Image via Complex Original
Clasico Material: The Top 10 Barcelona v. Real Madrid Moments of the 2000s
El Clasico, El Gran Clasico, or just plain old, The Classic. It’s simply the biggest soccer match on the planet, between Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid. The season’s first installment of this intense rivalry, steeped in political as well as sporting history, takes place today (3 p.m. EST) at Camp Nou. A Monday night? Isn’t it usually on a weekend? Yes it is, but the game has been moved on this occasion because of Sunday's Catalan elections. Today's marquee matchup not only brings together football’s two biggest stars, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but also sees Jose Mourinho strut onto the El Clasico stage for the first time, just to add an extra bit of drama. To give you an idea of what kind of spectacle to expect, check out The Top 10 Barcelona v. Real Madrid Moments of the 2000s. Now get those ATDHE streams ready...
10. Rivaldo Denied a Hat Trick
Date: March 4, 2001 @ El Bernabeu
Final score: Real 2-2 Barca
Eventual La Liga winner: Real Madrid
Complex says: Hat tricks don’t come along too often in this fixture—there’s been one in the last 15 years—but bad refereeing decisions are much more common. If you’re a Brazilian player called Rivaldo and about to outscore the King of the Bernabeu, Raul (who had also scored two), to bag a hat trick and win the game for Barca in Madrid, then you might find that dubious offside calls come into play. See the clip above for Rivaldo's pair of scintillating goals, and the one that wasn't.
9. The Duel of the Century
Date: April 23, 2002 @ Camp Nou
Final score: Barca 0-2 Real
Eventual La Liga winner: Neither, but Real Madrid won the Champions League
Complex says: El Clasico went continental in 2002, as the teams met in the Champions League semi-final, in what the Spanish media dubbed the "Duel of the Century." Not such a big boast in a century only two years in, but you get what they were driving at. Across 100 countries, 500 million people switched on to watch Real beat Barca in their own backyard. (See above for Zidane's opener; the second, from Steve McManaman, comes at the end.) A draw in the second leg saw Madrid through to the final, where they beat Bayer Leverkusen.
8. The Number of the Beast
Date: December 23, 2007 @ Camp Nou
Final score: Barca 0-1 Real
Eventual La Liga winner: Real Madrid
Complex says: Julio Baptista, a.k.a. the Beast, didn’t exactly set the world alight during his spell in Madrid—just as he didn’t at Arsenal, and now at Roma. You know, he might just be crap! However, scoring the winner at the Camp Nou with the crispest of strikes to bring Real a 1-0 victory ensured that he'll forever have a place in the hearts of the Madridistas.
7. Roberto Carlos' Cannon Leg
Date: February 27, 2000 @ El Bernabeu
Final score: Real 3-0 Barca
Eventual La Liga winner: Deportivo La Coruna
Complex says: Brazilians like a free kick, we all know that. And Roberto Carlos liked them more than most. Sure, most of his flew about 40 yards over the bar, but occasionally he got one right. Here, he stunned Barca keeper Ruud Hesp in the 5th minute with this screamer. And if you think that's impressive, check this Carlos goal from a friendly against France in 1997. CANNON!
6. Leo vs. Ruud
Date: March 10, 2007 @ Camp Nou
Final score: Barca 3-3 Real
Eventual La Liga winner: Real Madrid
Complex says: OK, Lionel Messi: You’re 19 years old, and sure, you’ve got talent, but this is your first-ever El Clasico—you must be shitting it. Right. That hat trick in the last 15 years we were talking about? This is it. Goal-scorer extraordinaire Ruud van Nistelrooy struck first for Real, then Messi hit a reply. RvN bagged another, Messi shot back. Sergio Ramos got Real's third and as the game entered added time, all looked lost for 10-man Barca. Guess what happens next?
5. Figo's Pig Head
Date: November 24, 2002 @ Camp Nou
Final score: Barca 0-0 Real
Eventual La Liga winner: Real Madrid
Complex says: Barcelona fans were pretty pissed with Luis Figo after he transferred to Madrid. He’d been back to the Camp Nou in 2000, but had been removed from corner-taking duties so he could keep a distance from the crowd. Two years later, the fans hadn’t forgotten. One member of the crowd must have wondered what he could take along to throw at the Portuguese when he strolled out to whip in a corner. Coins? Batteries? Boring. Wait...what about the head of a pig! That'll show the traitor!
4. Ronaldinho to Xavi
Date: April 25, 2004 @ El Bernabeu
Final score: Real 1-2 Barca
Eventual La Liga winner: Valencia
Complex says: No comment needed here. Awesome pass, awesome finish.
3. Barca Applauds Real
Date: May 7, 2008 @ El Bernabeu
Final score: Real 4-1 Barca
Eventual La Liga winner: Real Madrid
Complex says: This must've been a great day to be a Real Madrid fan or player. Not only had you just won the league in your previous match, but now you were playing Barcelona at the Bernabeu, where they would have to form a guard of honor and applaud you onto the pitch. Talk about rubbing their faces in it. Probably take it easy on them then? NOPE! Real would go on to beat Barca 4-1, just to maximize the humiliation.
2. Barcelona Hit Six
Date: May 2, 2009 @ El Bernabeu
Final score: Real 2-6 Barca
Eventual La Liga winner: Barcelona
Complex says: Revenge for that Barcelona humiliation was served up five days short of a year later. The Bernabeu was again the scene, but the story was an altogether different one. Barca, bulldozing their way to every trophy in sight, well and truly flattened Real with a 6-2 victory. It was one of the best performances in the last decade of soccer. Also, the inimitable Ray Hudson on the commentary: "The look of a warrior with the touch of a belly dancer!" Yup.
1 Ronaldinho Gets Standing Ovation
Date: November 19, 2005 @ El Bernabeu
Final score: Real 0-3 Barca
Eventual La Liga winner: Barcelona
Complex says: Ronaldinho owned this fixture for a couple of years in the mid-2000s. He got two goals in this one, but that hardly goes to explain quite how much he tore Real a new one. His first goal combined everything the Brazilian was doing right before he ate his way out of the club: power, pace, dribbling, trickery, feints, and precision. He was the man. His second goal, although not quite as dazzlingly brilliant, led to one of the most unexpected sights witnessed in soccer: The Madridistas in the Bernabeu rose to their feet and applauded the star of their fiercest rivals. Was that General Franco clapping?