El Clásico is coming! Recall the 10 epic moments of this century in the biggest game of the football world

This evening, football fans will see the second El Clásico of the year. Let’s recall the best moments of the biggest football match of the century.

Tonight, fans of Spanish football and beyond are looking forward to another El Clásico. Real Madrid host Barcelona at their stadium in the first semi-final of the Spanish Copa del Rey and will be looking to avert the league defeat from January.

Kick-off for the match starts at 9pm. So let’s recap the top ten most memorable moments of the biggest club match this century has offered.

Pigs’ heads in reaction to Luis Figo’s controversial transfer

Although there have been several player replacements between the two rivals throughout history, the case of Luis Figo is still a special one. He was one of Barcelona’s best players at the time and despite claiming that his transfer to Real Madrid was out of the question, he was already attending a presentation at the Santiago Bernabéu a few days later.

No wonder then that when he played at the Camp Nou in 2002, the Blaugranas fans were not exactly thrilled to see Figo in the white jersey. Then when he played a corner right in front of the hard core fans, many objects flew at him.

The referee even had to stop the game for 15 minutes. On that occasion, the camera was pointed at a pig’s head, which was one of the objects that flew towards the Portuguese star.

Santiago Bernabéu gave Ronaldinho a standing ovation

The year was 1983 and the Real Madrid stadium gave a standing ovation to the legendary Diego Armando Maradona for his extraordinary performance. 22 years later, Brazilian Ronaldinho achieved the same feat.

In those days, he was thoroughly enjoying his football, and at the Santiago Bernabéu he translated his joy into the necessary efficiency. Sergio Ramos certainly had nightmares about the smiling Brazilian magician that night.

In the first half, Samuel Eto’o opened the scoring after a pass from the youthful Lionel Messi. But Ronaldinho then stole all the glory for himself in the second half after two memorable solos, recording one of the most epic El Clásico performances of all time.

Guardiola’s Barca at their best

The first El Clásico of the newly elected manager José Mourinho, who took over the White Ballet precisely to stop the runaway train called FC Barcelona. But he must have imagined his debut with the age-old rival differently.

Even die-hard Merengues fans had to admit that it was a joy to watch the strength of the Barcelona team. Absolute dominance in possession of the ball, amazing movement and incredible efficiency in the final phase. Surprisingly, Messi didn’t score, but he drove his team to victory in a typically dominant manner.

The 5-0 scoreline spoke for itself and Mourinho admitted after the game that his team was completely disgraced. “We played very badly and they were fantastic. We gave them two goals that bordered on the absurd,” Mourinho said at the time, surprisingly appreciative.

Ronaldo’s header ended Barcelona’s unbeaten run in the Copa del Rey final

It took six months, and Mourinho really did it. Guardiola’s Barcelona’s invincibility was broken and it was definitely a turning point for all Madridistas.

A great team performance by Real Madrid, whose players made a downright sacrifice for their team. Cristiano Ronaldo should have scored a hat-trick in the first half, however, thanks to a great Pinto in the Barcelona goal, the game went into extra time.

A beautiful combination of Marcelo and Di Maria on the edge of the field, a great centre by the latter and a header by Cristiano that went around the world. Mourinho became, at least for that time, the darling of all the fans of the Madrid big club.

Messi didn’t need a teammate

Just a week after Real Madrid’s aforementioned Copa del Rey final victory, the two rivals met in the first semi-final of the Champions League at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium. Lionel Messi starred throughout the match.

His two goals in the second half decided his team’s 0:2 victory, and his second goal in particular became one of the most beautiful goals in the history of El Clásico.

After taking the ball from Sergio Busquets near the middle of the pitch, he ran alone through a pitch dotted with players wearing the white jersey and finally sent the ball behind the back of Iker Casillas. It must be added that Barcelona eventually won the whole competition and Messi scored in the final against Manchester United as well.

Mourinho poked Villanova’s assistant in the eye

The end of the 2010/2011 season and the winner of the Spanish La Liga with the winner of the Royal Cup. The second of the Spanish Super Cup final matches played at the stadium of the metropolis from sunny Catalonia.

At the Santiago Bernabéu, the score was tied 2-2, and the same score was still shining two minutes before the end of regulation time in the rematch at the Camp Nou. However, a beautiful double-header full of twists and turns was once again decided by Lionel Messi, who secured the title for his team.

In injury time, Marcelo had to go to the showers after a brutal tackle, which led to a melee on the pitch. The cameras caught the unforgettable moment when José Mourinho picked out Barcelona assistant Tito Villanova and poked him in the eye with his finger. Although the Portuguese coach was initially reluctant to apologise, he did so many years later.

Cristiano calms the Nou Camp

Just as on the one hand Lionel Messi was a specialist on his arch rival Real Madrid, Cristiano too had a period when he liked to feast on Barcelona fans. Today, Ronaldo is best known for his trademark goal celebration called ‘suiiiii’, but in 2012 he celebrated one of his best performances in the Clásico with another memorable celebration.

At the Camp Nou, he made the decider from a sharp angle with a goal that marked his team’s 1:2 victory. He froze the stormy atmosphere caused by the Barcelona fans with a memorable “calma” celebration, which he clearly enjoyed.

Bale left the field of play after a memorable sprint to decide the Clásico

Another Copa del Rey final, and this time Marc Bartra was the star. After he equalised in the second half at 1-1 he witnessed a moment he couldn’t believe with his own eyes.

Gareth Bale tapped the ball past the young Barcelona midfielder with five minutes left in the half, “bounced into the showers”, only to come back onto the pitch, outrun Bartra and decide the Clásico final.

Of course, this situation is described in a very expressive way, but Marc Bartra would not have caught Bale that night even if he had a motorbike in the coaches’ area. Definitely one of the strangest and most beautiful goals of the Clásico.

Messi’s iconic celebration with his jersey at the Santiago Bernabéu

In April 2017, another memorable game in the Spanish La Liga took place at Real Madrid’s stadium and offered an amazing match full of twists and turns. At the set time, the scoreboard was lit up with a 2:2 scoreline and everything indicated that both teams would part with a point each.

But then Barcelona’s counter-attack got underway, with Lionel Messi, seemingly uninvolved until that moment, on the end of it, deciding that the three points would go to Catalonia.

The celebration that the living Argentine legend chose then went down in Clásico history. Messi standing with his jersey held high towards the stands of the stadium, it was truly an iconic sight for all Blaugranas.

Suárez’s hat-trick

Suarez’s numbers against Real Madrid were remarkable. The Uruguayan always seemed to find his best form in these games and he proved it in October 2018 when he scored a hat-trick against his opponents.

It was only the fourth hat-trick ever scored in the Clasico and marked Barcelona’s dominant 5-1 win. It was a victory made all the more valuable by the fact that the Barcelona team was playing without the injured Messi.

Source: Goal, Twitter