El Clásico , is the name given in
football to any match between fierce rivals Real Madrid C.F. and FC Barcelona.
Originally it referred only to those competitions held in the Spanish championship,
but nowadays the term has been generalized, and tends to include every single
match between the two clubs: UEFA Champions League, Copa del Rey, etc. Other
than the UEFA Champions League Final, it is the biggest football club game in
the world, and is among the most viewed annual sports events.
The rivalry comes about as Madrid
and Barcelona are the two largest cities in Spain, and they are sometimes
identified with opposing political positions, with Real Madrid viewed as
representing Spanish nationalism and Barcelona viewed as representing Catalan
nationalism. The rivalry is regarded as one of the biggest in world sport. The
two clubs are among the richest and most successful football clubs in the
world; in 2014 they were ranked the world's two most valuable sports teams.
Both clubs have a global fanbase; they are the world's two most followed sports
teams on social media.
Real Madrid leads the head to head
results in competitive matches with 92 wins to Barcelona's 89, while Barcelona
leads in total matches with 108 wins to Real Madrid's 96. Along with Athletic
Bilbao, they are the only clubs in La Liga to have never been relegated.
The bitterness between the
Galacticos and the Blaugrana is more than just a simple rivalry of clubs or
fanatics; it’s more than a commercial success or the 1 billion plus viewers the
game generates. The Clásico is the stage where year after year the people of
Catalonia (the region where Barcelona resides) declare their independence from
Spain.
Catalonia existed as a sovereign
state with its own language, culture, and identity until September 11, 1714,
when King Philip V conquered the Catalan region. Shortly thereafter, the few
remaining territories of the Iberian Peninsula were annexed, thus creating the
country that we know today as Spain.
As early as the 1930s, Barcelona
"had developed a reputation as a symbol of Catalan identity, opposed to
the centralising tendencies of Madrid". In 1936, when Francisco Franco
started the Coup d'état against the democratic Second Spanish Republic, the
president of Barcelona, Josep Sunyol, member of the Republican Left of
Catalonia and Deputy to The Cortes, was arrested and executed without trial by
Franco's troop] (Sunyol was exercising his political activities, visiting Republican
troops north of Madrid).
During the next 200 years, Spanish
was slowly introduced into Catalonia and was eventually made the official
language of the region. The Catalan people were allowed to use their language
at their own leisure, but all legal documents, schools, and even the media were
forced to use Spanish. This infuriated the proud people of Catalonia, but they
were helpless to stop the actions of the Spanish capital.
In the early part of the 20th
century, Catalonia made great strides in their consistent hunt for
independence. Unfortunately, their plans of secession came to a halt when
Franco, a conservative, right-wing militant, became Spain’s first and only
dictator at the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939, and for the next 36
years, he ruled over the country with a combination of fear, oppression, and
sheer military might.
After the end of the war Franco did
everything in his power to destroy the culture and sense of identity of the
Catalonian people. Over 500,000 surviving Spanish Republicans who had fought
against Franco were sent to concentration camps in Spain, Germany, and Austria.
Franco then stripped the political autonomy of Catalonia. The Catalonian people
gained political autonomy in 1931 after Alfonso XIII, the former King of Spain,
fled Spain when the Second Spanish Republic was democratically voted into
power. Franco banned the Senyera, the Catalan National Flag from being flown in
Catalonia. Next, Franco attempted to eradicate Catalan, the indigenous language
of Catalonia. It became illegal to speak Catalan in public. All signs, from
business signs to street signs, were either removed, covered, or changed from
Catalan to Castilian Spanish, the official dialect of Spain. If a business had
a Catalan name, it had to change its name to Castilian Spanish. It became
illegal to give children Catalan names. All books that were written in Catalan
were destroyed and it was made illegal to publish books in Catalan. It was
forbidden to teach Catalan in schools. To reimburse Spain for the cost of the
war, thousands of Catalonians were forced to pay fines to Spain or had their property
seized by the Spanish Government. Many professional state employees, especially
teachers, lost their jobs or were limited in their employment opportunities
because of the support they had given to the previous Republic or because they
supported the Republicans during the war.
Those who opposed the dictatorship
were mainly derived from the Basque and Catalan region, but rebellions arose
throughout the whole of Spain. These rebels, when captured, were tortured for
information and then killed. On the other hand, Franco’s allies were pampered
with gifts and a treasure trove of excessive commodities.
The only place the Catalonian
people felt safe to celebrate their heritage, speak their language and wave the
Senyera was inside the Camp Nou Stadium during FC Barcelona home matches. The
Camp Nou became the cultural and spiritual home of Barcelona and Catalonia, a
place where the legacy of the Catalan people would be preserved. It was a place
where subjugated peoples, by celebrating their culture, were given the freedom
to act in open rebellion towards their oppressors. Barcelona became “Més que un
club” (more than a club) to the people of Barcelona and Catalonia who relied on
FC Barcelona to give them the freedom to celebrate and express their cultural
and political identity. it was transformed into a symbol of pride for the
Catalan people and a representation of hope for a better tomorrow. Franco
realized the importance of Barcelona to the identity of the Catalonian people
so he attempted to destroy FC Barcelona. At the beginning of the Spanish Civil
War, FC Barcelona’s president was murdered by Franco’s soldiers on a trip to visit
Republican soldiers who were stationed close to Madrid. Franco forced the club
to change its name from their Catalonian, Futbol Club Barcelona, to the Spanish
Barcelona Club de Fútbol. Franco also
forced Barcelona to remove the Senyera from the top right corner of their club
badge.
Real Madrid, on the other hand,
represented the traditional ideals and values of the Spanish establishment.
Real Madrid was known as Madrid Football Club until 1920 when King Alfonso XIII
gifted Madrid FC the name “Real” (Royalty) and the club changed its name to
Real Madrid and added a crown to their club crest. At that time Atlético
Madrid, their future city rival, was still a feeder club to Athletic Bilbao.
Thus, Real Madrid was not only known as the primary club of Madrid, but the club
that represented the Spanish Monarchy. In 1931 after a Spanish general election
ended the Spanish Monarchy and created The Second Spanish Republic, Real Madrid
was stripped of their title “Real,” returning to the name Madrid FC, and their
new crest did not include a crown. In 1939, after Franco and the Nationalists
won the Spanish Civil War and Franco became the dictator of Spain, he restored
the “Real” to Madrid FC, and again favored the club that Alfonso XIII
established as the club that represented the traditional ideologies of Spain.
After Franco’s death in 1975, and
subsequently the end of the dictatorship, Catalonia’s rights, including the use
of Catalan in all outlets, were re-established, but their hunger for
independence has yet to be fulfilled.
Today, Real Madrid, in their
all-white uniform, still represents a pure and united Spain. In contrast, FC
Barcelona proudly bestows the Catalan flag (the only flag one sees in
Catalonia) on their jerseys as a memorial of their continuous struggle for an
independent state.
The conflict between Real Madrid
and Barcelona has long surpassed the sporting dimension,so that elections to
the clubs' presidencies are strongly politicized.During the dictatorships of Miguel
Primo de Rivera and of Francisco Franco, all regional languages and identities
in Spain were frowned upon and restrained. In this period, Barcelona gained
their motto més que un club ( More than a club) because of its alleged
connection to Catalan nationalist beliefs and its representative role for that
land. During Franco's regime, however, Barcelona was granted profit due to its
good relationship with the dictator at management level, even giving two awards
to him. The links between senior Real Madrid representatives and the Francoist
regime were undeniable, for most of the Catalans, Real Madrid was regarded as
"the establishment club", despite the fact that presidents of both
clubs like Josep Sunyol and Rafael Sánchez Guerra, suffered at the hands of
Franco's supporters in the Spanish Civil War.
The image for both clubs was
further affected by the creation of Ultras groups, some of which became
hooligans. In 1980, Ultras Sur was founded as a far-right-leaning Real Madrid
ultras group, followed in 1981 by the foundation of the far-right, Barcelona
ultras group Boixos Nois. Both groups became known for their violent acts, and
one of the most conflictive factions of Barcelona supporters, the Casuals,
became a full-fledged criminal organisation. For many people, Barcelona is
still considered as "the rebellious club", or the alternative pole to
"Real Madrid's conservatism".Moreover, according to a Spanish poll
released by CIS , Real Madrid's followers tend to adopt right-wing views, while
Barcelona fans are politically closer associated with the left-wing, except in
Catalonia, where right-wing Catalan nationalists and non-nationalists
overwhelmingly support Barcelona. However, among the voters of the biggest
center-left party of Spain, PSOE, Real Madrid fan base is bigger than
Barcelona's.
On 13 June 1943, Real Madrid beat
Barcelona 11–1 in the second leg of a semi-final of the Copa del Generalísimo,
the Copa del Rey having been renamed in honour of General Franco. It has been
suggested that Barcelona players were intimidated by police. According
to Spanish journalist and writer, Juan Carlos Pasamontes, Barcelona player
Josep Valle denied that the Spanish security forces came before the match.
Instead, at the end of the first half, Barcelona coach Juan José Nogués and all
of his players were angry with the hard-style of play Real Madrid was using and
with the aggressiveness of the home crowd. When they refused to take the field,
the Superior Chief of Police of Madrid appeared, identified himself, and
ordered the team to take the field.
A newspaper called the scoreline
"as absurd as it was abnormal".
According to football writer Sid Lowe; "There have been relatively
few mentions of the game [since] and it is not a result that has been
particularly celebrated in Madrid. Indeed, the 11-1 occupies a far more
prominent place in Barcelona's history."Fernando Argila, Barcelona's
reserve goalkeeper from the game, said: “There was no rivalry. Not, at least,
until that game.’’
The most important player in the
rivalry between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid is Alfredo De Stefano. De Stefano
is one of the greatest players in the history of World Football and the
greatest player in the history of Real Madrid CF. He led Real Madrid to five
European Championships and eight Spanish League titles, and scored 216 goals in
284 matches. De Stefano initiated a transfer battle between Barcelona and Real
Madrid that is one of the most outrageous stories in world football and came to
define the rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid. The rivalry was
intensified during the 1950s when the clubs disputed the signing of Alfredo Di
Stéfano. Di Stéfano had impressed both Barcelona and Real Madrid while playing
for Club Deportivo Los Millonarios in Bogotá, Colombia, during a players'
strike in his native Argentina. Both Real Madrid and Barcelona attempted to
sign him and, due to confusion that emerged from Di Stéfano moving to
Millonarios from Club Atlético River Plate following the strike, both clubs
claimed to own his registration. After intervention from FIFA representative
Muñoz Calero, it was decided that both Barcelona and Real Madrid had to share
the player in alternate seasons. Barcelona's humiliated president was forced to
resign by the Barcelona board, with the interim board cancelling Di Stéfano's
contract. While the club's official website bitterly bemoans this incident as
"a strange federative manoeuvre with Francoist backing", Real Madrid
point to the president's resignation and subsequent cancelling of Di Stéfano's
contract to argue it was voluntary. This ended the long struggle for Di
Stéfano, as he moved definitively to Real Madrid.
Di Stéfano became integral in the
subsequent success achieved by Real Madrid, scoring twice in his first game
against Barcelona. With him, Real Madrid won the initial five European
Champions Cup competitions. The 1960s saw the rivalry reach the European stage
when they met twice at the European Cup, Real Madrid winning in 1960 and
Barcelona winning in 1961.
During the last three decades, the
rivalry has been augmented by the modern Spanish tradition of the Pasillo,
where one team is given the guard of honor by the other team, once the former
clinches the La Liga trophy before El Clásico takes place. This has happened in
three occasions. First, during El Clásico that took place on 30 April 1988,
where Real Madrid won the championship on the previous round. Then, three years
later, when Barcelona won the championship two rounds before El Clásico on 8
June 1991.The last pasillo, and most recent, took place on 7 May 2008, and this
time Real Madrid had won the championship.
The two teams met again in the UEFA
Champions League semi-final in 2002, with Real Madrid winning 2–0 in Barcelona
and a 1–1 draw in Madrid. The match was dubbed by Spanish media as the
"Match of the Century".
While El Clásico is regarded as one
of the fiercest rivalries in world football, there have been rare moments when
fans have shown praise for a player on the opposing team. In 1980, Laurie
Cunningham was the first Real Madrid player to receive applause from Barcelona
fans at Camp Nou; after excelling during the match and with Madrid winning 2-0,
Cunningham left the field to a standing ovation from the locals. On 26 June
1983, during the second leg of the Copa de la Liga final at the Santiago
Bernabéu in Madrid, having dribbled past the Real Madrid goalkeeper, Barcelona
star Diego Maradona ran towards an empty goal before stopping just as the
Madrid defender came sliding in an attempt to block the shot and crashed into
the post, before Maradona slotted the ball into the net; Madrid fans were
stunned at the manner of the goal and began applauding. In November 2005,
Ronaldinho became the second Barcelona player to receive a standing ovation
from Madrid fans at the Santiago Bernabéu; after dribbling through the Madrid
defence twice to score two goals in a 3-0 win, Madrid fans paid homage to his
performance with applause.
The rivalry has been strengthened
over time by the internal transfer of players between the clubs. Barcelona
players who have later played for Real Madrid include Bernd Schuster, who
switched in 1988; and Michael Laudrup, who went to Real Madrid on a free
transfer in 1994. The most notorious, however, was former Barcelona
vice-captain Luís Figo's switch to Madrid in 2000. On his return to Barcelona
in a Real Madrid shirt, Figo was mercilessly taunted throughout; banners with
Judas. Scum. Mercenary were hung around the stadium, and aside from the
vociferous abuse, a barrage of missiles reigned down onto the field; the game
in 2002 produced one of the defining images of the rivalry when a pig's head
was in among the debris where Figo had been taking a corner. Players
transferring from Real Madrid to Barcelona are less frequent, the most recent
being Luis Enrique, who went to Barcelona in 1996 where he went on to captain
Barcelona, and became the manager of Barcelona in 2014.
A 2007 survey by the Centro de
Investigaciones Sociológicas determined that Real Madrid was the team with the
largest following in Spain with 32% of the Spanish population supported Real
Madrid, while 25% supported Barcelona. In third place came Valencia, who were
supported by 5%. According to a poll performed by Ikerfel in 2011 and published
in AS, Barcelona is the most popular team in Spain with 44% of preferences,
while Real Madrid is in the second place with 37%. In the overall popularity,
Atlético Madrid, Valencia and Athletic Bilbao complete the top five. Barcelona
seems to be more popular in Europe than Real Madrid. A survey made by the
German research agency Sport+Markt in 2010 revealed that Barcelona has
approximately 57.8 million fans around Europe, while Real Madrid has 31.3
million fans.
The rivalry intensified in 2011
where, due to the final of the Copa Del Rey and the meeting of the two in the
UEFA Champions League, Barcelona and Real Madrid were scheduled to meet each
other four times in 18 days. Several accusations of unsportsmanlike behaviour
from both teams and a war of words erupted throughout the fixtures which
included four red cards. Spain coach Vicente del Bosque stated that he was
"concerned" that due to the rising hatred between the two clubs, that
this could cause friction in the national side. In recent years, it has been
said that the rivalry has been "encapsulated" by the rivalry between
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
The political history between FC
Barcelona and Real Madrid makes El Clásico, the match between FC Barcelona and
Real Madrid much more than a sports rivalry. This rivalry is a political and
ideological event that captures the hearts and minds of all Spanish citizens.
For FC Barcelona supporters, victory or sustained success for Barcelona is a
social and political victory for the anti-establishment Left Wing citizens.
Sustained superiority for Real Madrid supports is a victory for the Right Wing
establishment.
At the end of the 2008-2009 season,
FC Barcelona, was the toast of world football after completing one of the most
successful seasons in their club’s history. For the first time in Barcelona’s
history and the only time in the history of any Spanish team, FC Barcelona won
the continental treble, winning all three major trophies. Barcelona won the
Spanish League Tournament, La Liga, by nine points, The Spanish Cup
Competition, Copa Del Ray, and the primary European Competition, The Champions
League.
What solidified this Barcelona team
as one of the greatest collections of talent ever assembled on one club team
was not that they won but how they won. Barcelona’s style of play displayed
artistry that was unmatched by any other club team, combined with a ruthless
efficiency that forced all opposition to play extremely defensively, as it was
impossible to play open football against Barcelona. In a time when elite clubs
took on hundreds of millions of dollars in debt or were gifted with benefactors
who had the capitol to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to build teams who
could compete at the highest level, Barcelona’s team and their unique style of
play was developed through their La Masia youth academy and brought graduates
such as Víctor Valdés, Carles Puyol, Gerard Piqué, Sergio Busquets, “Xavi”
Hernández, Andrés Iniesta, and Leo Messi as first team members or regular
contributors.
Barcelona’s style of play was
primarily built around smaller and more technically skilled players who looked
to retaining possession as a means to increase the fatigue of their opposition
who were forced to defend for long periods of time. This style of play also
meant Barcelona could limit their physical exertion by limiting the time they
had to defend. When Barcelona attempted to attack they created passing
triangles to facilitate short intricate passing. This style of play maximized
the opportunities for Barcelona’s players to exploit their technical
superiority over their opposition. In defense, Barcelona played with a very
high defensive line and aggressively pressed their opposition in an attempt to
protect their high defensive line so opposition teams could not play the ball
into the open space behind them. With this strategy Barcelona was able to win
the ball back quickly close to their opposition’s goal and minimize the amount
of area they had to cover to get in threatening attacking positions. Thus, they
could limit the running of their smaller and lower energy players who struggled
to cover large amounts of territory throughout a match.
While Barcelona was playing a style
of football that would come to define a generation, their eternal rival Real
Madrid was stuck in a cycle of play that was not on a level of a club that
considered itself to be the most successful club in the world. In the eight
seasons between the 2001-2002 season, the last time Real Madrid had won the
Champions League, and the 2008-2009 season, Real Madrid only won three
trophies, winning La Liga three times. Real Madrid also ceased to exist as a
European heavyweight, bowing out of the Champions League in the Round of 16
five years straight starting with the 2004-2005 season. With Barcelona winning two
Champions League titles in 2006 and 2009, Real Madrid’s results were
unacceptable. To add insult to injury, Barcelona embarrassed Real Madrid on
their home field in a 6-2 match that is one of the greatest victories for
Barcelona and one of the worst defeats in the history of El Clásico.
To return Real Madrid to their
position as the best club in the world, a club that could step on the field and
beat Barcelona, and a club that would win Real Madrid’s 10th European Cup, La
Décima, Real Madrid turned to Florentino Pérez. Pérez was the man who built The
Galacticos, a collection of world class stars that were bought by Real Madrid
and who led the club to a Champions League victory in 2002. During their brief
period of success they became known as one of the most famous teams in the
history of club football. Pérez looked to build an athletic and physical
counter-attacking team that could overpower Barcelona’s smaller players and
exploit Barcelona’s open style of play and high defensive line.
Pérez began quickly dismantling the
Real Madrid side that had been so disappointing the previous seasons. He sold
nine players including Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder, two players who would
subsequently lead Bayern Munich and Inter Milan, respectively, to the next seasons
Champions League Final.
The first and most important
acquisition for Pérez was Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo was the perfect player to
build this new Real Madrid team around. His athleticism, speed and direct style
of play fit into Real Madrid’s now preferred counter-attacking style of play.
Ronaldo was positioned at the Left Wing to exploit the attacking movements of
Barcelona’s Right Fullback, Dani Alves. Alves was a very attack minded Fullback
and was responsible for providing width for Barcelona to allow their Right
Winger to help build play centrally. With Barcelona choosing to play one player
on their right flank, Ronaldo was not forced to track back defensively. Instead
he positioned himself parallel to Barcelona’s deepest Centerback, in a position
to make immediate counter attacks and to make runs into the space behind
Barcelona’s high defensive line. Ronaldo also brought prestige to the brand of
Real Madrid.
Throughout the previous season,
Barcelona’s Leo Messi had become the most celebrated player in the world
football. Messi brought success on the field combined with a personality and
demeanor that made him identifiable with the average football fan. Thus Messi
was the player that represented Barcelona’s dynasty just as Pelé had
represented Santos and the Brazilian National Team and Johan Cruyff had
represented Total Football, Ajax, Barcelona, and the Dutch National Team.
Cristiano Ronaldo had built himself into the biggest brand in world football
with his success on the field and his marketability off of the football field.
At Manchester United he became the best player in the Premier League. He won
three Premier League titles and led Manchester United to the 2008 Champions
League title. He also was awarded the 2008 Ballon d’Or for being the best
player in world football. With his male model looks and physique, Ronaldo had
the biggest off the field profile of any professional footballer as he was the
face of multiple brands and was the most marketable footballer in the world.
Ronaldo was the perfect player to symbolize the new Galácticos, the team that
would challenge and overtake Messi and the brand of FC Barcelona.
Ronaldo needed players to provide
service behind opposition defensive lines so he would have the ability to
spearhead Real Madrid’s transition play. To fill these needs Real Madrid signed
Xabi Alonso and Kaká. Kaká was the 2007 Ballon d’Or winner and was given the
Central Attacking Midfield position for Real Madrid. He was supposed to provide
creativity from higher up the field, but he was hampered by injury and failed
to live up to expectations at Real Madrid. Xabi Alonso was one of the best
Holding Midfielders in world football. He was noted for being able to control
his team’s attacking movements from deeper positions by sending pinpoint long
and direct passes to his team’s attacking players. He was also great at
creating scoring opportunities from corner kicks and indirect free kicks where
Ronaldo and Real Madrid’s other bigger players would be able to finish scoring
chances, mostly with headers. These direct passes would either be played to
Ronaldo behind opposition defensive lines or other Real Madrid advanced players
who could finish scoring chances or create scoring chances for Ronaldo.
Catalonia has made tremendous
progress in its search for independence and “if Catalonia became independent”,
said La Liga president Javier Tebas, “taking into consideration the Sports Laws
that would be enforced by the rest of Spain, Barcelona wouldn’t be allowed to
play [in La Liga]”. In other words, there would be no Clásico between FC
Barcelona and Real Madrid. The ultimate rivalry would finally come to an end.
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