Real Madrid, the Spanish soccer team that has been dubbed the most successful club of the 20th century, began practicing today on the UCLA soccer field, with hordes of journalists and spectators attending the highly anticipated event.

 

Stars such as forward Cristiano Ronaldo, the highest paid soccer player in the world, and defenders Pepe and Marcelo Vieira, kicked soccer balls and ran scrimmages on the enclosed field behind UCLA's John Wooden Center. Other players, such as midfielder Kaká, are due to arrive next week.

 

(AUG. 3 UPDATE: Team representatives said today that no additional credentials will be issued to news media seeking to cover training sessions on campus, which remain closed to the public.)

 

The Real Madrid visit is part of the team's pre-season tour, which will include games against Club America in San Francisco on Aug. 4 and against the Los Angeles Galaxy on Aug. 7 at the Rose Bowl.

 

Pitting European soccer teams against Major League Soccer teams in the U.S. is part of a strategy to build the sport's popularity in America, and UCLA is benefitting from the relationship, said Richard Mylin, associate director of UCLA Cultural and Recreational Affairs.

 

The campus's pristine fields and top-notch athletic facilities have become a destination for European soccer teams ever since English club Chelsea trained at UCLA in 2005, Mylin said. 

 

Chelsea returned in 2007, and Italian teams Inter Milan and AC Milan and Spanish team Barcelona trained at UCLA in 2009.

 

José Mourinho, Real Madrid's coach, also trained Chelsea and Inter Milan at UCLA. UCLA sports officials said Mourinho liked the campus facilities so much that he insisted that teams he coaches return to practice here. 

 

"The teams like UCLA because there's good airport access, it's close to Beverly Hills and we have great athletic facilities," Mylin said. 

 

Such high-profile visits also are lucrative for the campus because the teams pay a rental fee for the use of the field and other locations, cover the wages of UCLA employees who staff the visits, and pay all other costs, including parking.   

 

As more than 75 media outlets shot video and photographs of the team's practice, dozens of spectators camped outside the field, hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite players. Windscreens were set up on the fence surrounding the field to keep the practice private.

 

Luis Lima, 27, of Hawthorne, said he read that Real Madrid, his favorite team, was coming to UCLA in the Spanish newspaper Marca, and he couldn't miss the opportunity to catch a glimpse of such stars as Ronaldo.

 

"They are my idols," he said.

 

Ronaldo was the only player to attend the post-practice news conference, where he held court. As he walked into the room, more than a dozen photographers swarmed around him and snapped photos. Ronaldo then answered questions in Spanish, Portuguese and English.

 

Asked what he thought so far about UCLA's training facilities, he answered, "Great … it's always good to travel to see different cultures, so we are really happy to be here."