page_title: History of Real Madrid CF
section_title: 2000–2003
hierarchical_section_title: History of Real Madrid CF / The Galactico/Pérez Era (2000–2006) / 2000–2003
caption_attribution_description: Zidane, Beckham
context_page_description: Real Madrid Club de Fútbol is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. In addition to their domestic success, Real Madrid's reputation as a major club was established by their outstanding record in the European Cup. To date, they have been crowned champions of Europe a record thirteen times. Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás and other famous players helped the club win the European Cup five times in a row between 1956 and 1960, which included the memorable 7–3 Hampden Park final against German side Eintracht Frankfurt in 1960. The club won for a sixth time in 1966 with the team known as the Ye-Ye defeated Yugoslavian club Partizan 2–1 in the final with a team composed entirely of Spanish-born players, a first in the competition. They were also runners-up in 1962, 1964 and 1981. Winning the competition five consecutive times saw Real permanently awarded the original cup and earning the right to wear the UEFA badge of honour. They have also won the UEFA Cup twice and were twice runners-up in the European Cup Winners Cup.
  In 1996, president Lorenzo Sanz appointed Fabio Capello as coach.
context_section_description: In July 2000, Florentino Pérez was elected club president, vowing to erase the club's debt and modernise the club's facilities, though the primary electoral promise that propelled Pérez to victory was the signing of then-Barcelona star Luís Figo. During the campaign, Pérez claimed he had an agreement with the Portuguese winger that would see Figo move to the Bernabéu should Pérez be elected. On July 16, Pérez won the election and indeed, eight days later, Figo was presented with the number 10 shirt for Madrid.
  Days later, surrounded by controversy, Real Madrid idol Fernando Redondo, who had openly supported Pérez's opponent Lorenzo Sanz, was sold to Italian giants Milan. During the summer of 2000, Real Madrid signed Claude Makélélé, Albert Celades, Flávio Conceição, César Sánchez, Pedro Munitis and Santiago Solari, although aside from Makélélé and Conceição, the rest had been signed prior to the election of Pérez. Expectations were high as Los Blancos began the 2000–01 season with the possibility of winning five trophies. The club, however, stumbled at the first test, losing the 2000 UEFA Super Cup by a score of 1–2 to 2000 UEFA Cup champions Galatasaray. Later, an injury to Fernando Morientes left Real Madrid without a centre forward, but manager Vicente del Bosque improvised by using youth team graduate Guti in the role, with Real Madrid coping and making good start to both their domestic and European campaigns. They were, however, defeated 2–0 at the Camp Nou against rivals Barcelona and were later eliminated from the Copa del Rey by lowly Toledo, as well as losing the Intercontinental Cup final to a Boca Juniors side led by Martín Palermo and Juan Román Riquelme.
  Nonetheless, Real Madrid recovered form and went top of the league table in mid-January, a position they would not relinquish on their way to ultimately winning the title. Madrid also advanced from the second group stage of the Champions League to face Galatasaray in the quarter-finals. Los Merengues lost the first leg in Istanbul 3–2, but recovered to win the tie after a 3–0 victory at the Bernabéu. This would then set-up a replay of the 1999–2000 Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich. This year, however, Real Madrid would not reach the final, losing 1–3 on aggregate to the eventual champions. Despite the setback, on 26 May, Madrid would crown themselves champions of the first division with an emphatic 5–0 win over Alavés at the Bernabéu. Two goals by Raúl and one each by Guti, Fernando Hierro and Iván Helguera would ensure victory and Real Madrid's 28th league title with two matches left to play.
  After reaching an agreement to re-zone and sell the Ciudad Deportiva, Pérez went on to sign Zinedine Zidane in 2001, Ronaldo in 2002 and David Beckham in 2003. The media began referring to the team as "Los Galácticos". The strategy, initially dubbed "Zidanes y Pavones", meant to integrate world stars and youth team graduates together on the squad. The combination was highly-successful, with Real winning La Liga in 2001 and 2003 and the Champions League in 2002, their centenary year. They also won the Intercontinental Cup, the European Super Cup and the Supercopa de España in both 2001 and 2003. Off the field, the Zidanes y Pavones policy resulted in increased financial success based on the exploitation of the club's high marketing potential around the world, particularly in Asia.
caption: Zinedine Zidane (left) and David Beckham (right) were two prominent Galácticos.
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