Would Madrid beat Barcelona in El Classico?
There is no bigger rivalry in football that the rivalry between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. Both are big cities in Spain who have clashed with each other on many different fronts. Consequently, both these clubs represent a rivalry based on different ideals. Madrid is associated with Spanish nationalism while Barcelona is linked with Catalanism. Even during the World Cup in South Africa, there were news of unrest in Catalunya, which clearly showed the rising tensions between the Spanish capital Madrid and Barcelona.
Therefore, the football match between these two clubs is not an ordinary match. And it is due to this great history between the two cities that this match is termed as the ‘El Classico’ or ‘The Classic’. Moreover, these two clubs are the biggest clubs in Spain. The results of the two league matches between these two clubs gains immense importance as it is watched by millions of fans all across the globe.
According to statistics, Real Madrid holds a slight edge in El Classico history as they have won 68 matches while Barcelona has won 62. However, the recent trends have been favouring the Catalans, as they have been outplaying their opponents in the last two years. Four matches have been played between the two in the past two years and Barcelona has won all four of them. They have also humiliated Real Madrid in one of the fixtures which was played on the 2nd of May 2009, in which they beat them at Santiago Bernabeu with a margin of 6-2. Barcelona’s star Lionel Messi has been lethal in these fixtures as he has already scored seven goals against the rivals which include a hat-trick.
This series of failures against Barcelona must be killing Real Madrid’s management who are willing to change anything to improve on that record. A record sum was spent for the summer transfer window of 2008 by Real in order to get hold of the best players available at the time. But even the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka could not turn the matches in favour for Real Madrid. Therefore, Madrid’s top management has decided to go one step further by including Jose Mourinho as the head coach of the squad. This must have been one of the biggest decisions made by Madrid’s management as Mourinho acts differently from the club’s football policy. The Portuguese national is famous for his conservative style, relying on defence, while Real Madrid likes a more open and attacking style. But, in order to beat the Catalans, this move was necessary as Mourinho is the only one in the world who has actually beaten Barcelona by using his style of game.
But the question is, can Mourinho do that again or would Barcelona prevail in the El Classico? By the looks of it, Barcelona’s squad has grown stronger while Real Madrid has not improved a lot from last year’s squad. Mourinho hasn’t done anything so far but is eyeing players from Inter Milan and Chelsea. If Mourinho does not make use of the rest of the transfer window, Madrid might suffer further humiliation at the hands of the Catalans.
Tags: