Some football rivalries are geography-based, like Manchester United v Manchester City.
Some others are political-based, like Celtic v Rangers. And then there are rivalries which are legacy-based.
The last form of rivalry is between the best teams in a country, like Dortmund v Bayern Munich.
Barcelona v Real Madrid, one of the most famous rivalries in club football, falls under the last category.
The showdown divides not just fans in Spain but all over the country.
The definition of rivalry has changed over the years, mostly defined by their players.
Most recently, it was the Messi v Ronaldo debate.
Lionel Messi holding up his shirt to silence Santiago Bernabeu
But above all, it is a club rivalry deeply ingrained in the country’s footballing culture.
What started as a political rivalry during the Spanish Civil War has now become a true “Who is the best in Spain?” debate.
Real Madrid and Barcelona are by far the most successful clubs in the country, sharing 61 titles of the 95 league titles on offer.
While Real Madrid overshadows their counterparts in the league and the Champions League, Barcelona has recently gained a lot of ground, making the overall debate very intense and interesting.
The players and clubs are continuously trying to one-up each other.
What is more difficult to come by is mutual appreciation.
This is why a lot of people in Spotify Camp Nou, Barcelona’s stadium, were caught off-guard when the club played Real Madrid’s CL triumph video on the big screen in the build-up to their Champions League game against Victoria Plzen in the midweek.
The video showcases the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool in Paris and the subsequent celebrations from their bitter rivals.
Some called for the person who played the video to be fired, while the Madridistas were enjoying the scene.
One perfectly logical and possible explanation is that, since this is the first Champions League match of the season in the stadium, the club decided to play a rewind video of last year’s CL. Why they thought this was a good idea is up for debate.
The club could have just shown highlights of Barcelona’s matches and not of the celebration.
There were other ways to showcase the celebration. This felt as if someone meant to rub it in.
To make matters worse, this was not even the official CL intro video. All in all, someone made a hash of it.
The supporters in the stadium did however make it a point to not let that affect the team, creating a ruckus and intimidating atmosphere.
🎬 | Barcelona fans singing the club anthem and enjoying themselves at Camp Nou during the match against Viktoria Plzen.
