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El Clasico - Barcelona v Real Madrid: Football's Greatest Rivalry by Richard Fitzpatrick (view source)
Revision as of 11:19, 2 September 2012
, 11:19, 2 September 2012no edit summary
Unlike most derbies, this isn't a clash between two teams from the same city or locality. Indeed, with many Catalans considering themselves Catalan rather than Spanish, it's not even considered a clash between two teams from the same country by some fans. Regardless, with the two clubs being the best in the Spanish league by some margin and, frequently in recent years, amongst the best in European club football, it's a clash that overshadows all else.
Fitzpatrick lifts the lid on a rivalry that has as much to do with politics and as it does with football. Spanish politics is centred on Madrid and Spain was ruled by a dictator in General Franco for many years, which Barcelona feels gave Madrid an advantage with both the football authorities and match officials. It is largely this resentment that seems to have pushed Barcelona to greater achievements and has made the rivalry closer and more intense in recent times, especially as the spending power of both clubs has increased and enabled them to buy the world's finest footballers.
For those fans who thought football politics was about little more than boardroom wrangling, ''El Clásico'' is an eye opener. In Spain, football runs along completely different lines to in England. Television money isn't equally distributed, the fixtures aren't prepared months in advance and the clubs are run by presidents elected by club members. In addition, due to the sheer size of the country and some strange kickoff times, away fans are rarely present at matches. Apart from the blood and thunder of the 90 minutes, there is little here that the average English football fan will be entirely familiar with.
But what is here is very well done indeed. The differences may have caused me to read some sections with raised eyebrows, but thanks to the quality of both writing and research, I had to keep reading. Fitzpatrick had access to many notable figures from both clubs, from fans to players to club officials and they frequently talk about more than what happens on the pitch. As a 30 something football fan, many of the names were immediately familiar and their views were elevated way above what you experience from the average post match interview on ''Match of the Day''. In a country where football and politics are almost inseparable, the players appear equally adept at both.