Real Madrid match a coup for Ariz. fans

Real Madrid is one of the world’s biggest and most popular teams in all of sports. The Spanish soccer giant is led by Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the world’s best players and most recognizable athletes.

Real Madrid is competing in metro Phoenix for the first time on Thursday, Aug. 1. It will face the Los Angeles Galaxy, the two-time defending Major League Soccer champions, in the first round of the International Champions Cup tournament.

Here are three reasons to witness this historic soccer event:

1 Real Madrid is the second-mostvaluable sports team in the world (ahead of any American sports team), valued at $1.88 billion in 2013, according to Forbes magazine. The International Champions Cup tournament, which is hosted in seven cities, boasts eight of the most famous soccer clubs in the world from England, Italy, Spain and the U.S., but Real Madrid is the most popular of all. Real Madrid playing a match at University of Phoenix Stadium is a major coup for the Valley sports community and may never happen again.

2 The Spanish powerhouse employs some of today’s best soccer stars, but none is more polarizing than Ronaldo. With his blazing speed and ridiculous ball skills, the forward can dazzle the eye of any sports fan. And like David Beckham before him, Ronaldo, 28, also is known for his supermodel looks. People magazine named him 2012’s “Sexiest Athlete on the Field — and on the Town.”

3 The Galaxy is the lone American participant in the Cup and arguably America’s best soccer team. The Galaxy’s leading man is forward Landon Donovan, the best player in the history of the U.S. Men’s National Team.