El Clásico: A club rivalry like no other in the world

‘The Classic’ is a story of highs and lows

El Clásico, as the name suggests, “The Classic” is a clear representation of the never-ending rivalries between two of the most famous and influential football clubs in Spain, Futbol Club Barcelona (Barcelona) and Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (Real Madrid).

Is it only between the footballing clubs or is there more to this rivalry than just the game? The famous rivalry comes to life in the footballing field as Madrid and Barcelona, two of the largest cities in Spain, are also the two clubs that are among the richest and most successful.

The first ever El Clásico was played on 13th May, 1902 which was played for Copa de la Coronación, the forerunner of the Copa Del Rey. Barcelona had won the game 3-1 but the Spanish Football Association reportedly does not recognize the competition as official.

There is much more to this rivalry than a mere football match. They are even identified with contrasting political outlooks, with Real Madrid viewed as representing Spanish nationalism and Barcelona viewed as representing Catalanism.

Turning the pages of the national history of Spain, it dates back to 1936 when Francisco Franco, a Spanish military leader, started the golpe against the democratic second Spanish Republic, the president of Barcelona, Josep Sunyol, was arrested and executed without trial by Franco’s troops. It was reportedly during the Franco dictatorship; most citizens of Barcelona were in strong opposition to the fascist-like regime of Spain.

An author in his book titled “Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football” termed El Clásico a re-enactment of the Spanish Civil War. The mounting rivalry amplified during the 1950s when both the clubs disputed the signing of Alfredo Di Stéfano, an Argentine footballer widely regarded as one of the best attacking midfielders and forwards of his times.

Both club presidents disputed the signing of Di Stéfano with their own teams. In the end it was Real Madrid who acquired Di Stéfano after Barcelona backed out in a so called “voluntary” decision. Subsequently, Alfredo Di Stéfano became an integral part in the Real Madrid squad and contributed heavily to the success achieved by Real Madrid, besides scoring twice in his first game against Barcelona, which acted as the fuel to the already fiery rivalry.

The last three decades have seen the augmentation of this rivalry with the advent of Pasillo, a modern Spanish tradition, where one team is given the guard of honor by the other, once the former clinches the La Liga trophy before El Clásico takes place. We have witnessed this in three occasions.

Firstly, the El Clásico on 30 April 1988, Real Madrid had already won the La Liga title. 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, when Real Madrid won the La Liga league title.

El Clásico has given fans innumerable moments and matches which are worth remembering. The timeless highlights of glorious footballing moments and the heated up conversations and accusations by players and managers are a great source of entertainment for fans. El Clásico moments have also been making headlines with the media for decades. Some of the prominent El Clásico moments are listed below.

Alfredo Di Stefano’s first El Clásico, which was clouded by controversies of his transfer to Spanish football as very few people were aware as to which club had signed him, Real Madrid reportedly paid Barcelona four million as Di Stefano allegedly had signed with the Catalans from his former club river plate. Amidst a controversial El Clásico debut which Real Madrid won 5-0, Di Stefano scored four goals.

Tempers always flare!

Controversies struck back yet again with signing of Johan Cruyff. Real Madrid and Barcelona were again mingled up in disputes over the signing of Cruyff, however this time round the Catalans made sure that Johan Cruyff was a member of the Barcelona squad. He set up three and scored one goal as Barcelona recorded a 5-0 win in the 1973/74 season against their arch rivals and subsequently, secured their first La Liga title since 1960.

The Johan Cruyff led “dream team” also destroyed Real Madrid in the 1993/94 season. The El Clásico match finished 5-0 with the Brazilian footballing star Romario scoring a sensational hat trick. Albeit Romario stole the show and made headlines in that El Clásico, it was Pep Guardiola’s midfield craftsmanship which resulted of the glorious win.

Pep Guardiola later went on to become one of the most successful managers of FC Barcelona. Real Madrid was not far behind and did retaliate with a 5-0 win in the following El Clásico played next season, with the signing of Michael Laudrup to Real Madrid from Barcelona.

The infamous “Derbi de la Verguenza” or the derby of shame, which centered around Luis Figo, who controversially “betrayed” Barcelona by leaving the club and signing for Real Madrid. The 2002 El Clásico match at Camp Nou ended in a 0-0 tie but was one of the most provocative and remembered El Clásico’s of all times.

Luis Figo, reportedly had a number of objects hurled at him at Camp Nou, including the head of a suckling pig and a full bottle of whiskey, while preparing for a corner kick. Roberto Carlos led the Real Madrid team off the field in protest of such an incident against the Portuguese international. Banners of “we hate you coz we loved you” were displayed throughout and boos and whistles were heard as and when Figo had a touch on the ball.

Barcelona player Ronaldinho became only the second player to have received a standing ovation from the crowd at Bernabeu, Real Madrid’s home stadium. Although Samuel Eto’o provided the lead to Barcelona in the first 45 minutes of the 2005 El Clásico, the Brazilian sensation Ronaldinho mesmerized the crowd with his amazing dribbling skills and talent.

Another famous but embarrassing event was the Copa Del Rey incident of Sergio Ramos dropping the trophy in a post-match celebration. It was José Mourinho’s first season as the Real Madrid coach in the Copa Del Rey Final of 2011 which saw a very tense atmosphere as the teams were goal less post ninety minutes of playing , Real Madrid clinched victory by virtue of an extra time goal by the sensational Cristiano Ronaldo.

The 2011 Champions League semi-final intensified the rivalry with Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola and Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho taking center stage. A couple of brilliant goals from goal machine Lionel Messi at Bernabeu provided the Catalans with the away goal advantage.

In the return leg at Camp Nou, Pedro Rodriguez goal gave the lead to Barcelona yet again but Marcelo did score an equalizer. Barcelona eventually went on to win the match enroute to beating Manchester United at the 2011 Champions League final thereby being crowned as the Champions League winners.

With the advent of a new season and the appointment of new managers the rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona is set to take new heights. Will the attacking duo of Messi-Neymar tear apart the Madrid defense or will the strong midfield of Real Madrid comprising of Ronaldo and Di Maria steal the show for Madrid is yet to be seen.

So, Carlo Ancelotti and Gerardo Martino… We hope you are listening! After all El Clásico is not just another football match.