30 March 1986 - Ramos Arrives

On 30 March 1986, Real Madrid back and reigning La Liga Best Defender Sergio Ramos was born in Sevilla.

He started his professional career with Sevilla's B team in 2003 and joined the first team the following year, making 39 appearances. His strong performance that season led to him being named the 2005 La Liga Breakthrough Player of the Year and attracted the interest of Real Madrid, who signed the then-19-year old center back that summer for €27M (funded in part by the €20M sale of forward Michael Owen to Newcastle).

Despite joining a team full of Galácticos, Ramos jumped right into the starting line-up, with more than thirty league appearances in each full season since moving to Madrid. There, he won back-to-back La Liga titles in 2007 and 2008, as well as the 2011 Copa del Rey.

He has also enjoyed success with Spain, winning two European Championships around the 2010 World Cup in which he started every match.

7 May 2011 - A Tip Of The Hat For Ronaldo

On 7 May 2011, Real Madrid winger Cristiano Ronaldo scored the fastest hat-trick in club history as they beat Sevilla 2-6.

The match came on the heels of Madrid's loss to Zaragoza, which kept them eight points behind league leaders Barcelona with four matches remaining, so they had something to prove. Sevilla were no pushovers, sitting in the table's sixth spot, but they were no match for Madrid on the day.

Playing at Sevilla's Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium, the visitors were already up 0-3 at the break with goals from Sergio Ramos (21'), Ronaldo (31'), and Kaká (42'). Sevilla striker Álvaro Negredo scored first in the second half (61'), but then Ronaldo delivered his record-breaking performance.

In the 65th minute, he intercepted a pass at the top of the Sevilla box, beat one defender, then fired the ball past the keeper from close range. Five minutes later, he beat the keeper again from inside the box after a pass beat Sevilla's offside trap. In the 75th minute, he latched on to a long cross and volleyed the ball home from just  a few feet away. In all, the three goals encompassed a span of just over 10 minutes, beating the previous club record of 26 minutes, 56 seconds (set by Ronaldo against Málaga two months earlier).

The flurry extended Madrid's lead to 1-6, though Negredo scored once more to end the day at 2-6. In an unusual coincidence, Madrid duplicated the scoreline in their next visit to the  Sánchez Pizjuán in December 2012 with three more goals from Ronaldo.

20 April 2011 - Maybe This Is Why They Don't Win It More Often

On 20 April 2011, Real Madrid won the Copa del Rey for the first time in eighteen years, then proceeded to destroy it by dropping it in the path of their parade bus. 

Before then, Madrid's last tournament title came in 1993, when they beat Real Zaragoza and they last appeared in a final in 2004 (when they lost to Zaragoza).

They faced El Clásico rivals Barcelona in the 2011 final, having gone winless against them in the league, with a 1-1 home draw and a crushing 5-0 away loss. The two teams were also scheduled to meet one week later in the Champions League semifinals. Playing before a crowd of 55,000 at Valencia's Estadio Mestalla, the final remained scoreless through the first 90 minutes, due largely to the stellar play of of the two goalkeepers, Madrid's Iker Casillas and Barca's José Pinto. But in the first period of extra time, Madrid forward Ángel di María sent in a cross for his teammate, Cristiano Ronaldo, to head home in the 105th minute for the day's only goal.

Unfortunately for Real Madrid, they did not get long to savor the cup. As the team rode an open-topped bus into Madrid to celebrate the win, with the parade extending into the early hours of the next morning, center back Sergio Ramos dropped the trophy over the front end of the bus. It landed directly in front of the moving bus, which proceeded to run over the cup.

The trophy--the eleventh one in Copa del Rey history--shattered into several pieces, but Madrid soon received a replacement to display at their stadium.