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On Sunday night, millions of lives from around the world will come to a standstill as their eyes will be glued to their television sets in the anticipation of one of the most popular and intense club football matches. There is plenty at stake as the two sides meet, with the winner getting the chance to go on top of the table and probably put one hand on the league trophy already.Barcelona are in great form recently and will be threatening on all fronts while Real Madrid will be hoping for a win in such a big game to bring back their good run of form. In addition to the rivalry, there will be a showcase of individual talent and individual battles to watch out for and so hopefully the El Clasico will turn out to be another treat for our eyes.In the build-up to the match, here are five facts you probably didn’t know about the El Clasico:
#1 Origin of a full-fledged criminal organization
Barcelona’s Ultras in action
Ultras is a group of fans notorious for their fanatical support which even goes to the point of violence and hateful chants & slogans.
During the 1980s, when the image of both clubs were getting affected due to the intense rivalry, the matter was worsened by the formation of Ultras group for both clubs. The Ultra Sur was formed as Real Madrid’s Ultras group and the infamous Boixos Nois was formed as Barcelona’s Ultras group. But some of the most violent faction of the Catalan supporters, The Casuals, became a full-fledged criminal organization.
It has been reported that the Casuals have been found involving in narcotics business as well as illegal arms dealing and they procure their products by stealing from Moroccan and Colombian dealers. In 2009, a Bulgarian named Hristo Vasilev was shot dead in Barcelona for allegedly stealing drugs from the extreme wing of the Boixos Nois.
#2 The Di Stefano Transfer
Alfredo Di Stefano with his five European titles
The Alfredo Di Stefano transfer is one of the major factors which resulted in infuriating the rivalry between the two sides.
Di Stefano impressed both Barcelona and Real Madrid while playing for Club Deportivo Los Millonarios in Bogota, Colombia, during a players’ strike in his native Argentina.
Both Real Madrid and Barcelona attempted to sign him due to the confusion that emerged from Di Stefano moving to Millonarios from River Plate following the strike and both clubs claimed to own his registration.
After the intervention from FIFA to solve the issue, the clubs were asked to share the player in alternate seasons. Barcelona’s president who was humiliated by the incident was forced to resign and the club cancelled Di Stefano’s contract.
This ended the tug of war for the player and Stefano moved permanently to Real Madrid and became an integral part of the success achieved by Real Madrid. Stefano even scored twice in his first game against Barcelona and also won five European titles with the Madrid side.
#3 Only 3 players have moved directly from Madrid to Barcelona, but 17 have gone the opposite way
Current Barcelona manager Luis Enrique was the last Real Madrid player to make a direct switch to Barcelona
Altogether 33 different players have played for both Real Madrid and Barcelona since 1902. The first player to make the switch was Alfonso Albeniz in 1902 directly from Barcelona to Real Madrid and the latest was Javier Saviola again directly from Barcelona to Real Madrid in 2007.
Of these 33 players, 17 players moved directly from Barcelona to Real Madrid of which the most controversial transfer was that of Luis Figo in 2000. In addition to this, four players have gone on to play for Madrid after playing for another club since leaving Barcelona, one such famous move being that of Ronaldo’s.
On the contrary, only three players have made the direct switch from Madrid to Barcelona, namely, Luciano Lizarraga (1905), Luicien Muller (1965) and last but not least, Barcelona’s current manager, Luis Enrique (1996). Nine other players have gone on to play for Barcelnoa after representing another club after leaving Real Madrid, a famous example of such a move was that of Samuel Eto’o.
#4 Ronaldo Nazario is the only player to have scored for both teams in the El Clasico
Ronaldo has represented both Barcelona and Real Madrid
Some big names like Michale Laudrup, Luis Figo, Bernd Schuster and Samuel Eto’o have played for both clubs during their career, but only one player who has played for both clubs holds the distinction of scoring for both in an El Clasico and the player is none other than Ronaldo Nazario.
Ronaldo is also one of the two players to have scored for both sides in the Derby della Madonnia (Milan Derby), the other player being Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
With the rivalry heating up even more in the recent years, it is unlikely that we’ll see another player representing both clubs anytime soon, but even if we do, there is no guarantee that the player in question will go on to score for both sides.
#5 Story behind Real Madrids 11-1 in over Barcelona
Marca’s headline the day after the 11-1 game
On 19th of June 1943, Barcelona were handed a shock when they played Real Madrid in the second leg of the semi-final of the Copa del Generalisimo (now known as Copa del Rey) as they were defeated 11-1 by Real Madrid.
This was quite shocking as the Barcelona side that was steamrolled by Real Madrid had previously won the first leg 3-0 and so there had to be another explanation for the scoreline. The Real Madrid – Barcelona rivalry had long back crossed the sporting barrier and entered the political barrier as well.
During the reign of Francisco Franco, who was pro-Spanish and against the Catalan movement, tensions rose between the two sides.
It is suggested that prior to the start of the second leg of the above-mentioned game, Barcelona players were intimidated by the police and the Barcelona president was attacked by the Madrid fans. However, none of these allegations have been proven right and the result still stands as legitimate.
At the end of the first half, Barcelona players refused to take the field for the second half due to the aggressiveness of the Real Madrid players and their fans, but once again the Police ordered them to return for the second half.
You can read more about the game and its background here.
