How Gravesen's throw-ins landed him a move to Real Madrid

This is the 14th episode in a new series called 'MARCA: Stories We Never Told,' a collection of stories and anecdotes that, until now, were filed in our drawers for different reasons and are now seeing the light.

After Jose Antonio Camacho's resignation and Mariano Garcia Remon's sacking, Vanderlei Luxemburgo took over as Real Madrid boss during the 2004 Christmas break.

The squad was in good shape, but the summer signings hadn't come off.

Jonathan Woodgate was injured, while Michael Owen and Walter Samuel hadn't settled in.

In January, the option to sign Thomas Gravesen from Everton became available, with the Dane able to provide a bit of fight to the Real Madrid midfield.

The squad already included the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Guti, David Beckham, Santiago Solari and Albert Celades - all player who were good on the ball.

Once Gravesen's name popped up, Los Blancos sent scouts to watch him play for Everton as he had a good reputation in the physical Premier League.

Other names were linked to Real Madrid, but the Gravesen signing became more and more of a possibility.

As the signing really began to be considered, Real Madrid sent scouts back to England to watch Gravesen again.

They noted his running and his strength, but, above all else, his throw-ins.

He launched balls into the penalty area, causing all sorts of danger and often leading to corners.

In the end, Gravesen, who said himself that he thought he'd sign for Atletico Madrid in 2005, joined Real Madrid.

He put pen to paper at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on January 15, 2005, for a fee of 3.5 million euros.

In 18 months in the Spanish capital, Gravesen made 50 appearances in the famous white shirt, but he didn't take many throw-ins as they were actually owned by Roberto Carlos.