El Clásico: 10 Reasons Why Barcelona vs Real Madrid is the Greatest Game in the World

By: Daryl | December 23rd, 2007

el clasico real madrid vs barcelona You probably know this already, but today is el clásico day in La Liga, with Barcelona and Real Madrid squaring up at the Camp Nou. It’s one of the fiercest rivalries in world football, and the Spanish media have been talking it up since before last week. Hype usually paves the way to disappointment, but just this once I’m going to join in by arguing that el clásico is the greatest rivalry and the greatest game of football in the entire world. Here are 10 reasons why:

1. It’s more than geography.
Liverpool vs Everton, Arsenal vs Spurs and today’s other big game AC Milan vs Inter Milan are great great games. Unmissable in fact. But while there’s incredible tradition and passion to these rivalries, the fundamental basis for their existence is plain and simple geography. The two teams just happen to be in close proximity to each other so the pride of the city is at stake. With Barcelona vs Real Madrid there’s much much more going on.

2. Catalonia vs Castile.
Barcelona and Madrid are the two biggest cities in Spain. That could be enough for a rivalry right there. But they are also home to two very distinct regions and two distinct schools of thought. Barcelona is Catalan, Madrid is Castilian. Catalans favour independence, while Madrid is seen as the seat of the establishment and the royal family. This split became especially pronounced during Franco’s fascistic reign when regional languages like Catalan were officially suppressed. So when el clásico rolled around, a Barcelona win represeneted a rebellious victory for an independent regional culture, a win for Madrid reperesented the establishment re-asserting its authority.

3. Everyone picks a side.
The above ideological, sociological and political clash of independent regional culture versus strong centralised government splits not just Barcelona and Madrid or Catalan and Castile but the entire Spanish nation down the middle, el clásico has the unique function of dividing an entire country. Supporters of other teams, be it Real Betis or whoever, will also choose a team to support for el clásico, according to their ideological leanings.

4. It’s in arguably the best league in the world.
For all El Clásico’s cultural significance in Spain, no one outside would have any reason to care if the game was in (to pick on somewhere at random) the Colombian domestic league. But it’s not. It’s in La Liga, arguably the best league in the world (which is a whole other discussion, but we can at least all agree it’s one of the top leagues) so the rest of the football world pays attention to what happens there.

5. Featuring that league’s two best teams.
Such is the dominance of these two teams, that there’s more than pride at stake in el clásico. Because the two teams are usually at or near the top of La Liga, the result often has a direct impact on where the title goes. While AC Milan vs Inter Milan also features two top teams from a top league, those two also have the likes of Roma and Juventus to battle it out with. Spanish football isn’t necessarily a two horse race, but there are two horses who are at least always in the running. For today’s game Real Madrid are top of La Liga, four points ahead of Barca in second. A win for Real means a seven point lead, a win for Barca means cutting that lead to one point.

6. And some of the world’s greatest players.
Because Real and Barce are two of the richest clubs in the world, they always have the best players. Example: Despite Leo Messi being out injured today, Barcelona’s bench will apparently feature Thierry Henry, Ronaldinho and Deco. Redonkulous. The Old Firm derby between Rangers and Celtic may have other local derbies beaten due to the whole religious thing, and it may be fought more fiercely, but the standard of football on display will never match the El Clasico. All due respect to Scottish football, but can you imagine Thierry Henry, Ronaldinho or Deco even considering sitting on the bench at Ibrox or Parkhead?

7. But some homegrown talent too.
Despite all the expensively purchased talent, both sides also field an impressive number of homegrown players. Barca can boast Víctor Valdés, Carles Puyol, Xavi Hernandez, Andrés Iniesta and Bojan Krkić as youth system products, while youngsters like Leo Messi and Gio dos Santos also spent their formative years at Barca after being snapped up as teenagers. Madrid can field Iker Casillas, club legend Raúl (though he spent a couple of very early years with Atletico,) Guti and Miguel Torres. This strong local flavour guarantees that no one on the field forgets the cultural significance of el clásico.

8. There’s lots of bitter transfer history to fuel the fire.
As the two biggest clubs in Spain, Barca and Madrid inevitably end up fighting it out for player’s signatures. One of the earliest cases, when both clubs tried to sign River Plate’s Argentine striker Alfredo Di Stéfano in 1953, was so controversial it’s not embellishment to say it raised the ferocity of el clásico. A bizarre agreement was reached for the player to sign for both clubs and play two seasons with each, but after Di Stéfano debuted for Madrid, Barca agreed to let Real have him permanently. There’s still debate over whether Barce saw Di Stéfano’s unimpressive early Madrid form and decided they didn’t need him, or whether they were put under pressure by Franco’s pro-Real (obviously) government who were threatening to ban foreigners from playing in Spain altogether. The trend continues, with both teams always fighting it out for top players (as they did for David Beckham a few years back.) But the real fireworks fly when a player leaves one team for the other, as Luis Figo found out after his world record €65 million move from Barcelona to Real Madrid in 2000.

9. The size of the stadiums.
Both the Camp Nou and the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium are massive, and this guarantees an incredible atmosphere at every el clásico. The Camp Nou, home to today’s action, is the biggest stadium in Europe with a 98,772 capacity. The Bernabéu is slightly smaller but still gigantic, currently holding 80,400 Madridistas.

10. It tends to produce incredible games of football.
None of the above would matter if what took place on the pitch was a big disappointment. And Spain would be a very depressing place if everyone got all hyped up twice a year for something that was going to be a let down. But it isn’t. For some reason, the el clásico, often produces games like this 3-3 draw from last March: