1996–97 Real Madrid CF season

The 1996–97 season was the Real Madrid CF's 66th season in La Liga. This article shows player statistics and official matches that the club played during the 1996–97 season. For the first time since 1977–78, Real Madrid was not involved in any European competitions due to the previous season's lowest league finish in 19 years.

Real Madrid

1996–97 season
President	Lorenzo Sanz
Head coach	Fabio Capello
Stadium	Santiago Bernabéu
La Liga	1st
Copa del Rey	Round of 16
Top goalscorer	League: Davor Šuker (24) All: Davor Šuker (29)
Home colours Away colours
← 1995–96 1997–98 →

Summary

For the first time since the 1977–78 season, Real Madrid only played in the domestic competitions after having rejected the option to enter the 1996 Intertoto Cup.^[1] Madrid returned to domestic glory in the only season under the Fabio Capello's reign, who, after much conflict with club president Lorenzo Sanz, announced his exit already in mid-season, choosing to return to Italy (where he would eventually settle at his old club AC Milan). New signings Predrag Mijatović and Davor Šuker played alongside main striker Raúl González as well as Clarence Seedorf in midfield. Real Madrid was nearly on course to sign Newcastle United-bound Alan Shearer courtesy of his best form at Blackburn Rovers, but due to already featuring Raúl González as the club's main striker, Alan Shearer preferred to stay in England. Roberto Carlos,^[2] Carlos Secretário, Christian Panucci, and mid-season arrival Zé Roberto were also new signings in defense.

In May 1997, Real Madrid began to slip due to injuries of key players despite having won 3 of 5 matches in that month. However as rivals Barcelona also slipped in early June after a loss against Hércules, Real took an advantage by crushing CF Extremadura 5-0 in the same weekend. Real Madrid eventually won the La Liga title with a record 92 points, after a 3–1 victory against Atlético Madrid on the penultimate round of the season (five points ahead of Barcelona), and thus Fabio Capello became the first-ever Italian manager to win La Liga silverware. In the Copa del Rey, Madrid advanced to the round of 16 where they faced perennial rivals Barcelona, losing 4–3 on aggregate. The Catalans went on to win the tournament, setting up a Super Cup clash against Madrid.

Players

Squad information

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  ESP Paco Buyo 2 DF  ESP Chendo 3 DF  BRA Roberto Carlos 4 DF  ESP Fernando Hierro 5 DF  ESP Manolo Sanchís 6 MF  ARG Fernando Redondo 7 MF  ESP Raúl 8 FW  YUG Predrag Mijatović 9 FW  CRO Davor Šuker 10 MF  NED Clarence Seedorf 11 MF  ESP José Amavisca 12 DF  POR Carlos Secretário 13 GK  ESP Santiago Cañizares

No. Pos. Nation Player 14 MF  ESP Luis Milla 15 DF  ESP Fernando Sanz 17 DF  ITA Christian Panucci 18 DF  ESP Rafael Alkorta 19 DF  ESP Mikel Lasa 20 FW  YUG Dejan Petković 21 MF  BRA Zé Roberto 21 DF  ESP José García Calvo 23 MF  ESP Guti 24 FW  ESP Alvaro 25 GK  GER Bodo Illgner 26 MF  ESP Víctor 27 FW  ESP Irurzun

Transfers

^[3]

In
Pos.	Name	from	Type
FW	Predrag Mijatović	Valencia	€7,5 million
MF	Clarence Seedorf	Sampdoria	€4,8 million
FW	Davor Šuker	Sevilla	€3,6 million
DF	Roberto Carlos	Internazionale	€3,5 million
GK	Bodo Illgner	1. FC Köln	€1,2 million
DF	Carlos Secretário	Porto	€1,8 million
MF	Dejan Petkovic	Sevilla FC	loan ended

Out
Pos.	Name	To	Type
MF	Michael Laudrup	Vissel Kobe
FW	Ivan Zamorano	Inter Milan
MF	Míchel	Celaya
MF	Freddy Rincón	Palmeiras
FW	Juan Esnaider	Atlético Madrid
MF	Luis Enrique	FC Barcelona
DF	Sanchez Flores	Real Zaragoza
DF	Miquel Soler	Real Zaragoza
DF	Nando	Espanyol
MF	Antonio Gomez	Sevilla FC	loan

Winter

Reference:^[4]

In
Pos.	Name	from	Type
DF	Christian Panucci	AC Milan	€3,5 million
MF	Zé Roberto	Portuguesa	€2,5 million

Out
Pos.	Name	To	Type
DF	Carlos Secretario	Porto
MF	Dejan Petkovic	Racing Santander	loan

Competitions

La Liga

Main article: 1996–97 La Liga

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Real Madrid (C)	42	27	11	4	85	36	+49	92	Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2	Barcelona	42	28	6	8	102	48	+54	90	Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round
3	Deportivo La Coruña	42	21	14	7	57	30	+27	77[a]	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
4	Real Betis	42	21	14	7	81	46	+35	77[a]	Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round[b]
5	Atlético Madrid	42	20	11	11	76	64	+12	71	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round

Source: LFP
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head goals scored; 5) goal difference; 6) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions
Notes:

1. BET 1–2 DEP; DEP 3–0 BET
2. Since Barcelona, winners of 1996–97 Copa del Rey, was qualified for the 1997–98 UEFA Champions League, losing cup finalists Real Betis earned a spot in the first round of the 1997–98 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42
Ground	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A
Result	D	W	D	W	W	W	D	W	W	D	W	D	W	W	W	W	D	W	D	W	W	W	W	D	L	W	W	W	W	W	D	D	W	W	D	W	L	W	L	W	W	L
Position	12	6	7	5	3	1	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

Source: Competitive matches
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss;   = Leader, 1997–98 UEFA Champions League group stage;   = 1997–98 UEFA Champions League second qualifying round;   = 1997–98 UEFA Cup first round

Matches

Deportivo La Coruña v Real Madrid

31 August 1996 (1996-08-31) 1	Deportivo La Coruña	1–1	Real Madrid	A Coruña
	Martins 22' Armando  74'  Donato  89'  Djukic	Report	Roberto Carlos 78' Milla  52'	Stadium: Riazor Referee: Dauden Ibañez

Real Madrid v Hércules

8 September 1996 (1996-09-08) 2	Real Madrid	3–0	Hércules	Madrid
	Mijatović 16' Raúl 28' Raúl 71' Seedorf	Report	Ferreras Palomino	Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu

Real Betis v Real Madrid

16 September 1996 (1996-09-16) 3	Real Betis	1–1	Real Madrid	Seville
	Alfonso 28' Luis Fernandez	Report	Roberto Carlos 44' Secretario Sanchís Hierro Šuker	Stadium: Benito Villamarín

Real Madrid v Rayo Vallecano

22 September 1996 (1996-09-22) 4	Real Madrid	1–0	Rayo Vallecano	Madrid
	Raúl 40'	Report		Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu Referee: Puentes Leira

Oviedo v Real Madrid

29 September 1996 (1996-09-29) 5	Oviedo	2–3	Real Madrid	Oviedo
	Dubovsky 63' (pen.) Gamboa 84' Onopko40'	Report	Šuker 14' Mijatović 15' Víctor 43' Secretario 63'	Stadium: Carlos Tartiere Referee: Carmona Mendez

Real Madrid v Espanyol

1 October 1996 (1996-10-01) 6	Real Madrid	2–0	Espanyol	Madrid
	Raúl 6' Šuker 26' Sanchís Alkorta Roberto Carlos	Report	Pocchettino Arteaga	Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu Referee: Iturralde Gonzalez

Racing Santander v Real Madrid

13 October 1996 (1996-10-13) 7	Racing Santander	2–2	Real Madrid	Santander
	Beschastnykh 70' Schürrer 80'	Report	Šuker 75' (pen.) Mijatović 83'	Stadium: El Sardinero Referee: Hernanz Angulo

Real Madrid v Real Sociedad

19 October 1996 (1996-10-19) 8	Real Madrid	6–1	Real Sociedad	Madrid
	Mijatović 30' Šuker 41' (pen.) Mild 63' (own goal) Šuker 68' Mijatović 87' Šuker 89'	Report	Kovacevic 10' Pikabea  24'	Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu Referee: Japon Sevilla

Real Zaragoza v Real Madrid

22 October 1996 (1996-10-22) 9	Real Zaragoza	1–2	Real Madrid	Zaragoza
	Poyet 50' Radimov  82'	Report	16' Šuker 78' (pen.) Šuker	Stadium: La Romareda Referee: Prados García

Real Madrid v Tenerife

26 October 1996 (1996-10-26) 10	Real Madrid	0–0	Tenerife	Madrid
		Report		Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu

Compostela v Real Madrid

3 November 1996 (1996-11-03) 11	Compostela	1–2	Real Madrid	Compostela
	Luboslav Penev 68'	Report	22' Mijatovic 78' Raúl	Stadium: San Lázaro

Real Madrid v Logroñés

10 November 1996 (1996-11-10) 12	Real Madrid	0–0	Logroñés	Madrid
		Report		Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu

Sevilla v Real Madrid

17 November 1996 (1996-11-17) 13	Sevilla	1–3	Real Madrid	Seville
	Salva 53'	Report	19' Mijatovic 23' Suker 60' Mijatovic	Stadium: Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán

Real Madrid v Valencia

24 November 1996 (1996-11-24) 14	Real Madrid	4–2	Valencia	Madrid
	Suker 15' Suker 21' Suker 60' Raúl 74'	Report	Karpin 9'	Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu

Sporting Gijón v Real Madrid

30 November 1996 (1996-11-30) 15	Sporting Gijón	0–1	Real Madrid	Gijón
		Report	Hierro 19'	Stadium: El Molinón

Real Madrid v Barcelona

7 December 1996 (1996-12-07) 16	Real Madrid	2–0	Barcelona	Madrid
	Šuker 24', Mijatović 48' Secretario Hierro Víctor	Report	Sergi Luis Enrique	Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu Referee: Juan Manuel Brito Arcero

Real Valladolid v Real Madrid

21 December 1996 (1996-12-21) 17	Real Valladolid	1–1	Real Madrid	Valladolid
	Alkorta 58' (o.g.)	Report	15' Suker	Stadium: José Zorrilla

Real Madrid v Athletic Bilbao

5 January 1997 (1997-01-05) 18	Real Madrid	1–0	Athletic Bilbao	Madrid
	Raúl 59'	Report		Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu

CF Extremadura v Real Madrid

11 January 1997 (1997-01-11) 19	CF Extremadura	0–0	Real Madrid	Extremadura
		Report		Stadium: Francisco de la Hera Referee: Celino Gracia Redondo

Atlético de Madrid v Real Madrid

17 January 1997 (1997-01-17) 20	Atlético de Madrid	1–4	Real Madrid	Madrid
	Kiko 32' Prodan Pantic Esnaider Santi	Report	Raúl 46' Raúl 82' Seedorf 84' Víctor 89' Panucci Alkorta Amavisca Mijatović	Stadium: Vicente Calderón Referee: Eduardo Garcia Iturralde

Real Madrid v RC Celta

25 January 1997 (1997-01-25) 21	Real Madrid	4–0	RC Celta	Madrid
	Roberto Carlos 20' Redondo 54' Raul 69' Suker 74'	Report		Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu

Real Madrid v Deportivo La Coruña

1 February 1997 (1997-02-01) 22	Real Madrid	3–2	Deportivo La Coruña	Madrid
	Panucci 19' Hierro 52' Suker 65'	Report	Flavio Conceicao 15' Martins 50'	Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu

Hércules v Real Madrid

8 February 1997 (1997-02-08) 23	Hércules	2–3	Real Madrid	Alicante
	Manuel Alfaro 5' Nemanja Miljanovic 33'	Report	Mijatovic 11' Seedorf 20' Raúl 53'

Real Madrid v Real Betis

14 February 1997 (1997-02-14) 24	Real Madrid	2–2	Real Betis	Madrid
	Mijatovic 18' Panucci , 52' Hierro Suker	Report	Alfonso 6' Finidi George 60' Ríos Olías Alexis Jaime	Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu Referee: Rodriguez Martel

Rayo Vallecano v Real Madrid

18 February 1997 (1997-02-18) 25	Rayo Vallecano	1–0	Real Madrid	Madrid
	Ezequiel Castillo 35' José María Martín Gonzalez Barla	Report	Hierro Alkorta Mijatovic	Stadium: Vallecas Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Carmona Mendez

Real Madrid v Oviedo

22 February 1997 (1997-02-22) 26	Real Madrid	6–1	Oviedo	Madrid
	Suker 3' (pen.) Mijatovic 56' Suker 59' Suker 61' Raúl 66' Víctor 89'	Report	Velamazan 87'	Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu

Espanyol v Real Madrid

2 March 1997 (1997-03-02) 27	Espanyol	0–2	Real Madrid	Barcelona
		Report	Raúl 68' Raúl 89'

Real Madrid v Racing Santander

9 March 1997 (1997-03-09) 28	Real Madrid	2–1	Racing Santander	Madrid
	Raúl 65' Seedorf 68'	Report	Correa 44'	Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu

Real Sociedad v Real Madrid

16 March 1997 (1997-03-16) 29	Real Sociedad	1–2	Real Madrid	San Sebastián
	Adepoju 71'	Report	Raúl 40' Roberto Carlos 47'

Real Madrid v Real Zaragoza

22 March 1997 (1997-03-22) 30	Real Madrid	2–0	Real Zaragoza	Madrid
	Hierro 35' Hierro 43'	Report		Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu

Tenerife v Real Madrid

29 March 1997 (1997-03-29) 31	Tenerife	1–1	Real Madrid	Tenerife
	Neuville 66'	Report	Víctor 58'

Real Madrid v Compostela

6 April 1997 (1997-04-06) 32	Real Madrid	0–0	Compostela	Madrid
		Report		Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu

Logroñés v Real Madrid

12 April 1997 (1997-04-12) 33	Logroñés	0–2	Real Madrid	Logroñés
		Report	Víctor 34' Raúl 67'

Real Madrid v Sevilla

15 April 1997 (1997-04-15) 34	Real Madrid	4–2	Sevilla	Madrid
	Seedorf 44' Raúl 59' Hierro 83' Mijatovic 89'	Report	José Mari 1' Tarik Oulida 20'	Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu

Valencia v Real Madrid

20 April 1997 (1997-04-20) 35	Valencia	1–1	Real Madrid	Valencia
	Ortega 88' (pen.)	Report	Raúl 64'	Stadium: Mestalla

Real Madrid v Sporting Gijón

3 May 1997 (1997-05-03) 36	Real Madrid	3–1	Sporting Gijón	Madrid
	Suker 38' Roberto Carlos 62' Suker 71'	Report	Cheryshev 9'	Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu

Barcelona v Real Madrid

10 May 1997 (1997-05-10) 37	Barcelona	1–0	Real Madrid	Barcelona
	Ronaldo , 44' Ferrer Figo	Report	Roberto Carlos Alkorta Suker	Stadium: Camp Nou Referee: Rodriguez Martel

Real Madrid v Real Valladolid

17 May 1997 (1997-05-17) 38	Real Madrid	1–0	Real Valladolid	Madrid
	Suker 57' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu

Athletic Bilbao v Real Madrid

24 May 1997 (1997-05-24) 39	Athletic Bilbao	1–0	Real Madrid	Bilbao
	Carlos García 56'	Report		Stadium: San Mames

Real Madrid v CF Extremadura

31 May 1997 (1997-05-31) 40	Real Madrid	5–0	CF Extremadura	Madrid
	Raúl 9' Seedorf 46' Seedorf 59' Suker 67' (pen.) Suker 89'	Report		Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu

Real Madrid v Atlético de Madrid

13 June 1997 (1997-06-13) 41	Real Madrid	3–1	Atlético de Madrid	Madrid
	Raúl 36' Hierro 43' Mijatovic 56'	Report	Esnáider 64'	Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu Referee: Berrenchea Montero

Celta v Real Madrid

21 June 1997 (1997-06-21) 42	Celta	4–0	Real Madrid	Vigo
	Gudelj 8' Gudelj 10' Juan Sanchez 48' Gudelj 89'	Report		Stadium: Balaidos

Copa del Rey

Main article: 1996–97 Copa del Rey

Second round

UD Salamanca v Real Madrid

6 November 1996	UD Salamanca	0–2	Real Madrid	Salamanca
		Report

Real Madrid v UD Salamanca

27 November 1996	Real Madrid	2–0	UD Salamanca	Madrid
		Report		Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu

Third round

Real Madrid v Real Valladolid

9 January 1997	Real Madrid	2–1	Real Valladolid	Madrid
		Report		Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu

Real Valladolid v Real Madrid

15 January 1997	Real Valladolid	0–2	Real Madrid	Valladolid
		Report		Stadium: José Zorrilla

Round of 16

Main article: El Clásico

FC Barcelona v Real Madrid

30 January 1997 (1997-01-30)	FC Barcelona	3–2	Real Madrid	Barcelona
	Ronaldo 13' Nadal 70' Giovanni 78'	Report	Suker 16' Hierro 67'	Stadium: Camp Nou Attendance: 97,000 Referee: Lopez Nieto

Real Madrid v FC Barcelona

6 February 1997 (1997-02-06)	Real Madrid	1–1	FC Barcelona	Madrid
	Suker 79'pen	Report	Roberto Carlos 69'(o.g)	Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu Attendance: 110,000 Referee: Diaz Vega

Statistics

Player statistics

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		La Liga		Copa del Rey
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
25	GK	GER	Illgner	46	-36	40	-31	6	-5
17	DF	ITA	Panucci	21	2	19	2	2	0
18	DF	ESP	Alkorta	45	1	40	0	5	1
4	DF	ESP	Hierro	45	8	39	6	6	2
3	DF	BRA	Roberto Carlos	42	5	37	5	5	0
26	MF	ESP	Víctor	41	6	25+11	5	3+2	1
6	MF	ARG	Redondo	39	1	31+2	1	6	0
10	MF	NED	Seedorf	42	6	37+1	6	3+1	0
7	MF	ESP	Raúl	47	22	41+1	21	4+1	1
8	FW	YUG	Mijatović	43	15	38	14	4+1	1
9	FW	CRO	Šuker	43	29	38	24	5	5
13	GK	ESP	Cañizares	2	-5	2	-5
11	MF	ESP	Amavisca	31	0	14+12	0	5	0
2	DF	ESP	Chendo	18	0	14+2	0	0+2	0
12	DF	POR	Secretário	17	0	13	0	3+1	0
5	DF	ESP	Sanchis	22	0	13+9	0
14	MF	ESP	Milla	23	0	6+13	0	3+1	0
24	FW	ESP	Alvaro	7	0	5+2	0
21	DF	ESP	García Calvo	7	0	4+2	0	0+1	0
21	MF	BRA	Zé Roberto	9	0	2+7	0
15	DF	ESP	Sanz	9	0	2+4	0	2+1	0
19	DF	ESP	Lasa	15	0	2+11	0	2	0
23	MF	ESP	Guti	17	0	0+14	0	2+1	0
20	FW	YUG	Petković	3	0	0+2	0	0+1	0
27	FW	ESP	Irurzun	1	0	0	0	0+1	0
1	GK	ESP	Buyo	0	0	0	0

• Source: https://www.bdfutbol.com/en/t/t1996-972.html