The Blue Book: Real Madrid's SECRET introduction card REVEALED
The Merengue club is one of the classiest institutions in football, and this is why
Many fan likes to think their club is the clasiest in the business, and while a number of teams across the globe could bide for the distinction, only one looks like the clearest winner: Real Madrid. The Merengue outfit has long been an institution known for their style and class, which has come to be known as the "señorío", the gentlemanship of Real Madrid.
Recently, sports website Relevo came across another demonstration of this spirit, revealing a special item that players signing for the club received during Florentino Perez' first stint as president of the club.
Real Madrid's blue book worked as an introduction for new players to the world of los Blancos
It's known as the "blue book" and it was a welcome pack for any player joining Real Madrid's football or basketball teams. The objective was to provide any new signings with a review of the history and structure of the club, ans well as lines of conduct expected of them as Real Madrid players and their project for the future.
"It was a folder that contained three spaces, where each of them deals with each aspect that the club commissioned us to communicate", explained to Relevo it's author, Antonio Pacheco. The writer worked with side by side with Real Madrid legends like Emilio Butragueño and the whole work was supervised by sporting director and former player Jorge Valdano.
The "book" was divided into three parts, called "This is how Madrid is lived", "The Best Club of the 20th Century" and "The Best Club of the 21st Century".
The first part opened with a welcome letter from Florentino Pérez written and signed by him, and it contained the basic points that professionals should follow in training, matches, before the media or on trips. It was a guide of how to behave as a Real Madrid player.
The second chapter included a Alfredo Di Stéfano shirt, with the number 9 on the back, and a letter in which the Argentine legend recalled how became a los Blancos legend. It also contained a selection of 23 players, in chrome format, that the club considered to be the most relevant in white history.
Finally, the third part began with a letter from Valdano and had another folder detailing the location map of the club and a drawing for the plans of Real Madrid's Valdebebas training centre, still in development at the time.
The three parts of the "blue book"
"It was a statement of intent", admits the author. While he's not entirely sure if the gift was appreciated by every player, he recalls one who did. "I came across McManaman's biography. In it he said that he was delighted to have received the book and that it was a detail at the height of the institution. It put him through the roof". It's just another reminder of the class and distinction that makes Real Madrid one of the best clubs in the history of the sport.
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