Barcelona vs Real Madrid - 'El Classico'

 To begin this blog which will give a deeper insight into some of the world's greatest rivalries there is no rivalry greater to get started with than 'El Classico". This rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona is one of the most intense and historic in world football and id argue the biggest in terms of the sheer highest standard of teams competing with one another.

 El Classico goes beyond just football. It is a reflection of deep-seated political and cultural differences between each team. Real Madrid is often associated with Spanish nationalism, with some arguing the case Madrid reaped the benefits with biases as in 1920, King Alfonso XIII awarded the title of royalty to the club and were the favoured team in Spain, more so it was reported the club had historic ties with Franco during his facist dictatorship and with his influence, some argued Madrid's success wasn't completely fair with favouritism by referees as a result. Barcelona on the other hand represents the strong identity of Catalan, a usual opposing culture to the Spanish regime which just adds fuel to the fire of this rivalry. the fan rivalry as a result is passionate and like most rivalries lead to violence and political clashes before, during and after matches.

What also has made El Classico stand out as the worlds best is their sheer domestic and European success, having competed amongst the best for decades. Both clubs have won the majority of La Liga titles between them with Madrid having won 35, to Barca's 27. On the European front, Madrid have won an unbelievable 13 Champions League titles, to Barca's 5. These periods of dominance both clubs have shared are largely thanks to both clubs have featured some of the greatest footballers to have walked the planet. Two names that require no introduction for starters, being Cristiano Ronaldo, and Lionel Messi. Of course the age old debate of who is the better player just further fuelled the rivalry. Some other known stars perhaps to the readers who don't know as much, some personal favourites of mine would be Gareth Bale, Neymar, Butragueno, the Brazilian Ronaldo, or more current, I'm a big fan of Englishman Jude Bellingham. There's are too many iconic players that I can list as the worlds best have always notoriously played for either Madrid or Barca with the clubs often competing for the signatures of the very best players. One of Madrid's best periods of dominance was the 'Galactcos' in the early 2000's when the clubs set standard was that every player in the team had to be the best player in the world in their own positions. it helps in fairness when both clubs are among the wealthiest in the world, helping to contribute to their ability to attract top talent and remain competitive. All in all, its arguably the worlds most famous rivalry hopefully continues to be. Contrary to this blog post, my next blog post will be on a lesser known rivalry..





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