With the ultimate ‘El Clasico’ of the 2011-12 La Liga season
about to take place on Saturday; tension, excitement and nervous fervour are,
as usual, about to reach boiling point. On the pitch, this is arguably the
biggest game of the domestic campaign for both these footballing giants. Barcelona,
trailing Real Madrid by 4 points, must emerge victorious to remain in
contention for Spanish Football’s most coveted prize. A win for Madrid,
however, would all but guarantee a 32nd La Liga trophy for Los Merengues – made all the more satisfying
were it to take place in Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium.
As a Briton, the significance of the rivalry has been
somewhat lost on me. In the United Kingdom, footballing rivalries are, more
often than not, a result of geographical intimacy. Liverpool V Everton, Man Utd
V City, Arsenal V Spurs are especially heated in The English Premier League. In
Scotland, the Dundee derby could hardly be more neighbourly and the Old Firm,
despite obvious religious origins, is the battle of Glasgow. Naturally, hailing
from such a footballing education, The Real Madrid V Barcelona derby was pale
in comparison: I assumed the 500km between the Camp Nou and the Santiago
Bernabeu diluted the rivalry and that, despite being obviously appealing to the
spectator, the rivalry was engendered through the success of the respective
clubs and the consequences the results would have on the outcome of the season.
I viewed it as a Goliath V Goliath type of showdown; similar to a heavyweight
boxing match. I could not have been more wrong.
Barcelona V Madrid is the biggest match in the world. It is
the rivalry par excellence. It’s impossible to comprehend the phenomenon of FC
Barcelona outside the context of Catalonia’s relationship with the rest of
Spain. Through history, Catalonia has had its aspirations for regional power
and autonomy curbed by a Madrid based Spanish Government. The ‘nation within a state’ that is Catalonia
has a history punctuated by frustration and humiliation. ‘Barca’ was formed at
the beginning of the 20th century with the responsibility of
galvanising local and ‘national’ pride within the region. The success of the
club, both domestically and continentally, was seen as a sign of defiance to
the rest of Spain, especially Madrid, and a symbol of Catalonian self-efficacy
and strength.
The club grew in troubled times, nourished by oppression.
The more the club grew, the more a collective identity and confidence of
Catalonians grew with it. Barca offered protection whenever Madrid tried to
impose itself, the Camp Nou provided a sanctuary for Catalonians. Whilst a
fascist Madrid based government strained to strangle the Catalonian identity
from the region, even outlawing the native language, the Camp Nou offered a
platform for socios to celebrate
success, express identity and defy oppression.
Barca’s identity has been forged by persecution, the
competitive edge and hunger for success has spawned from proving itself to be
superior to Madrid on the playing field, or doing whatever it takes to prevent
Madrid from winning. If not the superior club, then the perennial thorn in the
side of the government, and latterly Franco, leaning Real Madrid. ‘Mes que un
club’ significantly in Catalonian, is pivotal to understanding the complexity
of FC Barcelona. It is the reason fans become members or socios. To identify with Barca was to be seen to be a statement of
dissidence against a persecutive government, against Franco and, importantly,
against Real Madrid who represented everything Barca detested. Madrid was, and
arguably still is, with regards to habitus, seen as the embodiment of
oppression; a sporting branch of hegemonic centralised fascism.
Not that the off field rivalry needed it; two figues adding
fuel to the fire were Josep Sunyol and Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano. The
Former was the first martyr that Barca had. Sunyol was Barcelona club president
when he was executed by Franco’s troops early in the Spanish civil war.
Latterly, Di Stefano was all but a Barcelona player, who had found him in South
America and taken him to Spain, before the deal was hi-jacked by a Governmental
led Real Madrid. The rest, as they say, is history, with Di Stefano going on to
become a central figure in Madrid’s domestic and international dominance of the
era.
Defining exactly what the rivalry is, post Franco, is more
complex. However, Using Luis Figo’s transfer from Catalonia to the Capital, it
is apparent that time has not diluted the rivalry at all. For Catalonians Barca
is a way of life. It’s something they are born into. The players are idolised,
not necessarily for their abilities, grand as they are, but due to the fact
they are symbols of Barca. Every time they pull on the blue and red stripes,
they are representing a ‘nation’, sticking the proverbial two fingers up to the
rest of Spain (especially Madrid) and to all extents and purposes, anyone else
who cares to take offence. The history and rivalry is continually reinvented
and has been given a mythical identity. The players are actors in the
continuation of history, worshipped and deified by each set of fans for what
they represent; creating a legacy based on success, passion and loyalty towards
their respective clubs.
Given the history, the consequence the result has on who
will be crowned as champions of Spain in 2012 and the fact that this Derby is,
repeatedly, the only derby in world football that has a guaranteed audience of
over 100,000 fans whenever it is in the Camp Nou - and not to mention hundreds
of millions, like me, watching on TV, I could not be more excited to watch
history unfold before my eyes on Saturday night.
Unless my mother decides to watch Britain’s Got Talent…
Darren Dalrymple
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