Mes Que Un Club. .. this years el classico had to be rescheduled to the 29th of November due to the conflict of the Catalan elections on the original date of the 28th. FC Barcelonas 5-0 dismembering of Real Mardid was significant for so many reasons. a brief history lesson: in 1923 with the support of the king, General Miguel Primo de Rivera seized power and installed a dictatorship which outlawed regional identities and languages within Spain. the Catalan language was banned as was the flag, General Miguel was also anti foreign influence. in 1899 FC Barcelona was created by successful Swiss businessman Joan Gamper, the club has strong swiss and english roots. in 1925 FC Barcelona supporters booed the national anthem, fines and stadium closures were just some of the repercussions the club faced. during the civil war, General Francisco Franco labeled not only the Catalans but FC Barcelona as communists, separatists and even anarchists. many summed up the Catalan-Spain situation as an Industry VS Agriculture conflict. in 2002 a pigs head was thrown on the pitch at the Camp Nou. aimed at Portuguese legend Luis Figo, a former FC Barca player, he signed for bitter Real Madrid showing a complete lack or respect and loyalty for his former club. Jose Mourinho, one time assistant coach for Barca, used cunning tactics to neutralize his former team while taking the coaching spot last season with Internazionale Milan. he too showed no respect for Barca, gloating around the pitch after his victory, this infuriated the home fans, and the sprinklers where turned on as to herd the "The Special One" and his team of the pitch like cattle. his lack of respect not only for the opposition, but for entire football associations has turned him into a football villain. many have labeled his style of play as "ANTI-football" resorting to tactics which disgrace the beautiful game. he is currently facing a 2 match ban for his part in Madrids champions League controversy with intentional red cards being issued to his players to clean the slate for the knockout round of the competition. contrast that with the humble Pep Guardiola, Barcelonas golden coach. a former Barca player and coach of the Barcelona B team, his first season in charge he axed uber-stars such as Ronaldinho, Deco and eventually Eto'o. his vision was clear, the dutch formation (4-3-3) with an emphasis on the La Mesia (Barca youth academy). instead of spending record breaking figures like Madrid did with Christiano Ronaldo and Kaka, Pep was confident that the young players from the B team were the future. he unlike Mourinho won a record breaking 6 trophies in one season, one of which being the coveted Champions League trophy. the rivalry was even deeper this year with arguably the 2 greatest players on the planet today, Leo Messi and Christiano Ronaldo. both were perfect representatives of their clubs. Messi, came up from Barcas youth academy, a quiet, hard working team player, and Ronaldo, who like so many others was bought in his prime for his flashy footwork and extraverted personality. Messi again impressed with 2 assists as Ronaldo lived up to his reputation as a "big game" flop. with 70 percent possession and tight triangle passing, Madrid were helpless even with the high profile players they sported. some of the Barca players had been playing together for over a decade, so positioning and predictability was never an issue, that being said the youth had no problem adapting since they had played under Peps B team and had the Barca style ingrained during there early teenage years. 6 of the starting 11 that won the world cup this year in South Africa start regularly for Barca, and 5 of the 11 who won the Euro 2008 had been starters for the the Catalan side. in conclusion, Madrid cannot win titles by purchasing the biggest players and coach in professional football. if they continue to do so, they will only set high expectations which they will not be able to fulfill. at one point madrid were sacking 1 coach every season, leaving the players with no time to adapt to a certain style of play or any consistency what so ever. watching Barcelona play is like watching art being created, it is so organic and natural, yet so fast paced and dominating.
