Michael Coy
WHATEVER you do, don’t have any emergencies – domestic or otherwise this afternoon, Sunday, May 11 at 4.15pm.
There will be no plumbers, car mechanics or taxi drivers available anywhere, because Barcelona Football Club is hosting Real Madrid at the Camp Nou in the “clásico”.
Whenever Madrid and Barcelona meet, it’s a clásico, but this match promises to be the most explosive of all time.
British people develop likings for the big, successful teams. If you go to Bristol, for example, you’ll find football enthusiasts who follow Liverpool or Arsenal.
However, local loyalties still exist. Those Liverpool fans will still have a hankering for Bristol City (perhaps not the Rovers, this year!)
Spain is different.
Here, there are two giant clubs, and they dominate everything – and, of course, they detest each other – Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Whether you find yourself in Sabanillas or Santiago de Compostella, everyone will be an aficionado of “Barça” or “Los Meringues”. No other options exist.
Every time the two clubs meet, it feels like a life-and-death struggle. This year, it’s far more intense than usual.
First of all, when they met in “La Liga” (the Spanish League Championship) last October, in Madrid, Barcelona thumped their hosts 4-0.
The madrileños have a major score to settle.
Second, the Copa del Rey is still fresh in everyone’s memory. Two weeks ago, in an unforgettable final (the “King’s Cup” is Spain’s equivalent of the FA Cup), Barcelona won 3-2 in extra time.
Third, and most important of all, the Spanish League Championship will probably be decided by this game.
As things stand, Barcelona are top of the table. They’ve played 34 games, and they’ve got 79 points. Madrid are second, with 75 points. Each team has four games left.
Apart from playing each other on Sunday, here’s how their remaining fixtures are looking.
Barcelona will play Espanyol away on Thursday 15, then Villareal (home) on Sunday 18, and wrap up their season away to Athletic on Sunday 25 May.
Real Madrid face Mallorca at home on Wednesday 14, then travel to Sevilla on Sunday 18, and finish against Real Sociedad on Sunday 25 at the Bernabeu.
Barça will do well to pick up 5 points from those other three games. Madrid, on the other hand, can reasonably expect 7.
In other words, the championship might go down to the wire. Real Madrid, realistically, need to win the clásico. Barcelona have a much better goal difference.
If you plan to be in a bar next Sunday afternoon, or even if you live near one, expect loud cries of joy or anguish at every throw-in. And Sunday evening is likely to be punctuated by lots of car-horn-tooting.
Welcome to Spain!
