FLAMING PASSION: EL CLASICO
The implacable rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona has characterized Spanish soccer throughout its history. Even the commercial part of the tournaments is focused on this confrontation, and every year it is sold as the match of the century. Two powerful clubs with a rich history and a fight between the center and the periphery, between the Castilian and Catalan parts, have already met 252 times.
Back to the past
The first match between Real Madrid and Barcelona was held on May 13, 1902, in the Coronation Cup match, which Barcelona won 3-1. Real Madrid won the first league Clasico on February 17, 1929, with a score of 2:1, although the Catalans revenged themselves (1:0). However, it would be a mistake to believe that their matches are just a sporting rivalry.
The first game of these teams marked the coronation of Spanish King Alfonso XIII. Thirty years later, anti-monarchist sentiment gripped the country. As a result, the king ran away from Spain, which led to the transfer of power to the socialist government and the proclamation of the Second Republic.
The last El Clasico, played before the Spanish Civil War outbreak, predicted the result of the conflict. Real Madrid dominated the Barcelona side, defeating the Catalan side 3-0 on March 22, 1936. Several years later, General Francisco Franco would come to rule. He aimed to create a united Spain, which he failed to realize ideologically. Unlike the Madrid establishment, Catalonia has long been one of the fiercest regions of Franco's resistance. Naturally, this could not be mirrored in sports, and FC Barcelona faced difficult days.
Perhaps history can find the true roots of El Clasico during Franco's dictatorship. During the 1943 semifinals, Real Madrid smashed Barcelona's gates with a score of 11:1. It happened the day before the return match, when one of Real Madrid's former goalkeepers, Eduardo Theus, wrote a rather fiery article about Catalan cheating during the game for the Marca newspaper. This column increased pressure on Real Madrid and angered Los Blancos and Blaugrana fans. However, reports of Franco's security forces threatening Barcelona officials and players were never confirmed. But the fact remains that the Catalans won the previous match 3-0, so it's hard to imagine that the whole team forgot how to play soccer in such a short time.
After difficult times and several transfer scandals, the real heyday of El Clasico came only at the end of the 20th century.