Real Madrid to face rivals Barcelona – a preview ahead of El Clasico
El Clasico, as known as The Classic, is the fierce encounter between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. They contest bi-annually in the Spanish La Liga where a maximum of 38 matches are played by each team in a year. Both the
clubs are successful and share the legacy as Madrid and Barcelona are two big Spanish cities. Real Madrid has won 73 trophies and Barcelona 68 as of now. Another reason of the rivalry is the geopolitics where Madrid represents Spanish Nationalism and Barcelona
Catalan Nationalism.
Barca’s Xavi said, “Winning a game against Real Madrid is like winning a casino and I remember when we beat Real Madrid [a] few years ago by 6-2, it was fun watching their expressions - that said it all.”
Barcelona striker Lionel Messi addressed the pre-match fever and said that Real Madrid will be quite motivated and they would play at Camp Nou with vengeance on their mind. In May 2009, Real Madrid lost to FC Barcelona quite badly.
It was a 6-2 defeat to the current La Liga toppers. Real is one point ahead of Barcelona this season and they have done reasonably well. Real midfielder and star footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo said, “This match would be decisive because both of the sides
are back to back on points table, both are even and could decide the championship. We are much stronger than the last season and the coach Mourinho gave us a lot of confidence.”
A comparison could be drawn between the key players Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Ronaldo scored 15 goals this season and Messi is a bit behind with 13 goals. Ronaldo also added, “Its foolishness if you talk about me
and Messi but it’s actually the two best sides of Spain and their rivalry. Messi will try to do the best for his team and I shall do the same as we are just two players.” In the last 208 head-to-head clashes, Real won 85 and Barcelona won 81 with 42 drawn.
Their last match was played at April 10, 2010 and was won by Barcelona 2-0. In the last five matches, Barcelona won 4 and Real only once.
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