Real Madrid

Place of Birth: 

La Coruña

Date of Birth: 

02 June 1884

Titles Won: 

1 Regional Championship

Adolfo Meléndez was both a player and founder of the Club before he became its President. Real Madrid’s consecutive triumphs in the Spanish Cup led to Athletic Bilbao’s initiative to try to debilitate the Club, which eventually forced Carlos Padrós to resign as President and name Meléndez as his successor.

The first crisis of his tenure began on 14 October 1908, when, after a readjustment of the Board, a group of players led by the Giralt brothers and supported by Board Members Neyra, Buylla and Yarza left the Club and joined Español Madrid, who defeated the Whites in the Regional Championship.

The crisis continued and, in 1911, it seemed to many Club Members that Real Madrid would cease to exist. The situation gradually improved and, despite not winning any titles, the Club grew stronger as an entity.

After several years plagued by bad results on the pitch, Real Madrid lost 4-0 against Athletic Bilbao in the final of the Spanish Cup. Two weeks later, the Board tendered its resignation, this ending Meléndez’s first tenure.

His second Presidency was even tougher. After the Civil War had ended, football was practically non-existent, the same as Real Madrid, whose players had all left. Meléndez was chosen as President again on 29 April 1939 and spent five months building a new team. The Whites finished fourth in the League and lost the Spanish Cup (by then known as the Generalisimo’s Cup) 3-2 against Español. On 27 November 1940, he left the Presidency and was replaced by Antonio Santos Peralba.