Every year in La Liga, Real Madrid and Barcelona come face to face in a game that makes the hyperbole surrounding the Premier League look like an amateur affair, but this year, that over the top hype may well be justified.
When the game kicks off this evening in Madrid, the hallowed turf of the Santiago Bernabeu will be graced by some of the world's best players, and some of the best to have every played the game. That is true of every Clasico, but particularly this year's edition.
The star of Colombia's World Cup campaign, James Rodriguez, joined Real Madrid in the summer, along with World Cup winner Toni Kroos, who has shown in his first few months at Madrid the quality that earned him that trophy in the summer.
Barcelona's stellar line up has seen them dominate the game for several years on the trot, but they have faded since the departure of Pep Guardiola and are seeking to regain that impetus and urgency about their play that they had during his reign.
With an impending transfer ban coming their way, this summer they went about their business tryting to bring in players that new manager Luis Enrique (another former player) could bring the best out of. The priority was at the back, where Victor Valdes, the goalkeeper that had come through the club's youth system, was leaving. They replaced him with two players, and there is no question that Claudio Bravo has been a superb signing. He is yet to concede a goal in the league this season, and while that is likely to come to an end tonight, there is no question that up front, Barcelona are ready to hurt Madrid too.
Joining the superstars of Messi and Neymar is Luis Suarez, a player that even the casual football fan will be aware of thanks to his penchant for biting opponents. His ban ended last night at midnight, and he looks set to make to his debut for the club tonight, meaning that the attacking lineup that is on display on both sides tonight is truly worthy of this historically great fixture.
Historic is not a word that should be thrown around lightly, but when it comes to these two teams, tonight's match could be one that fans remember for years, one that becomes part of the myth and legend that surrounds this fixture.
Barcelona have long been masters of manipulating the narrative so that they appear to be the underdogs, despite being a similarly huge, global club in the same rank as their rivals. Under Mourniho, Madrid attempted to regain control and write their own story, portray themselves as the team that the media was out to get, while the world's darlings were Barcelona, who got away with everything and anything because they were, as they like to say themselves, “more than a club”.
That narrative is a key part of the reason that this fixture is more than a simple football game, and in light of the recent push towards Catalan independence, the storlyine also conveniently has Barcelona, the oppressed nation of people with no state, taking on the centralising, evil power of Madrid.
Those claims are wearing thin these days, given that both clubs are loathe to voice their political opinions, and happy enough to be vague when pushed on the matters, but it does add another dimension to an already heated rivalry. That's what the media plays up in the week's run in, but this year, on the pitch, the incredible lineups that both sides are able to field are what could make this the stand out game of the year, and an unmissable event.
The golden boot winner (Messi), the Ballon d'Or winner (Ronaldo), the golden shoe winner (Suarez), a host of World Cup winners (Kroos, Iniesta, Xavi, Casillas...the list goes on) will take to the pitch and display their talents. Ronaldo is scoring record numbers of goals, Barcelona's defence and control of games has been top notch, and both teams come into this game seemingly at the height of their powers. Messi looks to be back to his best, Suarez should be fresh, but this being his first game back, there are plenty of question marks to be answered.
All in all, this game has everything that a football fan could possibly want: drama off the pitch, the world's greatest players, and a storyline that pits two sworn enemies against each other. After a few years in a row where we have seen so many of these fixtures that we run the risk of growing tired of them, this game may well be a Clasico worthy of the title.
Main pic via FCBarcelona.com
