Real Madrid, along with Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona, is one of three founding members of La Liga who have never been relegated from the top flight since its inception in 1929. The club has won 66 domestic trophies, including a record 34 La Liga titles, 19 Copa del Rey, and 11 Supercopa de Espana. Real Madrid has won a total of 26 trophies in European and international competitions, including a record 13 European Cup/UEFA Champions League titles, two UEFA Cups, and four UEFA Super Cups. They have won a record seven club world championships in international football.
Real Madrid has had some incredible highs in the last decade, with silverware flowing into the club regularly. However, despite sufficient investment, high-profile players, and well-known managers, some humiliating defeats have occurred. Despite being one of the most successful clubs in the world, they, like every other team, have had their ups and downs throughout history. It's time to go back in time and look at some of Real Madrid's most infamous defeats. While many may assume their humiliating losses to Barca in the last decade to be included but even they weren’t able to make it to the list.
5. Alcorcón 4-0 Real Madrid (2009-10 Copa Del Rey)
Real Madrid were humiliated 4-0 by third-tier Alcorcon in the Copa del Rey 11 years ago today. Borja Perez scored two goals, Ernesto Gomez scored one, and Alvaro Arbeloa scored an own goal to secure the historic upset, with Real failing to recover the deficit in the second leg. Los Blancos had suffered a number of humiliating defeats during that season, but they had not expected to lose to a lower league team. Real Madrid’s lineup boasted players who were best in the world in their respective positions such as Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Marcelo, Guti, Van der Vaart, Gago, Raul, Benzema, Albiol, Dudek among others.
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4. FC Kaiserslautern 5-0 Real Madrid (1981-82 UEFA Cup)
The team's 0-5 loss to Kaiserslautern in the 1981–82 UEFA Cup Quarterfinals is next on our list of Real Madrid's heaviest defeats in history. Real Madrid managed to win the 1st leg of the 1981-92 UEFA Cup quarterfinals by 3-1 and went into the second leg with two goals lead. Three players were sent off during the match, including Isidoro San Jose and Laurie Cunningham in the first half and Francisco Pineda in the second half, putting the team and their coach, Vujadin Bokov, under a lot of pressure. After the 65th minute, Real were forced to continue the game with only eight players. Kaiserslautern's first two goals were scored by Friedhelm Funkel, and the team's next three goals were scored by Hannes Bongartz, Norbert Eilenfeldt, and Rainer Geye.
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3. Valencia 6-0 Real Madrid (1998-99 Copa Del Rey)
Valencia defeated Real Madrid 6-0 at Mestalla on June 9th, 1999, in their biggest ever victory over the Spanish giants. The game was the first leg of a Copa del Rey semifinal, which Valencia eventually won. Claudio López scored the game's first goal with a free kick from just inside the wall. Fernando Redondo was sent off six minutes later, reducing Madrid to ten men. It was all one-way traffic from there for Valencia. The next three goals were scored by Alain Roche, Goran Vlaovic, and Alain Roche in the first half, with Miguel Angel Angulo and Gaizka Mendieta scoring in the second half.
2. Real Madrid 0-6 Athletic Bilbao (1930-31 La Liga)
It was the debut La Liga season and Athletic Bilbao were the defending champions of the Primera Division. During the 1930–31 La Liga season, Real Madrid hosted Bilbao at home, and the hosts lost 0-6 on the pitch. The Bilbao stars Gorostiza, Chirri, Iraragorri, Bata, Iraragorri, and Lafuente opened the Los Blancos goal, while no one could score for the Whites. Athletic Bilbao successfully defended their title and won the league thanks to a better goal difference in a three-way tie for first place.
1. Espanyol 8-1 Real Madrid (1929-30 Primera Division)
The team's 8-1 defeat against Espanyol in the 1929–30 season, when Primera Division was the top-tier league, is remembered as Real Madrid's biggest loss in history. The match took place on March 4, 1930, as part of the Primera Division's game week 14 and ended with Los Blancos losing 8-1. Gallart, Solé, Padrón (2), Bosch, Ventolrà (2), and Lamo were the only Espanyol players to score, while Rubio was the only Real player to score.
