Thursday, February 23rd, 2012
Real Madrid vs Barcelona has a reputation for throwing up memorable games and unbelievable moments. Richard Martin looks back at five epic clásicos.
1935/36: Real Madrid 2-1 Barcelona
Madrid lift the cup thanks to heroics from Zamora
As fate would have it, the last cup final to be played before the civil war was between the two clubs who would go on to represent the struggle between nationalists (Madrid) and republicans (Barcelona) the most. To tell the truth, in 1936 neither club had much in common with the entities they are today. Barcelona had not won anything for seven years, and Real Madrid were run by communists.
But relations between the two clubs have never been cordial and this game, played at the Mestalla in Valencia, was no different. The crowd was staunchly pro-Barca, booing every Madrid touch and throwing bottles at former culé Ricardo Zamora, one striking him on the back of the head. But Zamora was not deterred, and on that day would make the most iconic save in the history of Spanish football.
The game took place on a typically scorching hot Valencian day, and the pitch was plagued by dust. Madrid were two-nil up after just twelve minutes, with goals from Eugenio and Lecue. Barcelona youngster Escola got one back after 25 minutes, and his team spent the rest of the game seeking an equaliser, but were up against a famously strong Madrid defence.
With five minutes to go Escola fired a low shot destined for the bottom corner.
When Madrid’s keeper Zamora made the dive to try and stop the shot, he sent up a huge cloud of dust, obscuring the view of the crowd, who had started to cheer the goal. But when the dust had cleared, Zamora was lying on the floor with the ball between both hands. It has been compared to Gordan Banks’s save from Pele in the 1970 World Cup for the fact that the shot looked impossible to stop. Just minutes later the final whistle went and after his last ever match in Spain, Zamora held aloft the Spanish Cup. A fitting farewell for a man still revered today.
1990/91: Barcelona 0-1 Real Madrid
Stoichkov stamps his authority
There must be something about the Supercopa that provokes violence. At the end of the second leg of this season’s final at the Camp Nou in August, Jose Mourinho got into a scuffle with Barcelona officials and poked assistant coach Tito Vilanova in the eye. It was not the first time that tensions had boiled over in this fixture.
In the first leg of the Supercopa between the two giants in 1990, also at the Camp Nou, Madrid were winning one nil and playing the better football. Late in the second half, Barcelona striker Hristo Stoichkov appealed for a foul when tackled by Madrid defender Chendo, but referee Ildefonso Urizar Azpitarte refused to give it. Barcelona manager Johan Cruyff was incensed and shouted at the official: “It’s always the same with you, giving everything to them and nothing to us.”
Cruyff was given a red card and sent to the stands. Suddenly Stoichkov got up, ran towards the referee and stamped on his ankle. The Bulgarian was sent off and suspended for two months. Urizar spent the rest of the game limping. He said of the incident: “I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, but I was in a lot of pain. I could have suspended the game there and then.”
2005/06: Real Madrid 0-3 Barcelona
Ronaldinho wows the Bernabéu
This game is famous not so much for the result as the unexpected reaction of the Bernabéu crowd. Real Madrid were going through a period of decline. They had been trophyless for over two years and the so-called galácticos Roberto Carlos, Ronaldo, Raul, Zidane and Beckham were all underperforming. Meanwhile, Barcelona were champions and had the best player in the world at the time, Ronaldinho.
When Samuel Eto’o gave Barca the lead it was to a chorus of boos from the crowd, both for the Cameroon striker they hated and for the dire state of their team. In the second half Ronaldinho scored a superb goal, starting his run from the half way line and beating three men before slotting home. The boos started again. But when the Brazilian added an almost identical third, the boos turned to unprecedented applause for the Balon D’or winner, described the next day by Marca as “a superior human being”.
A Barcelona player receiving such appreciation from Madrid fans that spend most of their time insulting the Catalan club was seen as very strange, but it has happened before in the clásico, albeit but vice-versa. In 1980 Englishman Laurie Cunningham mastered a 2-0 Madrid victory in the Camp Nou and when substituted before the end, the Barcelona faithful rose to applaud him off the pitch.
Watch the Bernabéu applauding Ronaldinho
2006/07: Barcelona 3-3 Real Madrid
Teenage Messi rescues Barcelona
The most exciting encounter between the two clubs in recent memory. Madrid took the lead on three occasions but were pegged back each time by an unstoppable Argentine teenager named Lionel Messi. Fabio Capello’s team began the game four points behind Barcelona and league leaders Sevilla, but gave a performance that indicated that the league would be on its way back to the Bernabéu come the end of the season.
Ruud Van Nistelrooy opened the scoring with a rare feat for him, a goal from outside the area. A 19-year-old Messi put the hosts back on level terms, scoring what would turn out to be a trademark goal – taking a perfect touch with his right foot before delivering a sweeping low left-footed drive into the bottom corner. Guti then won a somewhat soft penalty, which Van Nistrelrooy dutifully dispatched, but Messi was on hand to equalise, this time thrashing home from close range after Casillas could only spill a Ronaldinho shot.
In the second half Ramos looked to have won Madrid the game with a header from a Guti free-kick, but yet again Messi popped up to steal the show, equalising in injury time to complete a hat-trick. It was a taste of things to come for a player who could well beat Di Stefano’s record as all time scorer in the clásico.
2009/2010: Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid
Mourinho’s baptism of fire
It was a difficult time for Real Madrid. In spite of the return of Florentino Perez and a spending spree of over €200m in 2009/10, Barcelona still retained the championship. There was only one man who could save Madrid: José Mourinho. The manager who had returned greatness to three separate clubs was recruited at an estimated cost of €57m. He would put a stop to this madness, thought Madrid fans.
Things were going well for the Portugese and his team when they arrived at the Camp Nou at the end of November. They had a one point lead on Barcelona, and unlike their rivals, were unbeaten. Now under the guise of a top-class manager, the stage was set for Madrid to reassert their authority on their cheeky rivals. Instead, they suffered their biggest defeat for 16 years.
Xavi opened the scoring with a sublime touch followed by a chipped volley over Casillas. Pedro nipped in at the far post to make it two. A double in quick succession by Villa made it four and then Jeffren made it five, prompting the Barcelona players, and then the entire Camp Nou – save for the pocket of Madrid fans in the fourth tier – to raise their hands in a five finger salute, a manita.
It was a performance so good that Wayne Rooney, watching the game alone in his living room in Cheshire, got off his sofa and applauded. Months later, Xavi said of the victory: “It was the best I’ve ever played. The feeling of superiority was incredible – and against Real Madrid! They didn’t touch the ball. Madre mía, what a match! In the dressing room, we gave ourselves a standing ovation.”
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Tags: Barcelona, El Clásico, La Liga, Real Madrid
