It is the summer of 2000 and Real Madrid President Lorenzo Sanz seems to have life figured out (6:52). He is running the largest club in Spain, has just won a Champions League and his daughter is about to marry the star right back of the squad. What more could he possibly want?
In the meantime, a local construction magnate starts to make noise ahead of the presidential election. He claims that the club is riddled with debt and that only he, with his business acumen, can save it. He promises a 'Galactico' policy to members if they cast a ballot in his favor, whereby he will purchase the best players in the world and make Real Madrid the most powerful club around.
That man is Florentino Perez and in this miniseries we will analyze his first presidency of Real Madrid from 2000-2006.
Was the Galactico experiment ultimately successful? What went right? What went wrong? And did Florentino ultimately learn valuable lessons from it that we see being applied in Madrid and world football today?
There is talk of Raul, Guti, Becks, a Portuguese that jumped ship from Barcelona, a mustachioed Spanish manager and much, much more! Tune in now!
All of this and much more on this episode of Football In The 2000s!
Make sure to follow us on our Instagram (@football2000spod) and tell us of more topics you would like to hear. Finally, please give us a rating & review and share this podcast with anyone you think may enjoy it! Thanks!