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Museum of the Spanish football team

Conceived by Pablo Ornaque and covering a thousand square metres on two floors, the museum houses a collection of thousands of objects that illustrates the history of Spanish football.

From commemorative flags, the shirts of legendary players and trophies to historical newspapers and period sporting gear, the museum boasts an endless collection of gems showing the evolution of Spanish football from the federation's first steps right up to the present day, a century later.

You will see the first example of this evolution in the so-called "guardians" of the museum who watch over the entrance. Side by side we can see Ricardo Zamora and Iker Casillas, the very first and the current goalkeepers of the national team, respectively.

First steps

Marking the beginning of the route around the museum is the Gateway of Football, an art nouveau façade brought all the way from Barcelona. The art nouveau style has been chosen to decorate the rest of the museum, it being the most representative style of the period when the Spanish football federation was created. After passing through the royal room, where we can see all the trophies awarded for national competitions, we are introduced to the beginnings of football in Spain and the creation, in 1909, of what was later to become the Royal Spanish Football Federation. From this period, the first kits worn by Athletic Bilbao and Espanyol are on display.

The Olympics and the first World Cups

The Spanish team played in an international match for the first time in 1920. This first national squad was created for the Olympic Games in Antwerp. Recalling this event, the museum holds the letters written by Samitier and Zamora during the run-up to the games, as well as a replica of the shirt worn by the team and a video with images of their successful performance, winning the silver medal in their first international appearance and heralding the birth of the Red Fury.

The first World Cup was contested in Uruguay in 1930, but the Spanish team did not attend due to the long sea voyage required. One of the museum's star exhibits is the official ball used in the final of this World Cup, which was won by the host nation.

Spain's story in the world championships began in 1934, in Italy, and the team's first taste of success came in 1950, when they came in fourth place at the World Cup hosted by Brazil. We can see the kit worn by Parra, one of the stars of this event, in which Spain narrowly beat England thanks to a memorable goal by Zarra.

Triumphs

The biggest stars of the museum, though, are the cups and trophies that testify to all of Spain's international triumphs. These begin with the trophy from the European Nations' Cup of 1964, which we can see here along with a video of the goal by Marcelino that gave victory to Spain in the Santiago Bernabéu stadium. Next are the gold medal won at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 and the silver from Sydney in 2000. For both victories, objects including photographs and shirts are on display, as well as the medals themselves. And, of course, you can have your photograph taken next to the two trophies most recently held aloft by captain Iker Casillas: the original Euro 2008 trophy, won at Vienna's Ernst Happel stadium, and a replica of the World Cup from South Africa 2010. And there are numerous other treasures commemorating these two historic dates for Spanish football.

Stars of "The Red Fury"

More than 700 players have donned the national kit at one time or another, and each and every one of them is represented on the wall dedicated to the stars of "The Red Fury". A display cabinet shows the evolution of Spain's national kit over time, with shirts donated by some of these players.

Of special interest, and given pride of place in the museum, is Ricardo Zamora, "the Divine" - the legendary Spanish goalkeeper, of whom the museum holds a complete period kit, as well as a bust. The same is true for the great Alfredo Di Stefano, a star both on the pitch and in front of the cameras. The museum includes a space dedicated to football and cinema, showcasing posters for films starring both Di Stefano and László Kubala.

Other spaces

Also worth highlighting are the tributes given to other sections of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, including beach football, women's football or the minor football categories, where many stars of the national team took their first successful steps. And don't miss the area dedicated to Spain's five-a-side football, or futsal, team who have an extraordinary record of two world and five European championships under their belt.

To finish off this thrilling tour, why not take home a souvenir from the official Spanish football team shop?

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