Match of the Weekend: The El Clasico

The stage is all set for the next chapter of El Clasico tonight when Barcelona welcome Real Madrid to Camp Nou. When you talk about great rivalries in football, nothing gets bigger than the ‘El Clasico’. ‘El Clasico.’ Those words alone bring forth tons of memories for the premier club rivalry in world football. From Luis Figo and the pig’s head incident after he defected from Barcelona to Real Madrid to the controversial Alfredo Di Stefano deal and the Argentinean great going on to dominate for the whites, this rivalry grabs the attention of the world. Throughout the years the fixture has brought together the planets finest footballers – Di Stefano, Puskas, Maradona, Ronaldo, Zidane, Ronaldinho, Cruyff, Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi – in two of the world’s most formidable teams.

The rivalry between Los Merengues (Madrid) and the Blaugrana (Barcelona) transcends a mere competition between the two biggest and the most powerful clubs in world football. Barcelona-Real Madrid is a metaphor for competing cultures. It pits the capital of Spain against the capital of Catalonia, a fiercely independent region in the north-west of the country. Barcelona are proud representatives of Catalonia throughout the world, whereas Real are viewed as a team that best represents Spanish nationalism. This rivalry signifies a clash of political movements and in today’s world has evolved into a clash of footballing ideologies.

Leaders Barca dropped their first points of the campaign with a 0-0 draw at Osasuna last weekend and victory for Real, as well as providing a huge confidence boost, would put them level with their bitter rivals on 25 points from 10 games. Also for the first time since 2008-09, we’ve also got a genuine title race that doesn’t just involve the two participants in this match. Atletico Madrid have 24 points from the 9 games and they would love to take advantage of any slip up from Barca or Real.

Tonight’s match will give Barca coach Gerardo Martino and Real boss Carlo Ancelotti their first taste of the ‘El Clasico’. Ancelotti is a manager of great pedigree, having won league titles in Italy, England and France, while Martino arrived from Argentina with a great reputation and the offer of outside influence at Barcelona. Argentine Martino and Italian Ancelotti, both hugely experienced and unlikely to be fazed by the occasion, are still tinkering with squads they inherited from Tito Vilanova and Jose Mourinho respectively.

Ancelotti’s first season in charge of Madrid hasn’t started quite as well as many hoped. Real Madrid have not been bad but it took them a few weeks to being to settle in to the new system and a rash of injuries hasn’t helped either. Real have been less than convincing in several La Liga outings this term including a home defeat against Atletico Madrid. Meanwhile, Barca are still coping with Martino’s attempts to introduce a more direct style of attack. The Blaugrana remain vulnerable defensively, a fact that was exposed by AC Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday. Up until now, there’s not been a team with the necessary firepower to really test that defence but Real Madrid have more than enough firepower to trouble the Barca backline.

This could be the ideal stage for Gareth Bale and Neymar to show they are worth a combined price tag of almost £135 million. Bale’s first weeks in the Spanish capital have been disrupted by injury but we know very well how dangerous he can be. Neymar has shown glimpses of the brilliance that has made him the darling of Brazil but without really catching fire.

There may be many a changes in personnel in both the teams but the battle will again showcase the peerless talents of the two best footballers in the planet, Barca’s Lionel Messi and Real’s Cristiano Ronaldo and both the teams will look up to their respective talismans to make the diference.

The two giants have played each other in 224 competitive matches and Real Madrid holds a slight upper hand with 90 wins compared to Barcelona’s 86 wins while 48 matches have ended in stalemate. In the La Liga, they have met 166 times with Real holding the upper hand against Barca, with 70 victories to 64 since they first locked horns in 1929. Under Mourinho last term, they drew 2-2 at the Nou Camp and won 2-1 at the Bernabeu but surrendered their Spanish title to Barca largely because of a stuttering start to the campaign. Last season Real and Barca faced each other 6 times with Real coming out on top on 3 occasions compared to Barca’s only one win while the other two matches ended in draws.

Whatever happens on Saturday will not necessarily be decisive for the La Liga title race but could have a profound psychological effect on the players.