Former director Ramon Calderon was named the new president of Real Madrid [Images] on Monday the day after claiming a narrow victory in a chaotic election campaign.

The 55-year-old lawyer immediately promised a bright future for the club, saying that he would constuct a winning project led by Italian coach Fabio Capello and former Real player Predrag Mijatovic.

"I want to represent all the fans and excite them by putting together the best possible team," Calderon told the Spanish television station Antena 3.

"We will start this very afternoon with Fabio Capello in charge as I promised. He will arrive this evening and start working with Mijatovic to contruct the new team that will be capable of winning a trophy next season."

Capello, who led Real to the league title in 1997, said he was intending to stay put at Juventus after taking the Italian side to a second successive Serie A title in May.

During the election campaign Calderon also said he would sign Arsenal [Images] midfielder Cesc Fabregas and Chelsea winger Arjen Robben and that he was close to bringing AC Milan's Brazil [Images] midfielder Kaka [Images] to the club.

Asked if the promised signings and that of Manchester United [Images] striker Ruud van Nistelrooy [Images] would now happen, Calderon replied: "It seems so. We want to get them here as soon as possible so that we can start the pre-season with them.  

"We also need to decide which players will be leaving the club....The future of Real Madrid will be brilliant."

CONFUSION

Calderon was named president by the club on Monday after the election result was left in doubt because of confusion over the validity of the postal vote.

"The decision was made due to the fact that we are unlikely to have a decision over the legality of the postal vote in the near future and in order to allow the club to function properly and try to build a new era of sporting success," a club spokesman told a news conference at the Bernabeu.

Calderon, who joined the Real board in 2002 under former president Florentino Perez, gained 246 votes more than rival candidate Juan Palacios and 1,642 more than Juan Miguel Villar Mir.

The other two candidates, former president Lorenzo Sanz and lawyer Arturo Baldasano, trailed well behind in the poll.

Approximately 42 percent of the 66,355 club members who were entitled to vote attended Sunday's poll in person.

A judge provisionally suspended the postal vote on Friday after Calderon and other candidates raised concerns over the lack of guarantees to ensure its legitimacy.  

It is not yet clear if the judge will allow the postal votes, which the media estimate could be as many as 10,500, to be counted. If they are, they could change the result of the election.

Calderon is the club's fourth president this year, following Florentino Perez, Fernando Martin and Luis Gomez-Montejano.

He joined the Real board at the invitation of Perez in January 2002 and remained there when the construction magnate resigned in February this year.

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