Spain's Most Heated Rivalry Kicks Off On Saturday
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| simplyfutbol.com |
Barcelona play hosts to their heated rivals Real Madrid this
Saturday at the Camp Nou in a match rich in political, social and, quite
possibly, football related history. As it stands, Barcelona are in second place
with 81 points and Real Madrid are top with 85. The remainder of the teams that
make up La Liga have been left in the dust for the Barcelona Real Madrid show
(Valencia, the next closest team sitting in third place has only 52 points).
This match will likely be the title decider. If Barcelona win, the pressure
will be on for Real Madrid to not drop any more points from their remaining
fixtures. If the side from the capital city are the ones to take all three
points, the title will be theirs to lose. If the match ends in a draw, the
title will still be more in favor of Jose Mourinho’s side than Pep Guardiola’s
Catalan men.
A Brief History:
During the Spanish Civil War, the Spanish government,
located in Madrid, oppressed the Catalan people to a degree unimaginable to
people in today’s world. They were not allowed to speak their native tongue,
practice their own government or organize open revolts against the regime
building in Spain’s capitol city. Amidst the chaos of civil war, a social
revolution and the violent differences in political opinion, one thing remained
the same: their football. In fact, their football became their only voice when
it became clear to the Catalan people that Real Madrid was the “government’s
team”. Under the rule of Dictator Francisco Franco, the Barcelona Real Madrid
games soon became miniature revolutions each time the two teams played each
other. Today, that passion can still be seen both on and off of the pitch as
players, managers and most of all the fans recognize the heated history that
lies behind El Clasico.
In the 163 El Clasico matches that have been played out,
Barcelona have been the victors 64 times, Real Madrid 68 and the two have held
each other to a draw 31 times. A total of 519 goals have been scored in the high
number of fixtures.
Ones to Watch:
La Liga is home to the number one and number two best players in the world. Lionel Messi thrives on
the El Clasico stage with his Velcro feet and flicks and feints while Cristiano
Ronaldo impresses with his powerful shots, free kicks and blazing runs down the
wing. The pressure is always on for the two to perform, but they rarely let the
crowd down. Messi appeared to pull up lame just before halftime for Barcelona
in their UEFA Champions League fixture against Chelsea in London on Wednesday
but there is no talk of him being absent for the fixture at the Camp Nou after
he played out the remainder of the match. Both Ronaldo and Messi are vying for
the Golden Boot title and at the moment the Argentine attacker is ahead of the
Portuguese winger.
At Midweek…
Both sides will be fighting for a good result after shocking
defeats on the European Stage on Tuesday and Wednesday. Real Madrid were walked
on by a dominant and powerful Bayern Munich in Germany and Barcelona were
unable to get their passing style to penetrate the Chelsea defense at Stamford
Bridge. Real Madrid have an away goal from their 2-1 scoreline in Munich but
Barcelona will have their work cut out for them both scoring goals and keeping
them out of the back of their own net when they host the Londoners in Southern
Spain.
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