El Clasico: 5 facts that you did not know about the game

#2 The 11-1 scoreline

Estadio Chamartín, Madrid's home ground during the 11-1 demolition

Real Madrid hold the record for a win with the highest margin in an El Clasico. In the second leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal of the year 1943, Madrid thrashed a hapless Barcelona team 11-1.

The scoreline would remain etched in history but there was a lot more to the fixture than just the end result. During the World War II, Spain was ruled by Francisco Franco, a military general and a monarch. He wanted to make Spain a nationalist state by suppressing any autonomous and free-thinking culture and states by making Madrid as the centre of all power.

As a result, he imposed strict rules on the Basque and Catalonian regions, two semi-autonomous states by going as far as imprisoning people who spoke in any dialect other than Castilian. Needless to say, the tension between the capital city of Madrid and Catalonian regions kept rising.

The football stadium, however, was one place where the common man could express his emotions freely thus making El Clasico so much more important for the fans as well as the players. Barcelona, after winning the first leg 3-0 at home, took to the media to rile up Madrid. This angered the Madrid fans and media alike.

When Barcelona left their hotel for the away fixture, stones were thrown at their bus by a group of Madrid fans. Things did not stop there as when they reached Madrid's stadium, they were met by a hostile police force who kept sledging the players. The director of State Security, a close confidant of Franco, visited the Barcelona dressing room before the match. He told them that they are playing now at the mercy of the state and that they must behave during the match.

On the pitch, they were met by a stadium full of Madrid fans as the Barcelona fans were banned from entering the stadium. Coins were thrown at them and death threats passed. The atmosphere affected the Barcelona players so much that they played while fearing for their lives. They ended up losing 11-1 as they gave up on the match even before they stepped on to the pitch.