El Clásico: Ten of the Best

As the world counts down to the latest El Clásico – a clash between the Spanish giants, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid – here is a list of some of the most iconic matches between these teams (in chronological order):

1. The Di Stéfano Effect: Real Madrid 5-0 Barcelona, 25 October 1953

The biggest controversy in Spanish football in the aftermath of the Second World War related to the transfer to Alfredo Di Stéfano from the Argentine club Millonarios to one of Barcelona or Real Madrid. The summer of 1953 saw different entities with different agendas – including the clubs, FIFA, and the Spanish Federation – get involved in the transfer tussle between the two Spanish giants. The situation was ultimately resolved by Di Stéfano signing for Real, but it left lingering bad blood between the two clubs.

In his first El Clásico game on 25 October 1953, Di Stéfano scored the first and the last of Real’s five goals to give everyone a glimpse of the future. In the coming years, he would become possibly the greatest player in Real Madrid’s post-war history, and lead them to 8 La Liga titles in 11 seasons, and also to the first five European Cups. Barcelona, meanwhile, where left to rue the moment when their Franco-imposed President decided to give up Barcelona’s claim on Di Stéfano.

2. Cryuff’s Coming: Real Madrid 0-5 Barcelona, 17 February 1973

In the early 70′s, the great Dutch footballer at the heart of the Oranje’s total football revolution, Johan Cruyff was at the peak of his powers, having already won three consecutive European Cups with Ajax Amsterdam. In August 1973, Cryuff signed for Barcelona, ignoring the attentions of Real Madrid, who were also interested in securing his signature. However, Cryuff turned them down, saying he could never play for a team “associated with Franco“. If that wasn’t enough to win over the Barcelona faithful, he led the Catalans to a 5-0 victory over Real at their home in the Bernabéu. Cryuff’s status as a Barca legend was cemented a few days later when he named his newborn son Jordi, after the patron saint of the province of Catalonia, whose capital is Barcelona.

Real Madrid 0-5 Barcelona, 17 February 1974

3. Barca’s Dream Team: Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid, 8 January 1994

Cryuff’s status as Barcelona legend reached almost mythical proportions when as manager, he built the Dream Team in the early 90′s. The team of Guardiola, Bakero, Begiristain, Laudrup, Koeman, and Stoichkov conquered all that they competed for, including Barcelona’s first European Cup in 1992 and four consecutive La Liga titles from 1991-94. The 1994 version of the team, which included the Brazilian striker Romario, inflicted the ultimate humiliation on the visiting Real team in January 1994, when a Romario hat-trick contributed to a 5-0 scoreline for the home side.

Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid, 8 January 1994

4. Laudrup’s Defection: Real Madrid 5-0 Barcelona, 7 January 1995

Almost exactly a year since the five goal defeat to Barcelona, Real extracted their own five-goal revenge by beating the Catalans by that margin at the Bernabéu. Among the talking points for this game was the summer transfer of Danish star, Michael Laudrup from Barcelona to Real, after the player had a monumental falling out with manager Johan Cryuff. There were widespread rumours that Laudrup had only joined Real to extract revenge on Barcelona. Although Laudrup would later deny this, no one could argue that his transfer sealed the wildest momentum swing in the form of these two clubs.

Real Madrid 5-0 Barcelona, 7 January 1995

5. Figo’s Betrayal: Barcelona 0-0 Real Madrid, 24 November 2002

In the last decade and a half, the most significant moment in the history of El Clásico was the then-world record transfer of the Portuguese great, Luis Figo from Barcelona to Real Madrid in the summer of 2000. Figo had been held up as the pride of Barcelona, and all that love turned into vehement hatred the moment he was on his way to Madrid to be a part of Real’s Galactico project. The expression of this hatred reached an all-time high in a scoreless draw between these teams at the Nou Camp in November 2002.

In what has since been labelled as the ‘Derbi de la Vergüenza’ (or the Derby of Shame), Figo was met by what was more a blood-thirsty mob rather than a crowd. When he went to take a corner kick, the Boxois Nois, a neo-fascist ultra fan group of Barca, threw at him, the head of a suckling pig and a full bottle of whisky. Ultimately, no one remembers the game or the scoreline, but the moment the pig’s head was thrown on the pitch was etched into El Clásico folklore.

Barcelona fans throw a pig’s head (among other things) at Luis Figo

6. Standing Ovation for the World’s Best Player: Real Madrid 0-3 Barcelona, 19 November 2005

It took another Dutch manager, Frank Rijkaard, to elevate Barcelona to the heights reached by the Dream Team in the early 90s. This team was built around Ronaldinho (undisputedly the best player in the world at that time), Samuel Eto and Deco, and won two consecutive league titles and also the Champions League in 2006. But no moment encapsulates the class of this Barca team and that of Ronaldinho, than their 3-0 demolition of Real Madrid at the Bernabéu in November 2005. An aging Real Madrid side had no answer for the verve and speed of Ronaldinho and company, and this realization culminated in one of the most remarkable incidents in Clásico history. As Ronaldo finished a mesmeric run from the half-way line with a cool finish past Casillas, thousands of Real fans in the Bernabéu rose to their feet to show their appreciation of a sublime performance by the Brazilian superstar – an even more stunning achievement considering players like Zidane, Beckham, Xavi, Eto, Ronaldo, and a young Messi were also on the pitch at that moment.

Real Madrid 0-3 Barcelona, 19 November 2005

7. An Entertaining Draw: Barcelona 3-3 Real Madrid, 10 March 2007

Most of the matches on this list have scorelines that swing wildly in favor of one team or the other. However, March 2007 saw a most entertaining game as Lionel Messi‘s hat-trick was offset by a Ruud van Nistelrooy brace, and a goal for Sergio Ramos. This was a game at a time when Rijkaard was nearing the end of his time at Barcelona, overseeing the slow downfall of the great 2006 team. Meanwhile, Real had problems of their own following the failure of the Galactico project, and were struggling to re-establish their pre-eminent position in Europe. However, both teams put aside their problems and served up an entertaining game in which Barcelona came from behind thrice to secure a draw. Furthermore, the Lionel Messi hat-trick showed the ability of the little Argentine wizard to affect the state of even the most difficult games.

Barcelona 3-3 Real Madrid, 10 March 2007

8. A Non-Contest: Real Madrid 2-6 Barcelona, 2 May 2009

2009 was a landmark year for Barcelona as the Messi-Xavi-Iniesta team under the stewardship of Pep Guardiola, delivered the treble to the club. Each great Barcelona team of the past, though required a thrashing of Madrid, to truly achieve that greatness in its fans’s eyes. And that moment came for the 2009 team during their visit to the Bernabéu towards the end of the season. Braces from Henry and Messi, as well as goals from Puyol and Pique illustrated the gulf in class that had grown between the two teams. In addition to demonstrating Barcelona’s supremacy, it also accelerated the dawn of the second Galactico era at Real Madrid, as they sought to once again challenge the dominance by the Catalan club.

Real Madrid 2-6 Barcelona

9. The Orgasm Team: Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid, 29 November 2010

In some sense, the 6-2 victory in 2009 turned out to be just the appetizer before Barcelona delivered the main course in the form of a 5-0 hammering of Real in November 2010. In what was probably the greatest ever club performance by any team (let alone just Barcelona or Real Madrid), Barcelona hammered Real. They were superior in every department, as the stats would illustrate: 15 shots to Real’s 5, 684 passes to Real’s 331, 67% possession to Real’s 33%, and most importantly, 5 goals to Real’s 0. It was the ultimate humiliation for the Madrid side, boasting of a starting line up that cost €292 million – the team that included the likes of Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Özil, Angel Di Maria, Xabi Alonso and Pepe. To make things even sweeter for the Catalan side, the definitive victory came against their eternal scourge – Jose Mourinho.

Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid, 29 November 2010

10. The Latest Edition: Real Madrid 2-1 Barcelona, 29 August 2012

When it comes to El Clásico, everyone remembers the history, the animosity and the passion the game excites. At the same time though, the only relevant scoreline is the one from the last time the teams met. So, the last entry on this list involves Real’s 2-1 victory at the Bernabéu in late August, when they ended up winning the Spanish Super Cup on the away goals rule. Surprisingly for a game that has been bad-tempered, and controversial for off-the-field reasons recently, this was a good football game, where Barcelona had no answer for Real’s pace and directness in a first half-hour blitz. However, after Adriano was sent off and things calmed down to reveal a 2-0 lead for Real, Barcelona came back into the game through a Messi free-kick. Eventually, that was enough for Real as they managed to hold their own against 10-man Barcelona in the second half, and earned the bragging rights – at least until the Clásico on the 7th.

Real Madrid 2-1 Barcelona, 29 August 2012