Real Madrid – Barcelona 11:1 or Politics as the birth of hatred. This match started a rivalry

Real Madrid and Barcelona, this is one of the most famous rivalries in the football world. El Clásico will write another episode today, but where did the hatred between the two teams begin?

The Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939 foreshadowed the hatred between Real Madrid and Barcelona, and added even more political motives to their clashes. After the victory of the fascist party, General Franco came to power and used Real Madrid to demonstrate his power, banning the use of Catalan, for example.

Thus, while the White Ballet represented the fascist party in the matches because of General Franco, Barcelona represented the rebel group of Catalonia. And this is where the first problems began to arise.

It is almost safe to say that the greatest hatred between the two teams was born in the semi-final of the Copa del Generalísimo in 1943. In the first leg at Les Corts stadium in Catalonia, Barcelona won 3-0. Real’s players were grossly dissatisfied with all three goals, which they felt were incorrectly conceded by referee Fombona Fernández.

Newspapers across Spain the next day said: “Thevery environment caused Madrid to concede three goals that were absolutely unfair.”

In addition, the home fans loudly booed the Real Madrid players throughout the match, which was seen as a betrayal in the Spanish capital. Los Blancos goalkeeper Eduardo Teus, who also wrote for the daily AS, called the behaviour of the Barcelona fans an “attack on the Spanish national team”.

Other media joined in and attacked Barcelona of organising the whole event against Real Madrid. ” I wish the Madrid fans had welcomed Barcelona as they did us in the first half,” Teus added.

Retaliation

Real Madrid president Ramón Mendoza made his displeasure known in an official statement.

“News reached us that fans were allowed to go to the El Club bar on La Victoria Street to receive whistles. Others were getting whistles straight to their ticket,” he claimed of the “welcome” in Barcelona, with which he had until then had no downright hostile relations. But now a campaign of revenge has begun in Madrid.

Thus, in the rematch, Barcelona players were intimidated, with fans even attacking the club bus on the way to the match. Blaugranas striker Mariano Gonzalvo let it be known that even before the match started, Barcelona’s penalty area was covered in coins.

The match eventually ended with a score of 11-1 to Real Madrid, but it was more of an embarrassment than a sporting feat. “Even if the Azulgranas had played badly, really badly, the score would never have been so astronomically high. It’s just that they didn’t actually play at all,” wrote journalist Juan Samaranch. “At one point we said, ‘Go on, score as many goals as you want’,” said Barcelona goalkeeper Luis Miró years later.

The last surviving witness of the event, Fernando Argila, who was Barcelona’s substitute goalkeeper, summed up the event as follows:

“There was no rivalry between Madrid and Barcelona. Until that day. The fans, in reaction to the first match, created a hostile atmosphere. Someone came into the booth, I think it was a policeman. He told us that nothing unpleasant must happen and that we must not provoke the spectators. His visit and the hostile atmosphere was behind the result. On that day, the rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona was born. Everything happened because of politics,” Argila said.

Source: MARCA