Clasico returns as political tensions reach boiling point
Catalonia crisis ensures the stakes have scarcely been higher for rivals, writes Oliver Brown
Few, if any, of the 235 instalments of El Clasico have been as thick with political tension as today’s pre-christmas brawl at the Bernabeu. After a year in which the fabric of a nation has threatened to be rent asunder, this is one collision of Real Madrid and Barcelona where, no matter where you live in Spain, neutrality is not an option.
For once, the dominant subplot is not Cristiano Ronaldo versus Lionel Messi, but the Viva Espanachanting Madridistas versus their restive, independence-chasing counterparts from Catalonia. The traditional tug-of-war between nationalism and separatism, elevated today to visceral levels, is one replicated at every level of the clubs, not least between the captains. While Gerard Pique, Barcelona’s leader, has avowed that he would be willing to forfeit his place in the Spanish national team to defend Catalans’ right to vote in a referendum to secede, Sergio Ramos, his opposite number, has expressed distaste over the discord.
“As a Spaniard, I don’t like what is happening,” Ramos said.
The timing is acutely sensitive. Today’s confrontation has been moved to an unusual kick-off at lunchtime before Christmas Eve, so as to maximise the television audience in Asia, but it comes a mere 48 hours after secessionist parties in Catalonia declared victory after securing an absolute majority in the regional parliament. For years, crowds at the Nou Camp have burst into song in the 17th minute of each match, to mark the fall of Catalonia in the Spanish War of Succession in 1714, and this same undercurrent of unrest looks likely to spill over into the capital today.
When El Clasico meets politics, the result is usually an occasion committed to posterity. In 1975, with emotions across the land still raw after General Franco’s death, an 89th-minute winner for Barcelona by Carlos Rexach, the man who would later sign Messi, was heralded by a wave of Catalan flags. It is recorded in the club’s official history as the most “wanted, dreamt-of and applauded victory”. The same fervour was evident in 2012, as Ronaldo and Messi each scored twice in a 2-2 draw in the days after a protest that brought 1.5 million pro-independence protesters on to the streets of Barcelona.
As the pot continues to boil after this week’s elections, Javier Tebas, president of La Liga, is implacable in his view that Barcelona cannot be allowed in La Liga if independence goes ahead. That stance is understood to be connected to his own political convictions, given Tebas attended a nationalist march earlier this year. Florentino Perez, Real Madrid’s president, has sought to assuage alarm over the prospect, arguing: “I can’t contemplate a Spain without Catalonia, nor La Liga without Barca.”
Ernesto Valverde, Barcelona’s manager, was also keen to assume the role of peacemaker yesterday. Asked about the potential for a toxic atmosphere in Madrid, in light of events at the ballot box, he said: “It’s been a month or so without a question about that. I’ve missed it. We’re a football club – we want to make all our fans happy, whatever they voted.” So Noon (GMT), Sky Sports Football
Trailing their arch-enemies by 11 points, Real must win today to retain any realistic interest in the La Liga title. Barca have yet to lose a league match this season but coach Ernesto Valverde denies his side are favourites to win.
far, Barcelona’s pedigree this season has been a recipe for supporter happiness all round. They stand 11 points clear of their sworn adversaries, even if Real have a game in hand. Barcelona will have to reckon, though, with a revived Ronaldo, who returned to full training yesterday after three days of training alone to shake off a calf injury. He has 17 goals in 17 Clasico meetings, within one of Alfredo di Stefano’s record. Doubts have been raised about his domestic form of late, although a return of 16 goals is hardly a disgrace for a player who has a served a five-game ban for shoving a referee, a punishment he labelled “incomprehensible”. Now, though, Ronaldo must deliver on the preening sentiment of an interview he gave to France Football after his fifth Ballon d’or, when he boasted: “I am the best player in history, in good and bad times.” Today will test whether that claim is valid in tumultuous times, too.