebrating their second UEFA Cup.

The next season would be writing one name in Real Madrid. Hugo Sánchez was that guy. Leo Beenhakker took over after Luis Molowny had resigned. Leo Beenhakker would be in charge for the next 3 seasons. Pardeza would leave to Zaragoza and was the first player from the Quinta to go away from Real Madrid. Real Madrid would have a dog fight for the title against Barcelona. Hugo Sánchez was the reason why Real Madrid would take the title in the last 8 games by totally dominating the games. Hugo Sánchez scored 34 goals in the league and won his 3rd Pichichi Trophy in a row.

Sánchez taking Pichichi Trophy after Pichichi Trophy

Butragueño was the big star for Real Madrid in the Champions League. They made it all the way of through to the Semi-Final against Bayern Munich, before getting beaten by Lothar Mattheus’s penalty skills. Before losing to Bayern Munich Real Madrid had beaten Crvena Zvezda and Juventus. Butragueño scored 5 goals throughout this tournament.

Going back to the league. The league had a weird system that season, this was the longest season ever in Spanish football. The league was made out of two phases. The first one all 18 teams would play each other twice (home and away). At the end of the first phase, the first six teams qualified for the championship group, the next six qualified for the intermediate group and the last six qualified for the relegation group. In the second phase, the teams would play only against teams of the same group twice and carried their first phase record. In the middle of the season, it was decided that the Primera División and Segunda División would be expanded to 20 teams.

La Liga 1986-87

Flash forward to 1989-90 season.

Real Madrid had won another two titles under Leo Beenhakker but wasn´t really close to winning the Champions League, which was the main goal for Real Madrid. Quinta del Buitre had hit its peak under new coach John Toshack. Toshack played in a 3-5-2 formation, but with a young Fernando Hierro as the super defensive midfielder. The defence was superb with Ruggeri, Chedo and Sanchis. Sanchis and Ruggeri were working as the more calm defenders, while Chedo was running after the ball like a crazy man. All members of the Quinta del Buitre left played in the starting line up and were playing on at an otherworldly level.

Unfortunately, Real Madrid weren´t the favourites in Europe because of a special Milan team and Johan Cruyff´s Barcelona. Even with Cruyff´s Barcelona, Real Madrid would defend their title with another super season from Hugo and Butragueño. This was their 5 title in a row, but also the last one in this fanatic row. They played with weekly displays of fast, thrilling football. This was the peak of Real Madrid’s super row. They were playing the opposite way of the Italian, for them no goal difference was enough. The point of possession was to strike as often as possible. They won 7-2 against Zaragoza for example. They added German playmaker Bernd Schuster from Barcelona in 1988. Hugo Sánchez scored 38 goals in 38 games and Real Madrid also broke the scoring record with 107 goals in 38 matches. This record wasn´t broke until the modern era of football, so even Cruyff’s ultra-offensive Barcelona couldn´t break this record. Hugo Sánchez even called himself “Quinta de los Machos” (Macho Squadron) because he said that Quinta del Buitre would be nothing without his help, which was true. Real Madrid would be unlucky in meeting Sacchi´s Milan. They lost 2-0 and couldn´t make a comeback in the second leg. This was the end of this beautiful era of Madrid history.

The “Quinta del Buitre” gave way to new generations of great footballers in Real Madrid, the ‘7’ of Butragueño was inherited by Raul, who surpassed him in all records. Raul failed to win five consecutive league titles like Butragueño. Raul gave number 7 to another superstar after he left in Cristiano Ronaldo, who outscored all of them but did not get five league titles either. And now the ‘7’, which Hazard carries.

Butragueño made the numero 7 legendary.

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