Fact File: Real Madrid Museum

The Real Madrid Musem

Real Madrid C.F is a Spanish club, founded in 1902, playing in the Primera division, also known as La Liga.

Location: in their home ground Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid
Opening year: 1999
Annual visitor number: 700 000
Collection size: 8000 objects (about 5% is on display)

For successful football campaigns it is hard to find any club that has a greater record than the Madrid whites of Real. Even impossible. And Real has the trophy to prove it in their museum: FIFA awarded them a grand trophy for being voted "the Best Club of the Century". Other priceless trophies are the original European cup and the first victory, the 1905 Spanish Cup.

Perhaps not the biggest win but surely the biggest and heaviest trophy is one made out as a castle, wighing 75 kg and 1,5 metres high.

Two players really stand out in the Real Madrid saga, both are represented in the museum collections and exhibitions with numerous shirts and boots: Alfredo di Stefano and Rául.
Especially legendary are the last boots of di Stefano. Other player-related objects are gloves of keeper Iker Casillas and the boots of Peda Mijatovic, worn in the 1998 Champions League final.

The museum's collections also holds objects and archive material of the 25 other sport sections of Real Madrid.

Thanks to Rubén Rueda, Real Madrid

Read more about the Real Madrid Museum at their website

Fact File: Queen of South Museum

Queen of South Museum

The Queen of South is a Scottish league club, founded in 1919, currently playing in Division One.

Location: in the main stand of their home ground Palmerston Park, Dumfries.
Opening year: 1994
Annual visitor number: 400 to 600
Collection size: 1000 objects (almost all are on display)

Museum objects include club player related artifacts like the Scotland top of Billy Houliston and boots of Bobby Black, both local legends. They also have a match shirt worn by Brazilian star Zico in the 1982 World Cup Finals.
The most impressive object among the silverware is the Southern Counties Charity Cup that dates back to the 1880’s. Queen of South has won that cup no less than sixteen times.
One of the less predictable objects in the collection is a piece of fire damaged wood from the old stand fire from 1964.

Queen of South is struggling severely with their finances at the moment. If the club can succeed with their plans to build a new stand, more room will be given to the club museum.

Thanks to Ian Black, Museum Curator, Queen of South

Read more about Queen of South on their website
and about their financial situation on BBC, here and here