El Clásico, is the name given in football to any match between Real Madrid Club de Fútbol
and Futbol Club Barcelona. Originally it referred only to those competitions held in the Spanish
championship, but nowadays – in order to satisfy marketing needs – the term has been
generalized, and tends to include every single match between the two clubs: UEFA Champions
League, Copa del Rey, etc. Other than the UEFA Champions League Final, it is the most
followed club football match in the world, watched by hundreds of millions of people.
The rivalry comes about as Madrid and Barcelona are the two largest cities in Spain, and the
two clubs are among the richest and most successful football clubs in the world. Real Madrid leads
the head to head results in competitive matches with 91 wins to Barcelona's 89. Barcelona
leads the count in official titles won with 81 trophies, while Real Madrid has won 79
trophies. Along with Athletic Bilbao, they are the only clubs in La Liga to have never
been relegated. They are sometimes identified with opposing political positions, with Real
Madrid viewed as representing Spanish nationalism and Barcelona viewed as representing Catalanism.
The rivalry is regarded as one of the biggest in world football.
Rivalry Historic divisions
The conflict between Real Madrid and Barcelona has long surpassed the sporting dimension,
so that elections to the clubs' presidencies are strongly politicized.
As early as the 1930s, Barcelona "had developed a reputation as a symbol of Catalan pride
and identity, opposed to the centralising tendencies of Madrid. In 1936, when Francisco
Franco started the Coup d'état against the democratic Second Spanish Republic, the president
of Barcelona, Josep Sunyol, member of the Republican Left of Catalonia and Deputy to
The Cortes, was arrested and executed without trial by Franco's troops.
Barcelona was on top of the list of organizations to be purged by the National faction, just
after communists, anarchists, and independentists. During the Franco dictatorship, most citizens
of Barcelona were in strong opposition to the fascist-like régime. Phil Ball, the author
of Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football, says about the match that they hate each other
with an intensity that can truly shock the outsider.
Though the first socialist party in Spain was founded in Madrid, almost all the ideas
that have shaped the country's modern history –republicanism, federalism, anarchism, syndicalism
and communism– have been introduced via the region of Catalonia, of which Barcelona
is the capital. During the dictatorships of Miguel Primo de Rivera and of Francisco Franco,
all regional languages and identities were frowned upon and restrained. In this period,
Barcelona gained their motto més que un club because of its alleged connection to progressive
beliefs and its representative role for Catalonia. During Franco's regime, however, the blaugrana
team seemed to be granted profit due to its good relationship with the dictator at management
level. The links between senior Real Madrid representatives and the Francoist regime were
undeniable; for most of the Catalans, Real Madrid was regarded as "the establishment
club", despite the fact that presidents of both clubs like Josep Sunyol and Rafael Sánchez
Guerra, suffered at the hands of Franco's supporters in the Spanish Civil War.
The image for both clubs was further affected by the creation of Ultras groups, some of
which became hooligans. In 1980, Ultras Sur was founded as a far-right-leaning Real Madrid
ultras group, followed in 1981 by the foundation of the initially left-leaning, but currently
far-right, Barcelona ultras group Boixos Nois. Both groups became known for their violent
acts, and one of the most conflictive factions of Barcelona supporters, the Casuals, became
a full-fledged criminal organisation. For many people, Barcelona is still considered
as "the rebellious club", or the alternative pole to "Real Madrid's conservatism". Moreover,
according to a Spanish poll released by CIS, Real Madrid's followers tend to adopt right-wing
views, while Barcelona fans are politically closer associated with the left-wing.
Di Stéfano transfer
The rivalry was intensified during the 1950s when the clubs disputed the signing of Alfredo
Di Stéfano. Di Stéfano had impressed both Barcelona and Real Madrid whilst playing for
Club Deportivo Los Millonarios in Bogotá, Colombia, during a players' strike in his
native Argentina. Both Real Madrid and Barcelona attempted to sign him and, due to confusion
that emerged from Di Stéfano moving to Millonarios from Club Atlético River Plate following
the strike, both clubs claimed to own his registration. After intervention from FIFA
representative Muñoz Calero, it was decided that both Barcelona and Real Madrid had to
share the player in alternate seasons. Barcelona's Franco-imposed president backed down after
a few appearances, as Barcelona's side claimed, but Real Madrid say Barcelona's decision was
voluntary and Di Stéfano moved definitively to Real Madrid.
Di Stéfano became integral in the subsequent success achieved by Real Madrid, scoring twice
in his first game against Barcelona. With him, Real Madrid won the initial five European
Champions Cup competitions. The 1960s saw the rivalry reach the European stage when
they met twice at the European Cup, Real Madrid winning in 1960 and Barcelona winning in 1961.
Recent issues
During the last three decades, the rivalry has been augmented by the modern Spanish tradition
of the Pasillo, where one team is given the guard of honor by the other team, once the
former clinches the La Liga trophy before El Clásico takes place. This has happened
in three occasions. First, during El Clásico that took place on 30 April 1988, where Real
Madrid won the championship on the previous round. 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, and this time Real Madrid had won the championship.
The two teams met again in the UEFA Champions League semi-final in 2002, with Real Madrid
winning 2–0 in Barcelona and a 1–1 draw in Madrid. The match, dubbed by Spanish media
as the "Match of the Century," was watched by more than 500 million people. In the Clásico
held on November 2005, Barcelona played away in Madrid, winning 3–0. The star of the
Barcelona team was Ronaldinho, who became the second Barcelona player after Diego Maradona
to receive a standing ovation from Real Madrid fans.
The rivalry has been strengthened over time by the internal transfer of players between
the clubs. Barcelona players who have later played for Real Madrid include Bernd Schuster,
who switched in 1988; and Michael Laudrup, who went to Real Madrid on a free transfer
in 1994. The most notorious, however, was former vice-captain Luís Figo's switch in
2000. Players transferring from Real Madrid to Barcelona are less frequent, the most recent
being Luis Enrique, who went to Barcelona in 1996 where he went on to captain Barcelona,
coached the reserve team from 2008 to 2011, and he became the manager of Barcelona in
2014.
A 2007 survey by the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas determined that Real Madrid
was the team with the largest following in Spain with 32% of the Spanish population supported
Real Madrid, while 25% supported Barcelona. In third place came Valencia, who were supported
by 5%. According to a poll performed by Ikerfel in 2011 and published in AS, Barcelona is
the most popular team in Spain with 44% of preferences, while Real Madrid is in the second
place with 37%. In the overall popularity, Atlético Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, Real Betis
and Valencia complete the top five. Barcelona seems to be more popular in Europe than Real
Madrid. A survey made by the German research agency Sport+Markt in 2010 revealed that Barcelona
has approximately 57.8 million fans around Europe, while Real Madrid has 31.3 million
fans. The rivalry intensified in 2011 where, due
to the final of the Copa Del Rey and the meeting of the two in the UEFA Champions League, Barcelona
and Real Madrid were scheduled to meet each other four times in 18 days. Several accusations
of unsportsmanlike behaviour from both teams and a war of words erupted throughout the
fixtures which included four red cards. Spain coach Vicente del Bosque stated that he was
"concerned" that due to the rising hatred between the two clubs, that this could cause
friction in the national side. Results
As of 23 March 2014 Records
Biggest wins Longest runs
Most consecutive wins Most consecutive draws
Most consecutive matches without a draw Longest undefeated runs
Longest undefeated runs in the league Most consecutive matches without conceding
a goal Most consecutive games scoring
Bold represents current active streak. Goalscorers
Top scorers Consecutive goalscoring
Most appearances Players who played for both clubs
Alfonso Albéniz Luciano Lizarraga
Charles Wallace José Quirante
Alfonso Albéniz Arsenio Comamala
Walter Rozitsky Ricardo Zamora
Josep Samitier Hilario
Alfonso Navarro Justo Tejada
Jesús María Pereda Evaristo de Macedo
Fernand Goyvaerts Lucien Muller
Lorenzo Amador Bernd Schuster
Luis Milla Gheorghe Hagi
Fernando ”Nando” Muñoz Julen Lopetegui
Michael Laudrup Robert Prosinečki
Miquel Soler Luis Enrique
Daniel García Lara Luís Figo
Albert Celades Alfonso Pérez
Ronaldo Samuel Eto'o
Javier Saviola Switches table
Honours The rivalry reflected in "El Clásico" matches
comes about as Real Madrid and Barcelona are the most successful football clubs in Spain.
As seen below, Barcelona leads the count in official titles won with 81 trophies, while
Real Madrid has won 79 trophies. Both teams have won other titles as well, although they
are not included in the official count since they are either regional or unofficial.
See also Major football rivalries
Sports rivalry Nationalism and sport
Notes General
Ball, Phill. Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football. WSC Books Limited. ISBN 0-9540134-6-8.
Farred, Grant. Long distance love: a passion for football. Temple University Press. ISBN 1-59213-374-6.
Specific