Article by Mark Hazard
As extended as there have been activity groups, there have been rivalries. Whether it’s the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox or the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns, the two rival groups inevitably stop up meeting yet again and yet again, forming an ongoing heated rivalry that delights enthusiasts of the sport. One particular these rivalry is among Spanish football teams FC Barcelona and Actual Madrid.
FC Barcelona (also known as Barça by its fans) and Actual Madrid are two of the earliest Spanish football teams, both forming in the 1890s. From the begin, the two teams had been noticed as representatives of two rival areas of Spain, the ancient kingdoms of Castile and Catalonia. Equally groups were component of La Liga, a Spanish football league and a rivalry that went far beyond football quickly took root.
It was for the duration of and right after the Spanish Civil War that the rivalry took on a lot more political overtones. Dictator Francisco Franco banned all peripheral languages, these as Catalan, the language of Barcelona. Catalonia had prolonged been linked with more progressive fashions and political tips, this kind of as democracy–which was the diametric opposite of Franco’s dictatorial regime. FC Barcelona endured as a outcome of getting a aspect of the Catalonian culture. True Madrid, on the other hand, was observed by many Spaniards (and Catalonians in particular) as the “establishment” club. Although Franco appeared to favor Actual Madrid, members of each groups suffered beneath his regime.
The fierce rivalry continued into the 1950s when equally clubs sought to signal Alfredo Di Stefano to play for them. Real Madrid finally won out and Alfredo Di Stefano went on to lead them to several wins. FC Barcelona and Genuine Madrid went head-to-head twice at the European Cup in the 1960s, with True Madrid winning one and FC Barcelona profitable the other. The two groups clashed once again about a player in 2000 when Luis Figo left FC Barcelona and signed with Actual Madrid. FC Barcelona and Actual Madrid competed versus each other once more in the UEFA Champions League semi-last in 2002, with Genuine Madrid acquiring the win. The Spanish media dubbed the match “The Match of the Century”.
In the mid-2000s, the rivalry ascended to further heights when it acquired its very own title, El Clasico. The expression El Clasico was traditionally assigned to any South American football rivalry, but the progress of football in the Americas coupled with these two excellent teams’ rivalry led to the coining of the phrase as utilized to FC Barcelona and Genuine Madrid. This was primarily a marketing and advertising scheme communicated by means of GolTV, an all-football satellite channel, but the phrase has been embraced by fans throughout the world.
El Clasico exhibits no indications of slowing. To this very day, the two groups inevitably seek out each and every other out on the field to come across out who is the greatest crew in Spain. Occasionally FC Barcelona wins and occasionally Genuine Madrid wins, but in the end football followers throughout the world are the ones who win whenever these two giants meet on the subject.
About the Writer
For data on reserving FC Barcelona tickets at the Nou Camp stadium see Basically Barcelona Tickets. Their web site is situated at http://www.simplybarcelonatickets.com