There have been 33 exhibition games featuring the two sides down the years, with Barca emerging victorious in 19 of those. : It's unbelievably good. This includes using first- and third-party cookies, which store or access standard device information such as a unique identifier. Puskas, with his powerful shots and clinical capacity in front of goal, netted 14 times in El Clasico against Barcelona. There was a problem loading your book clubs. Thanks. : However, if you're familiar with this rivalry then reading almost entire chapters on the play by play of a match gets you a little side tracked. :quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elcomercio/ARIZZ2CLEBF3HPT2FMSWZNUSME.jpg)
I would definitely buy other books from this author. Travelling or based outside United Kingdom? Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 21, 2012. Poise, composure and a tremendous work ethic were amongst Raul's top traits, though he was also known as a leader of his team, captaining Real for a number of years, and often scored goals at key moments in matches. Messi's success means that Barcelona lead with 12 Ballons d'Or to Real Madrid's 11. : Los Blancos have won 34league championships a Spanish record and are eight ahead of the Blaugrana. Madrid cleaned up through the early years of the European Cup, winning it five times in a row between 1956 and 1960 and again in 1966. Salgado was initially more of a stopper than a supporter but, encouraged by the all-out-attack nature of the team, grew into a more rounded supplier from the flank, happy to gallop forward without negating his defensive attributes. If you know nothing about why these two clubs hate eachother other than being the best two clubs and you are interested in Spanish football and/or politics I recommend reading. After Alfredo di Stefano won two and Raymond Kopa another in consecutive years in the 1950s, Madrid endured something of a barren run something it is amusing to reflect upon now given their modern-day fame for signing 'Galacticos'. His match-winning display came in a rampant 5-0 win in '94 en route to winning La Liga, while his side were also runners-up in the Champions League that year. Top subscription boxes right to your door, 1996-2022, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates, Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon. This is a wonderful read from start to finish. Juanito Gomez Gonzalez was a Real Madrid fan favourite during his decade at the club and was known for his immense dribbling, speed and penchant for scoring important goals. The current era of football has been defined by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as much as it has by Real Madrid and Barcelona as clubs, thoughthat image has been broken with both players now playing elsewhere. Does this item contain quality or formatting issues? Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy only had two full, injury-free seasons with Real Madrid, but such was his goalscoring ability that he still managed to hit four goals in El Clasico, half in each stadium. Suberbly researched, it's a fascinating read. , Fitzpatrick's tales of some the world's best football players will hold you at every page. , Carefully positioning himself as an outsider Fitzpatrick gives voice to a huge range of opinions and personal stories from both sides of the fence [which] makes, Andy Brassell, When Saturday Comes Magazine, Richard Fitzpatrick's enormously enjoyable take on the rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona. , Any fan of the game will start reading for the football, be enticed deeper by the quality of writing and research and enthralled by the depth and scope of, Richard Fitzpatrick was born in Ireland. Sorry, there was a problem saving your cookie preferences. They are also well clear when it comes to the Champions League, with 13to Barca's five. Chilean forward Ivan Zamorano spent only a comparatively short time with Real Madrid, from 1992-96, but made a big impact with his scoring prowess and his flamboyant antics on the pitch. Real Madrid versus Barcelona is regarded by many as the most captivating fixture in world football. Injuries might have prevented him staying at his peak for as long as he would have liked, but Ronaldo remained a fearsome, immense attacker and hit more than 80 league goals in four complete seasons, scoring four in league Clasicos. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness. Now famous as a manager in his own right, Pep Guardiola initially became a Barcelona icon due to his domineering displays in the centre of midfield, possessing a mix of grit and poise which made him an essential holding player for his team. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 3, 2018. Pre-season friendly and exhibition matches are not included. Diego Maradona only played two seasons at Barcelona, but they were memorable for his on-and-off pitch exploits as much as for the fact he was a world-record signing at the time. A classy but aggressive player, he would often act as sweeper for his side and spent many seasons as captain. But it is not only the on-pitch battles that have forged their rivalry.
Lots of books about Spanish football out recently, but very much enjoyed this - wasn't too much overlap with others I read. Real have claimed only four wins, while there have been 10 draws. In 1988 he moved directly to Madrid, spending two years there and winning La Liga in each of his seasons with the club, though he didn't score against his former club. Playing in both positions, he racked up 37 Clasico appearances overall and was, for a long time, Spain's top-scoring national team player. Does this item contain inappropriate content? Puyol spent his entire career at Barcelona, playing more than 30 Clasico fixtures all told, often taking centre-stage in the recent heated battles with his willingness to protect his team-mates, his will to dominate opposition attackers and his all-action style of play. Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them. Their next Ballon d'Or did not come until 2000 and it may be contentious to categorise it solely as a Madrid win given it went to Luis Figo, who had spent half of the year on the other side of the rivalry before his shock move to the capital. He could easily have had a much more lasting impact in the fixture but for his habit of arguing with managers and switching clubs with regularity. The deeper I dug into the topic, the more mesmerized I was to find out to what extreme the sport is imbedded in European culture. He has worked as a journalist in Dublin, San Francisco and Toronto. A La Liga fixture at Santiago Bernabeu in March 2022 was the 249th competitive Clasico, though Madrid and Barca have met a further 33 times in friendlies and other non-competitive matches.
: Try again. Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. Barca have claimed the European crown five times in the same period, with Madrid just ahead on six. Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2013. 1996-2022, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. , Screen Reader His vision, work-rate and technical ability made him a perfect link man for Bara between the middle and final thirds, and though he was never a particularly prolific scorer himself, he assisted countless times for the front few players and won two league titles and the Champions League with Barcelona. Sign in to see videos available to you. This book is a great read for anyone interested in Spanish culture in the 20th Century. Absolutely fascinating. , The greatest story in club football is the El Clasico opera. The defender was one of the five stars to progress from Real's youth academy in the early 1980s, including Emilio Butragueno and Michel, and won everything in the game during his long career at the club. Arguably the most famous rivalry in world football, heavyweight outfits from Catalunya and the Spanish capital always deliver entertainment. Jose Maria Gutierrez Hernandezbetter known simply as Gutiwas a Real Madrid cult hero, a technically superb but sometimes inconsistent attacking midfielder who spent well over a decade with the club and never played for another side in Spain. One of the best players in world football today and the regular Barcelona captain this season, Andres Iniesta has spent his entire career to date with the Catalan club and has won absolutely everything the game has to offer, for club and country. One of the greatest players in the history of world football in many fans' eyes, Alfredo Di Stefano was a Real Madrid forward who spent more than a decade at the club and brought plenty of success to Real, including eight league titles and five European Cups. , Text-to-Speech Very informative and must read for fans of both teams, Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2012. Cruyff managed a further two La Liga goals in El Clasico, but one of the game's greatest-ever players did not win another league title with the club. Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app. Playing more than 500 games for Real Madrid all told, Guti never scored against Barcelona in La Liga but was, of course, involved in some tremendous games between the two, with his incisive passing, volatile personality and penchant for producing chances out of nothing a perfect blend of the tension and dramatics which El Clasico brings. Playing most frequently as a winger, Figo was renowned for his great athleticism, dribbling ability and composure in the final pass. Spain's two biggest sides, currently placed third and first in the league, meet at the Santiago Bernabeu in one of the most eagerly anticipated matches in years, with star names of previous campaignsAndres Iniesta, Leo Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Gareth Balebeing added to this time around by even more superstars, including Toni Kroos, James Rodriguez and potential debutant Luis Suarez.
Third parties use cookies for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalised ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. : , Print length Suberbly researched, it's a fascinating read. FourFourTwo Magazine, Fitzpatrick's tales of some the world's best football players will hold you at every page. Roddy Brooks, Irish Examiner, Carefully positioning himself as an outsider Fitzpatrick gives voice to a huge range of opinions and personal stories from both sides of the fence [which] makes El Clsico such a satisfying read. Andy Brassell, When Saturday Comes Magazine, Richard Fitzpatrick's enormously enjoyable take on the rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona. Emmet Malone, Irish Times, Any fan of the game will start reading for the football, be enticed deeper by the quality of writing and research and enthralled by the depth and scope of El Clsico. Iain Wear, The Book Bag. Schuster then left Real and went to play fortheir rivals, Atletico Madridand also later managed Real, winning La Liga in 2008. , Richard Fitzpatrick charts the key political and historical flashpoints between the two clubs. Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2013. Although he started out as an Atletico Madrid youth-team player, he never featured for the first team and eventually won five league titles with Real, scoring 10 goals in El Clasico matches along the way. , File size After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.
Gento's scoring prowess was frequently on show in El Clasico, where he scored 14 times. Another world-record transfer, Johan Cruyff moved from Ajax to Barcelona in 1973 and spent five years at the club which he would later go on to manage. : We finish up with a current player, one who has had a big impactpositively and negativelyon recent El Clasico fixtures: Real Madrid centre-back Sergio Ramos. From the inception of the clubs to the current day, from Franco to Mourinho - it's all there. Guardiola spent more than a decade playing and, eventually, captaining Barcelona to several trophies, though injuries somewhat curtailed his involvement in his latter seasons. Zamorano scored eight times in total against Barcelona, but El Clasico he is best remembered for would be his hat-trick against the Catalan side, netting three inside the opening 40 minutes in season1994-95 in a 5-0 thumping for the Madridistas. In terms of El Clasico, he seemed to save his best Barcelona displays for this most telling of matches, scoring in four fixtures in a row and managing five goals in total against Bara's fierce rivals. Outside of Spain, he is possibly almost entirely associated with Barcelona, having played for and now managed them, but he did spend five years with Real and won a league title with them. Additional gift options are available when buying one eBook at a time. Luka Modric's 2018 victory, which saw him beat Ronaldo while Messi didn't even place in the top three, momentarilydrew things level. There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Both clubs endured a barren spell continentally in the 1970s and 1980s as English, Italian and German clubs dominated, but the difference in the Clasico competitors' European records can be attributed to the two decades before that.
Cesar Rodriguez, better known merely as Cesar in his playing days, was a Barcelona forward from the 1940s and '50s who hit the back of the net with such regularity against Real Madrid that, until Leo Messi came along, he was the only Barcelona player to register double figures in El Clasico fixtures.
It is one of the best books I've ever read till date. Well worth a read. , Publisher This is a book written by an emotional Barca fan, and expect to hear the same old plain stories. The Argentinian genius is widely accepted to have been the first Bara player to have been applauded by the Real Madrid fans after his audacious and skilful goal in 1983. Hugely proficient technically, Iniesta is agile, has great vision and a fiercely competitive nature, despite his small stature. German attacking midfielder Bernd Schuster was a key player for Barcelona for close to a decade during the 1980s, scoring in El Clasico in his first and in his final season with the club. It is the perfect read for anything with an interest in sport of any type. Ronaldinho is one of the few Barcelona players to have been such a phenomenal individual that he destroyed Real Madrid single-handedlyand been clapped off the Santiago Bernabeu pitch because of it. Despite his long spell with the club, it coincided with dominance from Real at the time and he won only a single league title. One of Barcelona's all-time greats, Xavi Hernandez continues to impact on the team after 40 appearances in El Clasico, the third-highest tally of all-time, even though he is now being phased out of the current set-up. The versatile midfielder had great ability to control a game from the centre of the park, was equally comfortable on either foot and managed a reasonable goal return with Barcelona, managing more than 40 league strikes in his first three seasons. Gento scored well over 150 goals for Real Madrid and was known for his impressive footwork, great acceleration and, as that stat shows, his ability to make a telling contribution in the final third. Real Madrid icon and legend, scoring 15 goals in all Clasico matchesthe third-highest of any player in these battles. He scored in four consecutive matches against Real between 2004-05 and '05-06. What really makes this book stand out from other football books I have read is the coverage of the social history of Spainand Spanish football. His range of passing, ability to read the game and fearsome set-piece taking made him an invaluable commodity to the team, while his goalscoring record throughout his career did not deviate for El Clasicohe scored five times against Real Madrid, including two penalties in a 3-1 win in his first season. It is very well written and sums up the rivalry and history of both teams spectacularly, going over key moments and historical figures, how they influenced and shaped the teams and their destinies. Here are 40 of the finest players to have telling impacts in battles between Los Blancos and the Blaugrana. Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2014. A must read. Additional gift options are available when buying one eBook at a time. Ronaldo, Pogba and Harry Potter - Inside the world of USMNT and Juventus ace Weston McKennie, Ronaldo wants to leave Man Utd but none of Europe's top teams want Cristiano. A must read for all football fans the world over. Nonetheless, he was a pivotal figure to look up to for many of the forthcoming stars of the Barcelona teamincluding Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta. The Cameroonian striker netted four times in El Clasico in league play and won three league titles and two Champions League titles as part of the best team on the planet during that period. Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group. At the former, Laudrup was part of Johan Cruyff's dream team which won four consecutive league titles and was heralded as one of the finest technical attackers around, with his movement, incisive passing and dribbling a key part of the team's prowess in the final third. Please try again. Again, a closer look at more recent history presents a more flattering picture for Barcelona. 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Power, politics and most of all the brilliance of the football are all on show in these pages. , A fascinating and detailed attempt to get to the heart of one of the most complicated and poisonous rivalries in football. , For anyone who wants to understand why Barcelona v Real Madrid means so much more than a straightforward match between an unparalleled array of footballing stars, this book should become essential reading. , Fitzpatrick's book is invaluable for the context that it gives a match that you might have watched superficially for years. , Fitzpatrick is an objective examiner of the complex political and social reasons this rivalry was born and nurtured, unearthing some surprising facts along the way Engrossing. , By taking Bara vs Madrid beyond the boundaries of sport, Fitzpatrick offers an absorbing history of the two cities' political and cultural flashpoints, and how this has matured into one of the most fiery rivalries on earth. It's unbelievably good. I didn't really follow Spanish football so I was not sure if this would be of interest to me, but picked it up in a book store and read a page or two and thought I would get it for my Kindle. , Word Wise After signing from Sevilla as a youngster, he initially made his way in the team as an attacking right-back but has long since been established as a key performer in the middle. The pair of superstars has battled it out year in, year out for the Ballon d'Or ever since Ronaldo decided to leave Manchester United for La Liga. : Sorry, there was a problem loading this page.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we dont use a simple average. Real Madrid and Barcelona are now just one outing away from their 250th competitive El Clasico contest, with there little to choose between the two sides when it comes to an overall record. Clearly a biased book about Los Cules. Do you believe that this item violates a copyright? Video availability outside of United Kingdom varies. I would recommend this to just about any and all football fans. An attacking midfielder who was a big part of Barcelona's revival in the mid-to-late 2000s, Deco signed from Porto and spent four years pulling strings for Los Cules behind the likes of Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o. Footage of the former Barcelona striker isn't widely available, so this shows the predator in action for Espanyol after he departed the scene from El Clasicobut the Paraguayan spent four years with Barca and netted close to 100 goals in all. Between '84 and '96, he won six league titles and the UEFA Cup with Real, scoring at both the Bernabeu and Camp Nou in El Clasico fixtures. Whether you are a football lover or not the book is a riveting read - covering historical matters, club, players.
The latest in the sports world, emailed daily. For the other half of the world the best player in the modern game, Cristiano Ronaldo is the record-holder for scoring in the most consecutive Clasico matches, when he netted in six consecutive games for Real Madrid against Barcelona between 2011-12 season and 2012-13. Excellent reflexes and the capacity to make improbable saves were the cornerstone of his success, while as he grew with the team, he developed as a leader, a consistent force against opposition attackers and a reliable last line of defence. He currently lives in Barcelona, where he covers football for the, ASIN These promotions will be applied to this item: Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. , Lending Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 20, 2013. Re netted three goals in El Clasico fixtures, though found himself on the losing side on each occasionhe did win the Pichichi award in 1965 with his 25 strikes, finally putting an end to Ferenc Puskas' domination of the award. Been a Los Blancos fan for the longest time, but after reading this book, I have equal respect to Barca. Hungarian striker Ferenc Puskas had one of the most fearsome strike rates in the game during his prime years, many of which were spent with Real Madridwhere he netted almost 250 goals in eight seasons, three times breaching the 40-goal mark for a single campaign. Barca did win the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup -which eventually became the UEFA Cup -three times, but that wasprior to its organisational takeover by UEFA. Maradona scored once more against Real, but injury and arguments with the club meant his time in Spain was short-lived. Each will be hoping to add their name to a long list of heroes who have played their part in El Clasico down the years, etching the memories of their performances into club folklore, remembered by fans long after they depart the scene. Another Real Madrid legend now, former central defender and midfielder Fernando Hierro. Maybe the greatest out-and-out striker of all time, Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima played a single phenomenal season with Barcelonascoring 47 goals in 49 games all told, including one winner in that season's El Clasicoand later in his career played more than four years with Real Madrid. Of course, 40 players doesn't begin to nearly cover those who have had an impact down the years, so in no particular order, here are a few additional names who didn't quite make the cut. The European Footballer of the Year while he was at the Camp Nou, Cruyff immediately helped Bara land their first league title in 14 years in his first season at the clubscoring once in a 5-0 destruction of Real Madrid along the way. In short, all the relevant incidents and images related to each and every game. 'Champions League' includes European Cup wins and 'Europa League' includes UEFA Cup wins. . In league play, he scored three El Clasico goals for Barcelona and one for Real, where he was also playing when he had the widely remembered incident where a pig's head was thrown at him. With that in mind, I was really looking forward to reading this book and for the most part it did not disappoint. GOAL takes a look at how a couple of the biggest institutions in club football have fared in direct combat. With more than 500 appearances for Barcelona to his name, Iniesta will be a key part of this season's El Clasico and has already shown himself well capable of dictating the outcome of this clashas shown by his goal and performance in last season's 4-3 victory over Real Madrid in March. You don't need to have an affiliation to Barca or RM to love this, Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2012. Who, though, has held the upper hand in a famous rivalry that dates back to 1929? Barca's recent period of dominance has seen them overtake their rivals in terms of their respective trophy cabinets, though Madrid remain well ahead in La Liga. Michel Salgado spent a decade with Real Madrid and, though never one of the biggest stars of the team during the Galacticos era, was a vital component of the side until his last couple of seasons at the Bernabeu: resilient, consistent and aggressive defensively. Away from competitive action, the sample size is much smaller. Real Madrid former striker Hugo Sanchez remains something of a Mexican legend and was certainly a Real Madrid favourite, too, after his goalscoring exploits in the late 1980s and early '90s, even though he joined from rivals Atletico Madrid. To learn more about how and for what purposes Amazon uses personal information (such as Amazon Store order history), please visit our Privacy Notice. The poacher was tremendously clinical from anywhere inside the box, with either foot, but after hitting more than 50 goals in all competitions in his first two seasons with the club, he suffered two years of injury trouble before departing the Bernabeu. One of those to have graced both teams, Michael Laudrup joined Barcelona in 1989, played five years in Catalonia and then moved on to Real Madrid for a further two seasons in Spain. From General Franco and bloody civil war to the Catalan city of Barcelona's lukewarm reaction to Spain's recent World Cup and European Championship triumphs, bitterness is never far from the surface. Excellent book covering one of the great derbies of the world. El Clasico: Barcelona v Real Madrid: Football's Greatest Rivalry. Ronaldo is the game's consummate athlete, a physical specimen who can outpace, out-jump, out-muscle any rival and show the technical ability and mental self-belief alongside that to score, score and score, seemingly every game. Ramos is aggressive, physical, utterly determined and is capable of having an impact in the attacking third too, as his three goals against Barcelona indicate.