El classico

Ever wondered why is the Barcelona against Real Madrid fixture termed as 'El Classico' ? Of course, there are also other great rivalries like the Milan derby, Liverpool against Man Utd, Arsenal against Tottenham and the list goes on. But then too, its only when the top 2 Spanish teams face each other, it is called the 'Classic' match. Any doubts about why the fixture is called "El Classico" must be cleared after last sunday's breathtaking display at the Camp Nou. Barcelona proved their Champions Stature with a 5-0 thumping of Mourinho and Co. Apart from Barca's supremacy, the match proved to be a real epic encounter as sparks flew between the players. The field was witness to almost the whole of Spanish World Cup winning team- 7 players in Barcelona shirt and 3 in the Madrid shirts. In spite of the wonderful chemistry displayed by the same players during the World Cup, the match gradually took an ugly turn. 


The first brawl took place when Christiano Ronaldo shoved away Pep Guordiola for not giving him the ball for a throw in. This incident saw Victor Valdes running half the pitch and give C.Ronaldo a piece of his mind. Even the usually composed Iniesta was up against Madrid's no. 7. Among these was one of the best Right Backs of the league- Sergio Ramos, who dint have a night to remember. Ramos was the main culprit during Barca's 2nd goal and defended poorly throughout the 90 mins. After a series of bookings, fouls and a scorecard which displayed a humiliating 5-0 scoreline, you must have guessed that one of the players was bound to walk to the dug out earlier than expected. And so it did, Sergio Ramos was send off in stoppage time after a challenge on Lionel Messi, which saw all the 22 players gather around the scene. After losing his cool for being send off, Ramos did the unexpected. On the receiving end was the soul of Spain and Barcelona's defence. Ramos slapped the face of Carlos Puyol which threw him in the air and saw him animatedly fall on the pitch. and to add to this, Ramos even shoved away Xavi hernandez who was already substituted. Can't imagine these were the players wearing the same shirt during their nation's road to glory. Wondering when was the last time u saw a Rooney slapping a Terry or a Lampard bashing up Gerrard??? 


Its not only the brawl between the players, but the result too caused quite a stir. The match was supposed to be closely fought. It ended as 5-0 in Barca's favour. I can bet that if a 100 people would have been asked to predict the results of the match, only 2 people must have gone MOCKINGLY for a 5-0. Apart from this another aspect which adds fuel to this fire fixture is the completely contradictory football philosophies of these two clubs. Barcelona FC, a club which evolves itself over the years with home grown players and upcoming youth starlets. On the other end are the Capital's giants- Real Madrid. Their spending over the years must be more than the spendings of rest all of the clubs in the league!! Large fortunes in turn demand instant success. Another contradiction between these sides is their playing styles. Barca always have a Pro-Active approach towards the game. The usually have the lions share of possession with complete domination in midfield. And the don't care about their opponents playing styles, they always impose their beautiful passing game upon the opponents. Mourinho, on the other hand, has a Reactive approach towards the game. He studies the opponents style carefully and accordingly plays his game.

 By now you must have realised why is Barcelona v/s Real Madrid called "El Classico" i.e. The Classic of the season. And last Sunday night really did prove it to be a classic as Barca and Madrid are just like the poles of the earth. To end it on a personal note, I don't think even the Gods of Football would have been able to defeat Barcelona that night!!!