EL Clasico 2010 - Barcelona v Real Madrid 2010November 29th, 2010 is a strange day for football fans as two of the biggest football clubs in the world clash in the city of Barcelona. This match is normally played on…
With football, as with any sport, there is no more powerful reflection of greatness than to compete against a powerful arch-rival, a nemesis whose very existence fuels passion and against whom one’s own greatness is either confirmed or found wanting. Seabiscuit, for example, had War Admiral. Muhammad Ali had Joe Frazier. Lance Armstrong had Jan Ullrich.
Such a nemesis serves to enhance, perhaps even define, a competitor’s greatness, and no competition can be considered truly successful unless the nemesis has been vanquished. And yet, as so often occurs in titanic sporting tussles, greatness may be confirmed for loser and winner alike.
Few rivalries in sport can compare with the spectacle, the passion, and the sheer football brilliance of a match between Spanish football titans Real Madrid FC and FC Barcelona. And any meeting between the two is known simply, elegantly, and without overstatement as “El Clasico.”
Mes Que Un Club!
It’s a motto that was coined quite recently in the club’s history. In January of 1968 Narcis de Carreras, newly-appointed president of Barcelona football club, upon making his acceptance speech, gave voice to the slogan “mes que un club!”
It reveals a sentiment that has been at the heart of the club’s philosophy almost since its beginnings.
To the people of Catalonia, FC Barcelona serves as a haven of Catalan culture, and in a wider sense stands for democracy and human rights.
It's undeniable much of Barcelona's success has to do with the outstanding individual capabilities of most of its players. Having scored 33 goals in 12 Liga games so far, Barcelona's offensive firepower has been growing week after week reaching its peak last week against Almeria.
Only two months ago, Lionel Messi had to be replaced when playing against Atletico and everyone feared for the worst. It was only one week after Hercules celebrated an unexpected victory at the Camp Nou.
Out of the last 50 Liga matches, Atletico Madrid and Hercules have been the only two squads that have managed to leave Barcelona empty-handed. Shall we consider Copa del Rey and Champions League matches too, it's 66 games and five defeats, three of them at the Camp Nou.
In an attempt to understand what could have gone wrong, it's impossible the role Lionel Messi is expected to play in this game. La Pulga is only two goals away from becoming one of the top 10 Clasico strikers of all time.
Seven goals in the last six Clasico games is the flawless record of the young Argentinean against Madrid. Considering he's already scored a hat-trick at the Camp Nou as well as a double in Madrid, what can Jose Mourinho's Merengues do to defeat FC Barcelona at home?
Like Real Madrid, Barcelona successfully accomplished their mission of recording a victory in their last match ahead of El Clasico. Barca defeat Panathinaikos 3-0 in Europe in midweek and Pep Guardiola has now set his focus entirely on Monday night’s battle against Real Madrid in La Liga.
“I was just waiting for the moment to be able to talk about El Clasico,” the Blaugrana boss told the club’s official website following their Champions League win on Wednesday night.
“I want the game to begin. El Clasico is something that we all have to live with.
On several occasions, Ibra has been reproached by football personalities and followers for his indomitable spirit. The Swedish forward is said to have a uniquely divisive attitude in the dressing rooms, which explains why he has been going through hectic transfers in the past few years.
Despite his negative outlook, he is still a big target for Europe’s top clubs; and behind this fact lies a mysterious question. Why would such a “cocky” player be wanted by top sides if his moral fiber was as disapproving as many believe it to be? Perhaps this is simply because the world has unduly translated into arrogance the typical combination of high confidence and mental power, which has made Ibrahimovic an incomprehensible player.
Yet from a deeper prospect, this match at the Camp Nou will also show if the Spanish giants have bounced back from Saturday’s La Liga defeat or not. Both sides were in action at the weekend, and while Barcelona faced newly-promoted side Hercules CF in La Liga, Panathinaikos fought against Aris Thessaloniki FC. Below is a brief recap of both matches.
Barcelona and Real Madrid: Weekend quick recap
Both sides were remarkably scrutinized at the weekend as spectators were looking to form their first judgments on players and coaches from the two giant sides. One team was eventually more favored than the other both in terms of public reaction as well as in terms of competition this season; and below, we take a look at quick recaps from Barcelona and Real Madrid’s games on Sunday.
Racing Santander 0-3 Barcelona
Fresh from their Supercopa and Joan Gamper Trophy triumphs, Barcelona faced Santander away from home in good spirit. Things rapidly fell at their benefit when Messi stole the opener as early as in the 3rd minute.
Spanish Supercopa: Sevilla-Barcelona, What happened in the first leg
A weaker Barcelona side containing a number of Barcelona B players managed to take the lead against Sevilla on August 14, on 20 minutes. Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic amazingly received a pass from Maxwell before placing the ball past Andre Palop at the surprise of his opposing defenders. Instead of killing the Andalusians, the introduction of Lionel Messi rather strengthened the hosts who started who feel the game’s powerful heat.
After the hour mark, Brazilian superstar Luis Fabiano stunned the Barcelona defense with a low shot, and Malian legend Kanoute then came off the bench to bury the Catalans. It was with the nice help of Alvaro Negredo and Diego Perotti that the 2008 African Footballer of the Year was capable of scoring a late double to give Sevilla a 2-goal advantage ahead of the Spanish Supercopa’s second leg at the Camp Nou.
Barcelona are just one victory away from the league title, and they will need to make the last decisive step to rule Spain for the second time in a row. They are a point above Los Blancos, and hence, a draw against Valladolid could cost them the Spanish League trophy. As for the Pucela, they are 3 points from the bottom even though they are in 16th position, and therefore, they could fall all the way down to relegation if ever they failed to fight back against the title holders.
Barcelona – Confident, Prepared, Prudent
Barcelona are aware that achieving their task successfully this weekend will give them their one and only cup this season, and they are quite confident that they will be able to sadden Real Madrid with a triumph over Valladolid. Despite the fact that Valladolid have collected several unsatisfying results this season, Barcelona have affirmed that they will not allow their mentality to be harmed by complacency–explaining that Valladolid were also possessing a bunch of reasons to play for on the last match-day.
Sevilla - Facts and Stats from the home side
The Andalusian club has managed to take a Champions League place in the top four with 60 points, placed ahead of 5th place Mallorca who have 59 points. Sevilla have proved to be a difficult side this season, although they have also shown a lot of struggle in their league campaign.
Sevilla only have 18 wins in 36 league games which include 6 draws and 12 losses. Their home record looks acceptable, having triumphed 14 times at home, drawn once, and lost thrice. It is thus away from home that their tests weaken them, as they can only boast of 3 wins in their name, and 7 draws as well as 8 defeats.
Luckily, their game this weekend will be decided at home against La Liga leaders Barcelona, and Sevilla can look ahead to retaining their recent good shape so as to keep their opportunities of playing in the Champions League next season. Nevertheless, results popping-out of their last matches show what could be referred to as inconsistency, in view of the fact that they have snatched 9 points over their last 15 possible due to 2 stoppable failures.
Barcelona are no longer present in the Champions League, and for that reason, they have now been fighting with all their strength to at least win La Liga title. The Catalans are in danger of losing the pole position to their rivals Real Madrid if they fail to take every chance they have before the end of the season, but they could be one step closer to accomplishing their mission with a triumph at home against Tenerife.
Barcelona - A good form
Bottom side Tenerife should certainly not be a threat for the league leaders. Barcelona destroyed Villarreal away from home at the weekend 4-1 thanks to a super performance from their Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi. The defending Copa del Rey champions may have not been able to show off their might in Europe this season, but happily, they still have hopes of finishing their season with one cup in their bag at least.
Barcelona – No right to lose
The Catalans are just one point above Real Madrid in La Liga standings after they failed to take all 3 points away from home when they came up against Espanyol two weeks ago. This weekend, the Yellow Submarines appear to be a dangerous side to beat, but Barcelona have only one option, which is to win.
Losing might worsen their situation since they have been striving remarkably in the past few days. The Catalans won 3-1 against Xerez last Saturday, but they got disqualified from the Champions League subsequent to their incapability to overturn a 3-1 score line which they suffered at the San Siro on April 20.

This game will serve them as a chance to keep their lead at the top of La Liga standings, especially in view of the fact that they were unable to grab a win last weekend away to Espanyol. The Catalans drew 0-0 against their city rivals at the disappointing of their fans.
Barcelona – Get ready
This should normally be an easy game for Barca who have all their players available for Saturday apart from Andres Iniesta and Dani Alves. But the most significant thing in the end will be the vision that emerges from the 90 minutes at the Camp Nou–which will hence show, more or less clearly, the outcome of their next task at home to Inter Milan next week.
Inter Milan vs Barcelona
Competition: UEFA Champion's League
Kick Off time: 19:30 GMT / 20:30 CET / 14:30 EST
Stadium: San Siro
Watch Inter Milan vs Barcelona on TV in the USA.
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You can watch Inter Milan…
Recent Form The last 4 matches between these two sides have not favored Inter Milan who has yet to score a single goal. Inter Milan have drawn twice and lost twice in the Champions League this decade. So maybe it’s time for a positive change for the milanese. Mourinho will certainly inject this belief in their squad, and remind them of recent results and their dominance over Chelsea. Both teams are in great form. Inter Milan have been playing with determination and purpose, which has seen them undefeated in their last 6 games in 3 competitions, having won 5 and drawn 1 and with a goal tally of 10-2 in their favor. FC Barcelona has also been in excellent form led by their mercurial striker: the amazing Leo Messi. Their goal tally for their last 6 matches is 15-4 in their favor with 4 wins and 2 draws. But their last game this past weekend saw them draw away to Espanyol in the Catalan derby. Dropping 2 massively important points in their battle for La Liga and they were lucky to escape with only a 0-0 draw. Watch Inter Milan vs Barcelona Live Match Page Both clubs met in the group stage of the Champions League this season, and coincidently, the first leg of that particular encounter happened at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. Sadly for Barcelona, despite having several chances to destroy the hosts, former Inter Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic had one of his worse days, and hence, the defending champions could only settle for a 0-0 draw. In that game, French striker Thierry Henry seemed in an extremely weak physical condition, but still, Manager Pep Guardiola agreed to add the former Arsenal striker to his starting line-up. Lionel Messi was not at his best, and as he was unable to do anything special for the visitors, he was incapable of breaking the deadlock. Barcelona – Returns and Absences The Spaniard has again been diagnosed with an injury which could – this time – keep him in the doctors’ room for up to a month. More precisely, Iniesta suffered a hamstring injury just after having recovered from a 2-week injury which he had obtained earlier on. "He is sad and down,” said Manager Pep Guardiola on Andres Iniesta. “We want him back as soon as possible, and let us hope we can take him to the final (of the Champions League) at the Bernabeu.The true Champion’s League Final - Inter Milan vs FC Barcelona
No. Actually, it’s a bit premature since it’s only the first leg of the semi-final, but many will tell you that Barcelona and Inter Milan are the two big teams they want to see. So for many it is the true final.
Don´t expect great football match today. With Jose Felix Mourinho, you can expect a gritty, closed defensive match full of tactics to neutralize the opponent, but this isn’t just any opponent - this is Messi & Co. Many are betting that Mourinho will direct the Stadium operations staff to relocate one of FC Barcelona buses and park it behind Julio Cesar.
The current Italian and Spanish champions also faced each other in the group stage of this Champions League campaign. Inter Milan were incapable of scoring in both matches. A nil-nil draw in Milan and a 2-0 defeat in Barcelona left Mourinho with only praise for Guardiola and the Catalan giants. In those two matches, Barcelona’s superiority was obvious, as they amassed a possession of over 60% over both games.
You may think that these statistics would work in favor of Barcelona in boosting their confidence. And so will Mourinho, who will hope to implant a false sense of confidence in their opponents. A few compliments, comments and outlandish statements from the special one are sure to precede and follow this first leg. Watch this space.Inter Milan vs Barcelona – Champions League Match Preview
Inter Milan vs Barcelona – Back in the group stage, first legBarcelona vs Deportivo La Coruña – La Liga Match Preview
Barcelona won 2-0 away to Los Blancos on Saturday night following goals from Lionel Messi and Pedro, and fortunately for them, these two aces are eligible for this evening’s game. The major problem for the Catalans now is the ruling-out of midfielder Andres Iniesta.