Real Madrid is ready for a new international challenge at the FIFA Club World Cup, and it's doing so from an unusual place: Miami. At the Hard Rock Stadium, the team led by Xabi Alonso makes its debut against Al Hilal, coached by Simone Inzaghi, who did not hesitate to call the white club “probably the best team in the world.”

“We arrive confident and eager to compete with our strengths,” Inzaghi said in a press conference. The Italian coach, now in charge of the Saudi team, showed enthusiasm for the challenge and his new stage outside Europe: “It was time to change, to open my mind.”

On his side, Xabi Alonso made it clear that his team not only comes with talent but also something more important: hunger for victory. “Defending the badge and competing with intensity is the minimum this team must have,” he said. The Spaniard praised Carlo Ancelotti’s legacy and emphasized the importance of total commitment in both defense and attack.

Are you really a Madrid fan?

While cameras focus on the pitch, the passion for Madridismo is also alive in the streets of Miami. On the famous Calle 8, we went out to ask Cubans something not everyone knows: Who was the first scorer at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium?

Answers varied widely and were quite curious: Ronaldinho, Raúl, even a shy “don’t bother me, I’m working.” But few knew the truth: the first player to score a goal at the Bernabéu was Jesús ‘Chus’ Alonso, a Cuban born in Havana in 1927.

It was 1947, and the stadium was still called Chamartín. At its inauguration, Chus Alonso, proud Caribbean, didn’t just score one goal but two, forever inscribing his name in the history of the most decorated club in the world.

“My grandfather used to tell me stories about Di Stéfano, and my father repeated them. Since I was a kid, I’ve been a fan of Madrid,” a proud fan told us during the interview. “Although baseball is more popular in Cuba, football also runs through our veins.”

While Vinicius, Modric, and company chase glory in Miami, history reminds us that at the beginnings of the Santiago Bernabéu, the first goal was Cuban. And you, did you know this fact? If not, now you can consider yourself a bit more Madridista.