Fear and Loathing in La Liga: Barcelona vs Real Madrid

by Sid Lowe

The absence of definitive proof of a refereeing conspiracy is not definitive proof of the absence of a refereeing conspiracy.

Very Taleb like...

‘the 0-5 is a whole story on its own, it was as if franquismo had come to an end. It is a game that has a brutal semantic power. That night the defenders of the culé cause turned the victimism on its head.’ It was like a collective catharsis.

Turning point for Barca

Madrid were also interested but wanted the Brazilian to wait twelve months – that year’s galáctico was Beckham – and one Madrid director later gloated that the world had fallen in love with the Englishman while Ronaldinho was ‘too ugly’ to sign for them. He would have sunk Madrid as a brand.

What an error of ego that turned out to be! That aged really well for them.

The official line calls La Masia ‘the cradle of Barcelona’s youth system’ and it became shorthand for the entire cantera, even encompassing those kids who never actually lived there; it has become shorthand for a style too, which is why indoctrination is the word. There’s a zealous, almost puritanical protection of their identity.

That's Melwood for us.

‘the problem with choosing the best is that, rather than being a eulogy for the man you choose, it can appear a rejection of the man you didn’t.’

Eloquent

Youth development and team building has become one of the key battlegrounds in the rivalry, a question that also has a moral dimension. It is often summed up in the phrase: cantera versus cartera. Youth team versus wallet. Good versus bad in a different guise.

And thats why many of us dislike Madrid.