Real Madrid has won the trophy six consecutive years and has claimed the Trophy 21 times since the event's inception in 1979.
They are heavily favored again, as Galatasaray is making their initial appearance in the two-team friendly tournament.
There are rumors that Real Madrid Manager Jose Mourinho is set to resign. He has refuted those.
"Only those who don't know me can dream, make up or believe I may leave Real Madrid at this stage. I believe many people were surprised by the quality football showcased by Real Madrid during the preseason and it would be surprising news to them if I left the club now. Impossible!"Real Madrid is coming off of a disappointing loss to their rivals, Barcelona. A season ago, they finished in second to Barcelona in La Liga.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored 40 goals for Real Madrid last season, is expected to start.
Galatasaray goalie Fernando Muslera is coming off of a strong showing in Copa America for the host Argentina team.
There, he allowed only one goal in group play and then pushed eventual champion Uruguay to a 1-1 tie in the quarterfinals before eventually losing in penalty kicks.
He will need to play extremely well against Real Madrid to hold off the attack from Ronaldo and his teammates.
Real Madrid has been dominant in most of their last six wins of the Santiago Bernabeu Trophy. Three of those wins have been shutout victories and only one of the six wins was decided by one goal.
Real Madrid has not allowed a single goal in each of the last two years. In 2009, they beat Norway’s Rosenborg 4-0 while they defeated Uruguay’s Peñarol 2-0 in 2010.
Galtasaray will be using 2011’s contest as a good measurement to see how they compare to Europe’s elite teams.
