Real Madrid vs Tottenham: A 90-Year-Old Rivalry

The first time Real Madrid and Tottenham faced each other was 90 years ago. In 1925, Enrique Alcaraz, a football enthusiast and resident in London, arrived in the Spanish capital. He met with Pedro Paragés, the then president of Real Madrid, and proposed a trip to England, the birthplace of football. And so, a reinforced Madrid team consisting of players from other clubs departed from Estación del Norte towards the British Isles, where they played three matches, all of which resulted in defeats. The final match against Tottenham at White Hart Lane ended in a 4-2 loss.

That match was no ordinary one. Firstly, with the rule change regarding offside that same year (previously, three defenders were required between the ball and the goal line), Escobar and Quesada, the white team's defenders, experimented against Tottenham with a play to catch the opponent offside. They also took a liking to the uniform of London's Corinthians, which had black shorts, and imposed it on Madrid against the president's criteria. The defenders decided to apply their new offside strategy against Barcelona in the quarterfinals of the Cup. It was a disaster (1-5). After the return match at Les Corts, Paragés banned the 'jinxed' shorts...