The rivalry comes about as Madrid and Barcelona are the two largest cities in Spain, and the two clubs are two of the richest, most successful and influential football clubs in the world. Real Madrid leads the head to head results in competitive matches with 88 wins. Barcelona leads the count in official titles won with 78 trophies (the three Inter-Cities Fairs Cup's won by Barcelona are included since the tournament is the predecessor of the UEFA Cup and recognized by FIFA), while Real Madrid has won 76 trophies. Along with Athletic Bilbao, they are the only clubs in La Liga to have never been relegated. They are sometimes identified with opposing political positions, with Real Madrid viewed as representing Spanish nationalism and Barcelona viewed as representing Catalanism.[3] The rivalry is regarded as one of the biggest in world football
Rivalry
Historic divisions
The challenge between Real Madrid and Barcelona has long been surpassed the sporting dimension,[7][8] thus elections to these clubs presidency are strongly politicized.[9] As early as the 1930s, Barcelona had developed a reputation as a symbol of Catalan pride and identity, opposed to the centralising tendencies of Madrid.[10][11] In 1936, when Francisco Franco started thegolpe against the democratic Second Spanish Republic, the president of FC Barcelona, Josep Sunyol, member of the Republican Left of Catalonia and Deputy to The Cortes, was arrested and executed without trial by Franco's troops[9] (Sunyol was exercising his political activities, visiting Republican troops north of Madrid).[10]FC Barcelona was on top of the list of organizations to be purged by the National faction, just after communists, anarchists, and independentists.[9][12] During the Franco dictatorship, most citizens of Barcelona were in strong opposition to the fascist-like régime. Phil Ball, the author ofMorbo: The Story of Spanish Football, calls El Clásico "a re-enactment of the Spanish Civil War."[13][14] A similar analogy was made by American author Robert Coover, which described the 1977 match between the "archrivals" FC Barcelona and Real Club Deportivo Español as "more like a reenactment of the Spanish Civil War than a mere athletic event."[15]
Though the first socialist party in Spain was founded in Madrid, almost all the ideas that have shaped the country's modern history –republicanism, federalism, anarchism, syndicalism and communism– have been introduced via the region of Catalonia, of which Barcelona is the capital.[14][16] During the dictatorships of Miguel Primo de Rivera and of Francisco Franco, all regional languages and identities were frowned upon and restrained. In this period, FC Barcelona gained their motto més que un club (English: More than a club) because of its alleged connection to progressive beliefs and its representative role for Catalonia.[17] During Franco's regime, however, the blaugrana team seemed to be granted profit due to its good relationship with the dictator at management level.[18]
The links between senior Real Madrid representatives and the Franquist regime were undeniable;[9] for most of the Catalans, Real Madrid was regarded as the establishment club, in spite of the fact that presidents of both clubs like Josep Sunyol and Rafael Sánchez Guerra, suffered in the Spanish Civil War.[10][19][20] This image was further affected by the creation, in 1980, of the fascist-leaning Real Madrid hooligan group.[9] FC Barcelona also had the creation of a radical hooligan far-right group, called "Boixos Nois", who have commited violent acts.[21] For different but not contradictory reasons, for many people living in the rest of Spain, FC Barcelona considered as "the alternative pole to Real Madrid's conservatism". According to a pan-Hispanic poll released by CIS (Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas), Real Madrid's followers tend to adopt right-wing views, while Barcelona fans are politically closer associated with the left-wing.[22]
Di Stéfano transfer
The rivalry was intensified during the 1950s when the clubs disputed the signing of Alfredo Di Stéfano. Di Stéfano had impressed both Barcelona and Real Madrid whilst playing for Club Deportivo Los Millonarios in Bogotá, Colombia, during a players' strike in his native Argentina.[23] Both Madrid and Barcelona attempted to sign him and, due to confusion that emerged from Di Stéfano moving to Millonarios from River Plate following the strike, both clubs claimed to own his registration. After intervention from FIFA representative Muñoz Calero, it was decided that both Barcelona and Real Madrid had to share the player in alternate seasons. Barcelona's Franco-imposed president backed down after a few appearances, as Barcelona's side claimed, but Real say Barcelona's decision was voluntary and Di Stéfano moved definitively to Madrid.[23]Di Stéfano became integral in the subsequent success achieved by Madrid, scoring twice in his first game against Barcelona. With him, Madrid won the initial five European Champions Cup competitions. The 1960s saw the rivalry reach the European stage when they met twice at the European Cup, Real Madrid winning in 1960 and Barcelona winning in 1961.
Current issues
During the last three decades, the rivalry has been augmented by the modern Spanish tradition of the Pasillo, where one team is given the guard of honor by the other team, once the latter clinches the La Liga trophy before El Clásico takes place. This has happened in three occasions. First, during El Clásico that took place on April 30, 1988, where Real Madrid won the championship on the previous round. Then, three years later, when Barcelona won the championship two rounds before El Clásico on June 8, 1991.[24] The last pasillo, and most recent, took place on May 7, 2008, and this time Real Madrid had won the championship.[25]
A 2007 survey by the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas determined that Real Madrid was the team with the largest following in Spain. Thirty-two percent of the Spanish population supported Real Madrid, while 25 percent supported Barcelona. In third place came Valencia CF, who were supported by five percent.[30] According to a poll performed by Ikerfel in 2011 and published in AS, Barcelona is the most popular team in Spain with 44% of preferences, while Real Madrid is in the second place with 37%. In the overall popularity, Atlético Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, Betis and Valencia complete the top five.[31] Barcelona seems to be more popular in Europe than Madrid. A survey made by the German research agency Sport+Markt in 2010 revealed that Barcelona has approximately 57.8 million fans around Europe, while Real Madrid has 31.3 million fans.[32][33]
The rivalry intensified in 2011 where, due to the final of the Copa Del Rey and the meeting of the two in the UEFA Champions League, Barcelona and Real Madrid were scheduled to meet each other four times in 18 days. Several accusations of unsportsmanlike behaviour from both teams and a war of words erupted throughout the fixtures which included four red cards. Spain coach Vicente del Bosque stated that he was "concerned" that due to the rising hatred between the two clubs, that this could cause friction in the national side.[34]
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