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How the Galacticos became the greatest football team ever assembled

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Roar Guru
17th June, 2020
13

Galacticos is Spanish for galactics, in reference to superstars.

The early 2000s introduced the world to the greatest football team ever assembled. This was the era when Spanish giants Real Madrid would popularise the term Galactico by forming the most star-studded outfit in the history of the sport.

Forever changing football, Real Madrid went on a mission to acquire the most expensive and talented footballers of the generation: the Galacticos.

The Galactico takeover began with the controversial acquisition of Luis Figo from Barcelona in 2000. Figo at the time was considered the world’s best after a stellar final season with Barcelona.

This transfer would forever change the rivalry between the Catalans and the capital. Such a move from such a quality of player was considered high treason and a new fire was added to the Clasico.

Already employing some of the greatest players in the world, Luis Figo would join the likes of Raul, Iker Casillas and Brazil’s Roberto Carlos in what shockingly enough would make up only half of the Galacticos superstars enjoying life together Madrid.

Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo Nazario and David Beckham would later follow. Real Madrid had amazingly, in only a few years, engineered the most talented and expensive squad of all time.

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Zidane and Beckham

Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham were two star Galacticos. (Photo by Pierre-Philippe Marcou/AFP via Getty Images)

Real Madrid achieved quite a feat in the players that made up their new outfit. Surprisingly, they were all from a diverse range of international backgrounds.

This was groundbreaking for the time as it progressively transitioned footballers from competing largely for domestic clubs of their origin. This in turn allowed the Galacticos to combine a unique arsenal of skills acquired from successful tenures across Europe’s top leagues – leagues that have very contrasting approaches to how the game is played.

This, for example, is what makes the UEFA Champions League so exhilarating. The Spanish La Liga has a slower pace and is unmatched technically. The English Premier League is physically tough and high-paced. The Italian Serie A is notorious for a more defensive approach to the game.

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By combining every aspect of the world’s greatest leagues, Real Madrid could now become the most influential football team of all time.

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Real Madrid did win their ninth Champions League title in the 2001-02 season. However, this team did not include all of the previously mentioned players. Amazingly enough, this famous Los Blancos side failed to capture the elusive Decima (tenth UCL title). This was the feat the squad had in reality been formed to achieve.

Like many other teams that have now followed in broadcasting the most beautiful football of all time, success was not as abundant as the books would have anticipated.

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