Reserve teams in Spain play in the same league system as their senior team rather than a separate league. Reserve teams, however, cannot play in the same division as their senior team. Therefore, Real Madrid Castilla are ineligible for promotion to the La Liga as long as Real Madrid plays there. Consequently, they must play at least one level below their main side and they are not eligible to play in the Copa del Rey. In addition, only under-23 players, or under-25 players with a professional contract, can switch between senior and reserve teams.
In 1948, Agrupación Deportiva Plus Ultra, a local amateur team, then playing in the Tercera División, agreed to become a feeder club for Real Madrid. Originally formed in 1930, the team took its name from the national motto of Spain. Real gave AD Plus Ultra financial support and in return were given first refusal on the club's best players. By 1949, they made their debut in the Segunda División and in 1952, the club became the official Real reserve team. In 1959, they reached the quarter-finals of the Copa del Generalísimo, losing 7–2 on aggregate to eventual runners-up Granada.
During the 1950s and 1960s, future senior Real Madrid players and Spanish internationals such as José María Zárraga, Enrique Mateos, Ramón Marsal, Pedro Casado, Juan Manuel Villa, José María Vidal, Fernando Serena and Ramón Grosso all spent time at the club, and Juan Alonso finished off his career there. The singer Julio Iglesias played as a goalkeeper for the club in the early 1960s until injury ended his football career.[3]Miguel Muñoz began his coaching career at the club. In 1972, Plus Ultra folded because of the demise of the insurance company of the same name, and their position in the Tercera División was taken by Castilla Club de Fútbol, the new reserve team for Real Madrid, on 21 July.
As Castilla CF, the team enjoyed something of a golden age. During this era, with a team that included Agustín, Ricardo Gallego and Francisco Pineda, Castilla reached the final of the 1979–80 Copa del Rey. During their cup run, they beat four Primera División teams, including Hércules, Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad and Sporting de Gijón.[4] The latter two eventually finished second and third in the Primera División. In the final, they played Real Madrid but lost 6–1. Because Real also won the Primera División, however, Castilla qualified for the 1980–81 European Cup Winners' Cup. Despite beating West Ham United 3–1 in the opening game at the Santiago Bernabéu, they lost the return 5–1 after extra time and went out in the first round.[4] Castilla reached the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey on three further occasions, in 1984, 1986, and 1988.
In 1991, the Royal Spanish Football Federation banned the use of separate names for reserve teams and Castilla CF became known as Real Madrid Deportiva and then Real Madrid B. In the early 1990s, two former Castilla players, Vicente del Bosque and Rafael Benítez, began their coaching careers with the team. In 1997, the team was relegated to the Segunda División B, but despite this, they continued to produce internationally acclaimed players. These have included Raúl, Guti and Iker Casillas, who all became established members of the senior Real Madrid team.
In the 2004–05 season, coach Juan Ramón López Caro guided the team back to the Segunda División and the team subsequently revived the El Castilla name and became known as Real Madrid Castilla. In 2006, the new stadium of the club's training facilities Ciudad Real Madrid was named the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium and Francisco Moreno Cariñena became the first independent chairman in 16 years. In this year, the team also has continued to produce quality players such as Roberto Soldado and Álvaro Arbeloa.
In the 2006–2007 season, the team was relegated to the Segunda División B under the management of ex-Real Madrid legend Míchel after occupying 19th place in the league in a disappointing season. Míchel received a lot of criticism and accepted all the blame for the team's bad performances, especially for those who had a wonderful season in the 2005–06 season, such as Rubén de la Red, Esteban Granero and Javi García. The reserves produced other quality players, including Juan Mata and Álvaro Negredo.
Real Madrid Castilla was promoted back to the Segunda División at the end of the 2011–12 season after beating Cádiz in the play-offs with an aggregate of score 8–1 and this year the club produced one quality player, Dani Carvajal who was sold to Bayer Leverkusen in 2012 before he returned to Real Madrid in 2013 to play in the first team.
In the 2013–14 season, three quality players Nacho, Álvaro Morata and Jesé were promoted to the first team, and then Castilla was relegated in the last matchday after being defeated by Real Murcia in the last match of the season.
After the resumption of competitions in the 2020–21 season, the team finished runner-up in their group and qualified to play in the promotion system to the new categories of Spanish football after a restructuring of the same by the RFEF for the 2021–22 season.[5] In the promotion playoffs, the team finished third, which secured their place in the Primera Federación. They also had the chance to move up to the Segunda División, but they were eliminated in the semifinals by Ibiza.[6] The team was thus one of those that premiered the new Primera Federación, being placed in Group II. In 2022–23 season, Castilla placed in Group I and finished in third place, they have chance promotion to Segunda División, but they were eliminated in the final play off by Eldense. In the 2023–24 season, still under the direction of Raúl González, they finished in tenth position.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
The capacity of the main stand at the west is 4,000 seats, with additional 2,000 seats at the eastern stand, giving the stadium a total capacity of 6,000 seats. It is envisaged to increase the seating capacity up to 25,000 at the completion of the expansion.
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