10 players we miss watching in El Clasico

21 November 2015 will be the first El Clasico of the century to not feature Xavi Hernandez and Iker CasillasWhen compiling a list such as this one, there are inevitably more players available than the list allows. Looking through recent squads from both Real Madrid and Barcelona, it is fairly clear that you could make two entire XIs of players that are now missing from this most glamorous of club fixtures. Some of the very best in the world have played on this particular stage. Adored by millions, when the going got tough in El Clasico, these 10 players got going.

#1 Iker Casillas

When you think back to the stellar career that Iker Casillas had at Real Madrid, it leaves a sour taste in the mouth to see how poorly he was treated at the end. His problems began when Jose Mourinho was in charge, ironically about a phone call that San Iker had with Xavi Hernandez in trying to calm the waters for El Clasico matches.

Under the Portuguese manager, the contest had descended into the worst war of attrition, threatening to get out of hand. The call between two good friends and two of Spain’s most legendary players did go some way to restoring a sense of harmony to the fixture, but Casillas was never forgiven by some sections of the club and its supporters.

One of a handful of truly legendary players to have served his club with aplomb, and one who certainly enjoyed the battle against his fiercest club rivals, Casillas will be sorely missed.

#2 Carles Puyol

What Casillas was to Real Madrid, Carles Puyol was to Barcelona. A fantastic captain, a player who truly led by the best of examples, El Clasico doesn’t seem quite the same without the shaggy-haired destroyer at the centre of Barcelona’s defence, putting it all on the line for his club in the heat of battle.

There have been many moments in Puyol’s club career of note but the one that sticks out above all others came at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in May 2009. A pinpoint Xavi Hernandez free-kick was met by the head of Puyol with power and accuracy and despatched beyond Casillas’ outstretched palm.

Taking off his Catalan captain’s armband and holding it aloft in a gesture of defiance for all of the Bernabeu to see, that remains one of the most iconic moments in the fixture’s history. Puyol would himself admit later that it was the favourite goal of his career.

#3 Zinedine Zidane

Zinedine Zidane is one of the most special legends to have ever played the game. Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Best, Di Stefano and perhaps Messi and Ronaldo make up that exclusive list. A true giant of the game in every sense, everything that the Frenchman did on the football pitch oozed class.

One of the original Galacticos, Zidane continues to be held in the highest esteem at the club. Even Barcelona fans would begrudgingly acknowledge the quality of the midfielder. In his pomp, El Clasico represented a match in which he could be king of all he surveyed.

This was the absolute pinnacle of domestic club football, and Zidane was its master. Always.

Elegant in possession but with a rapier’s touch when necessary, no matter the colours that he wore, Zidane was a delight for all football fans to witness.

#4 Xavi Hernandez

A lot of words have already been written on the influence of Xavi Hernandez on FC Barcelona, and on Spain too, for that matter. Rarely has one player typified the style and finesse of an entire XI, but that’s exactly why Xavi was so treasured. He was the heartbeat for both club and country.

There won’t have been too many players on the pitch that would have passed the ball as often as the midfielder. Indeed, before his retirement from the Blaugrana, no one in European football had passed the ball more over the preceding half a dozen years than Xavi. Arguably, none were as accurate either.

He was a player who quite simply conducted the orchestra and had everyone dancing to his tune. A choreographer, a poet, an artist with the ball, Xavi deserved all of the plaudits that came his way.

El Clasico provided a platform for the whole of planet football to appreciate his genius.

#5 Mesut Ozil

Ozil is one player who was vastly underrated whilst at Real Madrid, and continued to be so until recently at Arsenal. But the old saying that “you don’t know what you’ve got until you lose it” perfectly applies here.

Mesut Ozil was the creator supreme. He was a player that perhaps you wouldn’t notice for long periods but would certainly know when he wasn’t there. Madrid’s attackers owe him a huge debt; consistently the player with most assists for the club during his time there, how Los Blancos would love to have a passer of his quality available to them now.

Perhaps it is Ozil’s natural languid style of play that often makes it seem like he isn’t quite putting enough effort in. But frankly he was never the workaholic type, and that wasn’t the reason he was brought into the club.

What he did was perform a job expertly well, and only now is he getting the credit that he always deserved.

#6 Ronaldinho

Ronaldinho took Barcelona to a whole new level. Signed in 2003 by then president Joan Laporta, who had promised David Beckham but ultimately delivered the Brazilian, Ronaldinho’s entry was a game changer.

During his period at the club, Barcelona would win their second European Cup/Champions League, but he will mostly be remembered for one incredible night at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2005.

Certain individuals are sometimes described as “unplayable”, usually when they’ve had a great game by their own standards. But rarely has a player achieved a level of excellence that the Brazilian displayed on the evening when he tore Real Madrid apart in a 3-0 victory.

He was so good that even the Madrid fans in attendance stood up to applaud. Imagine that – a standing ovation from your most bitter rivals, and in their own stadium to boot. There aren’t enough superlatives in the dictionary to do his performance justice. It was magical.

#7 David Beckham

David Beckham starteds at Real Madrid exactly where he’d left off at Manchester United. Arguably east London’s finest, he has been one of the better exports to a foreign league. We only need to look at how Michael Owen and Jonathan Woodgate fared around the same time period at Los Blancos to understand the impact that Beckham made.

Whether it was a trademark free-kick, a cross to the feet or any number of assists, Beckham could be relied upon to deliver the goods throughout his career at the Santiago Bernabeu. His was a skill set that deserved to be showcased on the Clasico stage and it was certainly an arena that Beckham enjoyed.

Rarely can Barcelona claim to have come up against a player of such accuracy. Short or long passes were no problem to a player whose vision on a football field was second to none.

#8 Samuel Eto\'o

One of the truly great centre-forwards in the European game, Samuel Eto’o was a cut above everyone whilst at Barcelona. And until the past season when “MSN” ran riot, he was part of Barcelona’s most successful front three ever, alongside Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry.

The Cameroonian lived to score goals, plain and simple. And boy could he score goals. No area of the pitch was out of bounds for him, and Eto’o was particularly potent in and around the six-yard box, as all good number nine’s are.

Although the 2005 Clasico will always be remembered for Ronaldinho’s masterclass, it’s worth touching on Eto’o’s opener in that game. In the tightest of spots in Madrid’s penalty area, and surrounded by defenders, the striker stuck out a toe before two challenges came in and stabbed Barca into an early lead. It gave the Catalan club a platform to go on and win one of the most memorable Clasicos of recent times.

He also played a huge part in the 2007 Clasico at Camp Nou, but this time Lionel Messi stole the headlines with a debut Clasico hat-trick. Eto’o is arguably the most natural striker to have ever donned the Blaugrana.

#9 Xabi Alonso

Alonso may not have been to everyone’s taste admittedly, but there can be no argument as to what the ex-Liverpool man brought to the table. Where El Clasicos were concerned, this is one player that didn’t hide from the responsibility.

A masterful caress of the ball and a penchant to pick out the most sumptuous of passes, Alonso had it all. The enjoyment of playing against Barcelona was evident whenever he took the field. The thrill of going into battle against the very best was obvious in every move that he made.

It is a shame therefore that he will be remembered as much for the crunching, but necessary, tackles he would dispense without a second thought, as for his brilliance. Every team needs its enforcer and not many can play the role with such aplomb and be a little more multidimensional that just a “bully boy.”

Alonso is one of a handful of players that remain irreplaceable at the Bernabeu.

#10 Victor Valdes

One of the defining moments of recent El Clasicos was when Victor Valdes made a huge mistake just 15 seconds into the Bernabeu game in 2011. A poor kick out landed straight at the feet of Angel Di Maria, and the ball eventually found its way to Karim Benzema who put the hosts ahead on 21 seconds.

To anyone watching that game, it then became a question of how many Real would score. But to Valdes’s and Barcelona’s immense credit, they carried on doing everything as normal and eventually ran out winners in the game.

On several occasions before that too Valdes had been the hero. Like Casillas at Real, Valdes was the master custodian when he needed to be, never more so in the biggest games of the season.

The goalkeeper certainly saved Barcelona on more occasions than he had let them down in the fixture. And although both Claudio Bravo and Marc-Andre ter Stegen have settled the ship after a period when Jose Manuel Pinto was Barca’s number one, both have a long road ahead if they want to be considered in the same bracket as Valdes.