Getty
Real Madrid attacker Gonzalo Higuain has hailed his understanding with Karim Benzema in the aftermath of their 6-2 Champions League Group D win at home against Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday.
DON'T MISS
In the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, both Higuain and Benzema featured from the start in what proved to be a fruitful experiment, as the duo netted three of Madrid's six goals at Santiago Bernabeu.
"Benzema and I get along really well and we understand each other; it showed on the pitch," Higuain was quoted as saying on the club's official website.
"This was an important match and I'm happy with the score. It's important that the team played such a good game despite the rotations."
The Argentina international then went on to express his delight at being given the captain's armband against Zagreb, and added that Real Madrid now have to turn their focus toward the upcoming La Liga game against Atletico Madrid.
"I was delighted to be a captain tonight. I've been here many years and I feel the affection of the fans and of the club," Higuain enthused.
"We must now remain calm, rest and prepare for the derby, which will logically be very special."
Saturday's match at Santiago Bernabeu kicks off at 19.00GMT
Real Madrid" redirects here. For the basketball team, see Real Madrid Baloncesto. For other uses, see Real Madrid (disambiguation).
Real Madrid
Full name
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol
Nickname
Los Blancos (The Whites)Los Merengues (The Meringues)Los Vikingos (The Vikings)
Founded
March 6, 1902 (109 years ago)
as Madrid Football Club
Ground
Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid
(Capacity: 85,454)
President
Florentino Pérez
Manager
José Mourinho
League
La Liga
2010–11
La Liga, 1st
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (Spanish pronunciation: [reˈal maˈðɾið ˈkluβ ðe ˈfutβol]Royal Madrid Football Club), commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professionalfootball club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División (First Division) of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional (LFP), 18Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la Liga, while in international competitons have won a record 9 European Cup/UEFA Champions League titles, 2 UEFA Cups, 1 UEFA Super Cup and 3Intercontinental Cups.
Founded in 1902 by two Catalan brothers, Juan Padrós and Carlos Padrós, Real Madrid has never been relegated from La Liga, the top league of Spanish football. The word "Real" in the club's name is the Spanish term for "royal", and was given by the King Alfonso XIII in 1920 together with the royal crown in the emblem. The club established itself as a major force in both Spanish and European football during the 1950s.
The team's traditional home kit colour is white, although it originally adopted a blue oblique stripe on the shirt. Its crest has been changed several times to modernise or re-brand it. The current crest is a modified version of the one first adopted in the 1920s. Real Madrid's home ground is the 85,454-seater Santiago Bernabéu football stadium in downtown Madrid, where it has played since 1947. The Bernabéu was the final venue for the 1982 FIFA World Cup and the venue for the European cup (or UEFA Champions League) finals of 1957, 1969, 1980 and 2010.
Real Madrid holds long-standing rivalries with other football clubs, most notablyFC Barcelona, with matches between the two teams referred to as "el Clásico". Unlike most European football clubs, Real Madrid's members (socios) have owned and operated the club since its inception. The club is the world's richest football club (€438.6m) in terms of revenue and the second most valuable worth over €1.4mld in 2011.
