BFW Exclusive — A review of Legends: The Home of Football in Madrid

Robert Penner stepped into provide a review of Legends: The Home of Football in Madrid. Check out what he thought of the experience…

Madrid’s Legends Football Museum: A Tribute to the Beautiful Game

Madrid, a city synonymous with football tradition and excellence, recently added a new museum to its cultural scene — Legends: The Home of Football.

What strikes you first about the museum, which initially opened in 2023 and continued to build out its collection last year, is that it’s in a rather unassuming building, taking advantage of a highly-trafficked corner location just off the city’s central Puerta del Sol. But step inside and that changes quickly.

From the first film of the tour onwards, this museum is looking to provide an immersive experience–not just a collection of artifacts. The action starts quickly with a video montage taking you through football’s history in the blink of an eye and then moving to the second full surround animation about the “cathedrals” of the sport, putting you —the audience— in the middle of the pitch in stadiums like San Siro, Camp Nou, Wembley and Maracaná. No doubt sound and moving visuals are a big part of the “Legends” experience throughout your visit.

Then it’s the shirts! And wow, there are a lot of jerseys. Rooms are divided around the different major football competitions around the world with multiple jerseys and trophy replicas to go with each tournament as you move from exhibit to exhibit, and floor to floor. From the earliest Copa América over 100 years ago to the most recent 2023 Women’s World Cup, signed jerseys from the games stars are the backbone of the museum.

As you pause with each display, young fans have the chance to see and take photos of shirts worn by their favorite stars. For older generations, it might be a jersey or a tournament recap that sparks a visceral memory of a specific game – one of those I-remember-where-I-was-when-I-watched-that moments that takes you back to your youth. For me, it was the first World Cup game I ever watched on television, Germany’s 4-1 victory over Chile in their second group game of the 1982 World Cup. I closed my eyes and could picture my neighbor’s living room in Frankfurt, right down to the cushion I was sitting on.

It must have taken years to put together this extensive collection of memorabilia from some of football’s greatest players, including the likes of Pelé, Diego Maradona, Zinedine Zidane, and Cristiano Ronaldo. The personal items of these legends—jerseys, boots, and even match tickets— tell the story of their careers and their impact on the game.

My personal video favorite was a first-hand perspective of Maradona’s “Goal of the Century,” taking you on a digitally recreated POV view of his half-field run through the English defense at the 1986 World Cup.

While the museum has a definite Spanish tilt, given to its location and the country’s prominence in the game, Legends does try to be a celebration of global football culture without any specific added focus towards one region, country or football star.

And when our visit with my nine-year-old son, which I had planned for roughly 90 minutes, started pushing two hours with many more rooms left to see, I realized that a true football lover could spend half a day at Legends, still looking at shirts to remember just how much football has shaped your own life experience.

— Robert Penner