Real Madrid travel to Barcelona for the first Clasico of the LaLiga season with both clubs struggling to keep momentum.
File image of Ansu Fati. AP
It is that time of the season in Spanish football where everything else becomes mostly inconsequential. Defending LaLiga champions Atletico Madrid face league leaders Real Sociedad in a tantalising contest and yet it pales in comparison to what is to come five hours earlier in the western part of the country. In the 247th edition of El Clasico, a fixture between Barcelona and Real Madrid, which realistically attracts 75-100m viewers across the world, the two sides come not at their best but with vulnerabilities for both.
It’s a game that has provided some unforgettable moments – Barcelona winning 5-0, Jose Mourinho poking Tito Vilanova in the eye, Lionel Messi going beyond Real Madrid defenders and scoring past Iker Casillas, Ronaldinho getting a standing ovation, Real Madrid getting a pasillo, a guard of honour, and Raul shushing the Camp Nou.
Real Madrid are third in the table with 17 points from eight games played while Barcelona are two points behind from as many games. It is a Clasico unlike any in the recent past. The two teams don’t boast of glittering squads with the best players in the world. There is no Messi, there is no Ronaldo, there is no Sergio Ramos – three players who defined the Clasicos in the last 16 years.
No Messi, no Ronaldo
2018 was the first Clasico since 2007 without either player making an appearance. Sunday’s fixture at Camp Nou would be the first without either player at the club. After Messi’s blockbuster move to Paris Saint-Germain, it is their absence that looms over this massive contest. Between them they won 11 of the last 12 Ballons d’Or, Messi scored 26 goals in 44 goals as compared with Ronaldo’s 18 in 29.
From a sporting perspective, it is a big loss for the fixture. And from a marketing and attendance perspective, the complete picture is still not clear. In the two games since 100 percent attendance were allowed in Barcelona, they’ve drawn 47,317 and 45,968 people against Valencia and Dynamo Kiev – neither reaching the halfway mark. El Clasico will certainly take it close to the limit but in a post pandemic world, it is unlikely to be packed to the brim.
Meanwhile former Real Madrid player Fernando Sanz suggested the clubs and the rivalry will persist even without the iconic duo. “The brand of Real Madrid and Barcelona is bigger than the brand of players. Both Real Madrid and Barcelona are clubs with more than 100 years of history and their brand is bigger than that of the individual players. El Clasico will be the same without Messi and Ronaldo,” Sanz said in a virtual interaction.
Form
Barcelona reduced the pressure on manager Ronald Koeman with wins over Valencia (3-1) and Kiev (1-0) and a win here would improve things even further. In the mid-week, Barca clinched their first points in Champions League this season but were jeered off at full time. The performance got the job done but it wasn’t convincing.
The two wins have come after getting just one in the last six. The international break allowed the group to refocus and for club president Joan Laporta to publicly back the Dutchman.
Sanz, a former Malaga president, doesn’t think getting rid of Koeman is the solution for Barcelona. “The poor situation of Barcelona is certainly showing on the pitch but Koeman, since arriving in Barcelona, has done a good job. He has found some good players from the academy and he has tried to put Barcelona on the top. The poor economic situation of Barcelona is also a reason for their performance but sacking Koeman is not the solution.”
Real Madrid sent Barcelona a message by putting five past Shakhtar Donetsk in the mid-week. Win against a weak team papered over the cracks that had emerged in the three prior weeks – losing to Espanyol and Sheriff while drawing with Villarreal. It tarnished a strong start comprising 5-2 and 6-1 wins over Celta Vigo and Real Mallorca.
“A lot of times one team is doing better than the other, one might be top of the table. All that means nothing in El Clasico, It is a very special game all that matters is the 90 mins on the pitch anything can happen out there. Recently, both sides have had disappointing results but that will not make much difference,” said Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos.
Team news
Koeman tested fans’ and board’s patience by opting to play a 3-5-2 format which goes against the ethos of the club. The ultra-defensive structure came under fire following a nervous draw against Granada. It is thus more likely that Koeman would opt for the same lineup as the win over Valencia.
For Los Blancos, the shaky ever-changing defensive lineup is the concern. With Ramos and Raphael Varane both moving in the summer, Carlo Ancelotti has had to tinker with his defensive lineup due to injuries. One player who is available having come back from injury is Ferland Mendy. He played against Shakhtar in what was his first appearance since May. Dani Carvajal, on the right, is fit but is uncertain if he will feature. Same applies to playmaker Eden Hazard.
Ansu Fati, debutants look to make impact
Sanz termed the new Barcelona No 10 Ansu Fati as the club’s “next flagbearer” after Messi’s move to PSG. Not new to the grand stage, Fati scored against Real Madrid in October 2020 to become the youngest goalscorer in the fixture. Now, with fans in attendance, it will be an opportunity for the exciting, young talent to dazzle them.
It will also provide a chance for the debutants to help their respective teams. Memphis Depay is one of them. “To be part of it is just like a dream. Looking forward to it. I think it is going to be great as everybody missed being in the stadium and after a long time they are going to be facing the Clasico,” said the Dutchman. Luuk de Jong and Gavi are other probable debutants from the Barcelona camp.
For Real Madrid, experienced David Alaba and young Eduardo Camavinga hold the ability to sway the game. As does one big money signing that has surprisingly still not played his first Clasico – Eden Hazard. The midfielder arrived at the Bernabeu in 2019 but hasn’t faced Barcelona yet owing to injuries. A niggle during the international break ruled him out of the trip to Ukraine but Ancelotti stressed it wasn’t an injury.