We are, as the great philosopher put it, standing on the shoulders of giants. In Argentina there was a time when no footballer could hold a candle to Guillermo Stabile, who scored eight goals at the 1930 World Cup. But he was followed and surpassed by Luis Artime, a forward who ended his career with a strike rate of 0.96 goals per game for Argentina.
April's El Clásico was one of the best matches of the year, but my only complaint was that Isco didn’t come off the bench for Real Madrid. I’ll be the first to admit it, I was extremely late on the Isco train because of this reason — he's on the bench a lot.
The 25-year-old has never started more than 26 La Liga matches in a single season with Real Madrid. This year, he’s appeared as a substitute 11 times, and he’s on pace to total fewer league minutes than he ever has in a season with the club.
Jersey swapping at the end of football matches is a ritual which goes back to the beginning of time (1931). It’s a sign of respect and admiration after having spent 90 minutes trying to kill each other, and it’s given us some truly historic moments after titanic clashes.
England’s group defeat to Brazil at the 1970 World Cup offered up one of the most iconic images in the sport: England captain Bobby Moore and Brazilian great Pele exchanging shirts after a fierce 1-0 match in Guadalajara.
Odds are that you haven’t yet come down from the high that was Sunday’s El Clasico. A constant back and forth battle was settled by the greatest soccer player of all time (I’m Argentinian, what else can I say) with a decisive strike in the final seconds of the match.
While the game itself was a peach to watch, its ramifications are far-reaching in terms of who will come away with the La Liga trophy. Barcelona’s win at the death allowed for “¡Hay Liga!” shouts across the world.
Lionel Messi scored his 500th goal for Barcelona in style, catapulting Barca back into La Liga's title race at the expense of their greatest rivals, Real Madrid. His historic feat is all the more impressive considering that Gerd Muller of Bayern Munich was the last player to score 500 goals for one club. He left Bayern in 1979.
There isn’t a more exhaustive match in the world than El Clasico — it consistently provides high-stakes, supercharged emotions and scintillating football from the world’s best players. It also has the distinction of pitting two clubs that loath one another in a physical, no-holds-barred and often controversial battle between international teammates.
Spain rely so heavily on drawing players from these two club that there’s always that boiling subplot to analyze and critique, especially as we approach another World Cup year.
Any football fan knows what a match between Real Madrid and Barcelona means. It's a fixture so important that it’s been dubbed El Clasico by spectators in Spain and around the world. Controversy always surrounds this historic Spanish rivalry, especially when players decide to switch their allegiances.
Surprisingly, there have been a good number of players that have made the switch from Barcelona to Real Madrid and vice versa. Now, with El Clasico looming, we look back to see the 10 best players to play for both Barcelona and Real Madrid.
It’s been more than a month since Barcelona manager Luis Enrique announced that he would not be renewing his contract (which expires after this season). At this moment, Barcelona sit three points behind Real Madrid in La Liga (Real also have a game in hand), they’ve been dumped from the Champions League by Juventus but they could give Enrique the perfect sendoff by winning the Copa del Rey title.
Sunday’s El Clasico falls on a very lovely Catalan holiday known as Sant Jordi’s day (Saint George is the patron saint of Catalonia). This day, celebrated on April 23, is similar to Valentine’s Day except exceptionally better. Instead of overcomplicating matters and piling pressure on sweethearts to make it the best Valentine’s ever, Sant Jordi’s day simply calls for the mutual exchange of roses and books.
Perhaps a small section of supporters within Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu are on to something. For the opening 75 minutes of Real’s second leg match against Bayern Munich, Cristiano Ronaldo, by his own standards and those of Real Madrid and all that jazz, cut a forlorn figure like only he can.