Barcelona and Real Madrid – not only a football match
If you ask anyone who are the biggest clubs in the world, they will probably say FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. So imagine when these two teams have the chance to play against each other.
This Saturday (21 November) they meet in Santiago Bernabeu (Madrid) at 5.15pm UK time.
When FC Barcelona and Real Madrid play you realise why football is so important in Spain. It’s what makes most Spanish people proud (and these days it’s not easy to find something to be proud of).
The match is called “El Clasico” because it confronts the two biggest clubs in Spain (in terms of money and history) and many people will argue there are few teams who create more passion. It is estimated that around 400 million people in 198 countries will watch “El Clasico”. For the last 5 years, not only the match itself attracts the attention of the world, but also the confrontation between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, two of the best players in the history of the game.
Football should be football, however some people see “El Clasico” as a Spain vs Catalonia despite the statistics showing around 1 million Real Madrid supporters in Catalonia and a massive following for FC Barcelona in the rest of Spain.
Who will you support?
Let the team who play better win!
And remember that in Spain we have other teams, Valencia, Atlético de Madrid, Athletic Club Bilbao, Espanyol de Barcelona, Sevilla, Betis, Celta de Vigo, Málaga, Villareal.
So if you like football you can also follow them.
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I was hoping at some point somebody will write about Spanish football and it is a very appropriate moment considering the game that’s coming up. I think Barca is better prepared for the challenge even though there is an uncertainty if Messi plays- let’s not forget it is a team sport so they should play well regardless of his condition, same goes for Real. La Liga table is identical for the two in terms of wins-losses. Barca conceded less so far and I’d say they have a better chance.
It is important to remember there are other teams and I’d say Valencia, Atletico and Sevilla are the ones to look out for and their players are excellent prospect for the Spanish national team. Argentina has Messi, Portugal has Ronaldo and I suspect Spain may have a hero quite soon- Paco Alcacer. The Spain-England game won 2:0 was epic and though it’s early to say, Spain looks prepared.
For Spanish-learning football fans I think you might find this cool way to learn:
https://www.youtube.com/user/gutiflow3
It’s an epic comedy on Spanish football called Crackovia, if you’re into Latin American football which I also find very interesting try searching for Crackovia America.
Hola Maciej,
Thanks for your comment.
Let’s see what will happen, Barcelona is better organized but Real Madrid plays at home and they have very good players so it will be interesting match.
Crackovia is a good programme however the original is from catalan tv with some sketch in Spanish and catalan.
Hope you enjoy the match and the rest of La Liga.
Check out the last news about “El clásico” in the most read Spanish newspaper:
http://www.marca.com/
Football… makes me so angry and yet so happy… I am not a follower of any of those two, I am an Atlético de Madrid fan (or I was, as they are moving out of my Madrid’s neighbourhood). I still appreciate the talent in these other teams thoguh.
I find it really interesting how sports can make us react so much; going to a bar to watch el clásico is so exciting; I’d say is the only time I have seen some men cry.
If you like Spanish football, you can watch all La Liga matches near Warren Street in a place called Jetlag. Food is also good 😉
Kick, in Shoreditch also has the games on TV and you can play table football (bare in mind, I don0t know a single Spaniard who doesn’t know how to play).
I got to watch this match in a small bar in Burgo de Osma; it was an epic let down. I was hoping for a bit more of a contest & wasn’t sure if Real Madrid had a really bad night, or Barcelona FC was a class apart; it certainly looked the latter. That said, was a great night immersed in the El clásico atmosphere drinking cerveza & nibbling on tapitas *:O)
Correct to note that this is much more than just Spain vs Catalonia! Having lived in different cities in Spain, I can say for a fact Barcelona does indeed have a huge following around Spain and there are many Spaniards who hate Real Madrid. Like most great football rivalries, it’s not as ‘black and white’ as many media outlets would have you believe.