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Real Madrid are one of the biggest clubs and the most famous clubs in the history of the game. Having dominated the European football scene for over six decades, Madrid have won pretty much everything there is to win in the game.
With twelve European titles and thirty-three La Liga titles, Los Blancos have stamped their authority on both domestic and continental fronts. Success in football, however, is not just about the trophies you win, it is but a combination and journey through the various triumphant moments you have that at that moment might not seem that important.
Real Madrid, over the course of the twenty-first century, have had plenty of such moments, moments that have made their demanding fan base extremely proud. Here, in this post, we look at the top 5 moments/streaks/records for Real Madrid that were beyond trophies:
#5 Real Madrid 2-0 San Lorenzo: 22-game winning streak (20/12/2014)
It was the World Club Cup Championship between Real Madrid, the champions of Europe and San Lorenzo the champions of South America. The game was important considering that it was Real's 22nd win on the trot, a Spanish record.
The streak included wins against the likes of Barcelona, Liverpool, and Villarreal.The streak was snapped at Valencia when Madrid were beaten 2-1 at Mestalla, falling short of the 24 game streak set by Brazilin club Coritiba.
During their 22-game winning streak, Madrid scored an astonishing 81 goals, allowing just 10. They only allowed two goals in one of those wins and recorded 13 clean sheets. The streak though, in the context of the season, went in vain, as it was their rivals, FC Barcelona who claimed the unprecedented treble end of the season.
#4 Sevilla 3-3 Real Madrid: 40 game unbeaten streak (13/1/2017)
A couple of late goals from Sergio Ramos and Karim Benzema meant that Real Madrid secured a 3-3 comeback draw away at Sevilla and progressed to the next round in Copa Del Rey (6-3 on aggregate), making it 40 games without a defeat in all competitions.
The record was very special for the Real Madrid faithful, considering that Madrid had set a Spanish record beating eternal rivals' Barcelona's record of 39 unbeaten games. The unbeaten run came after Madrid were humbled away to Wolfsburg in April of 2016, the streak lasted until the January of 2017 when Real lost away to Sevilla in the La Liga. Real won 30 of the 40 games with 10 draws along the way, scoring a total of 115 goals during that time.
The unbeaten streak had a mix of some brilliant and gutsy displays, a lot of them being situations where Real had to make a comeback from losing situations in the game. Displays which included a comeback win and a battling draw at the Camp Nou, a remontada against Wolfsburg in the UEFA Champions League and a memorable Champions League final win in Milan against city rivals Atletico.
The streak proved to be vital as Madrid went to do the double by winning their record twelfth UEFA Champions League title and an unprecedented thirty-third La Liga title.
#3 Real Madrid 4-1 Mallorca: La Liga record 100 points, 121 goals (13/05/2012)
It was the last day of the season, Real Madrid had wrapped up the La Liga season in what was a convincing manner. The 4-1 win against Mallorca meant that Real Madrid set up a new scoring record in Spanish Football, scoring a record-breaking 121 goals in a season.
Jose Mourinho's men made sure that Pep Guardiola in his last season at Barcelona didn't get his hands on a fourth consecutive La Liga title. With an inform attacking quartet of Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil, Angel Di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain/Karim Benzema meant that Real were relentless in their pursuit of the La Liga title, creating and scoring almost at will.
Racking up 16 away wins for a season another Spanish football record on their way to a 32nd La Liga title. Those 16 wins away from home meant that Jose Mourinho's men had 50 points away from home another special record that remains impressive in the modern game.
One of the better Real Madrid sides to win the league in recent memory, something that Jose Mourinho remains bullish about and remains quick to remind everyone about when poked about his defensive nature.
A century of points and sixteen away wins remain a benchmark in the Spanish League, something that hasn't been bettered yet and would take some getting if any team were to get even close to it.
#2 Real Sociedad 1-3 Real Madrid: 73 games record scoring streak (17/09/2017)
Real Madrid equalled the record of scoring in 73 consecutive matches set by Santos in 1963 after Borja Mayoral put Los Blancos ahead against la Real at the San Sebastian earlier this season.
The run began on April 30th, 2016, which somewhat surprisingly began at Anoeta when Gareth Bale scored in what was a difficult 1-0 win. Real on their way to the streak bettered the Spanish record that was set by Barcelona, who scored in 44 straight games back in the 1940s.
After that, Real overcame the European best of 61 set by German giants Bayern Munich from 2012-12014 before finally equaling the all-time best set by Pele's Santos, set in the early 1960s.The last team to stop Real from scoring before the run were Manchester City in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final on 24 April 2016, holding Real to a 0-0 in Manchester.
Madrid won 1-0 at Real Sociedad six days later with a Gareth Bale goal and did not draw a blank until were somewhat inevitably stopped by Betis at the Bernabeu earlier this season.
Scoring goals in games keeps one involved in matches at all times, a team which can score freely might not have as many defensive headaches as some of the other sides. Real might not have been defensively stable through the course of the period but had a sense of surety whilst going forward something that helped them win important titles during the same period.
Their honours included a Liga, a Spanish Super Cup, 2017 UEFA Champions League, two UEFA Super Cups and a FIFA Club World Cup.The top scorers for Madrid included during the streak included Cristiano Ronaldo with 49 goals, strikers Karim Benzema and Alvaro Morata with 21 and 20 respectively. Marco Asensio with14 and Bale, Isco and Sergio Ramos, bagging 12 goals each.
#1 FIFA GALA: Best club of the 20th Century award (11/12/2000)
On the 11th of December 2000, Real Madrid were chosen by FIFA as the Best Club of the 20th Century. The award was presented at a gala by the international organization in Roma, club legend Alfredo Di Stefano and President Florentino Pérez were there to accept the trophy.
Real Madrid won more than 42% of the votes, easily beating off competition from Manchester United and Bayern Munich, who finished below them in the ballot with 9.69% and 9.18% of the votes respectively.
The award, by all accounts one of its kind in the club game was presented to Los Blancos for not just their titles but for the overall development, the club had contributed towards the game worldwide. At the time the title was awarded, the Whites' trophy cabinet already boasted 8 European Cups, 2 UEFA Cups, 2 Intercontinental Cups, 2 Latin Cups, 27 League titles, 17 Copa del Rey trophies, 5 Spanish Super Cups and 1 League Cup.
Real Madrid remain the only club so far to have the award in their stadium, and to be fair, will remain to be the only team to have it unless of course, FIFA decides to ring in a few changes. None the less, this award is something that makes the club unique in the most glamorous if ways and makes the entire Real Madrid fraternity extremely proud.
