MORE THAN A GAME

TWO GIANTS COLLIDE WHEN REAL MADRID HOST BARCELONA IN LALIGA'S 'EL CLÁSICO' ON 21 APRIL

- Nick Said

Between them, Real Madrid and Barcelona have won 17 of the past 19 Spanish LaLiga titles, part of a rivalry that transcends football but makes them the two protagonists year after year. The pair have dominated the Spanish football landscape, with the occasional pockets of success for others, most recently Atlético Madrid.

The fact that they vie for top spot each year brings its own intensity to clashes between the two, as they have added importance and are usually played for three precious points that can decide the eventual destination of the league trophy.

But there is much more to it than that and there is a political element to it as well. Madrid is Spain's capital and largest city, but Barcelona is the capital of the Catalunya region, which has for decades had a popular separatist movement that has been pushing for independence.

The two clubs are very often on opposite sides of the political spectrum, with Spanish and Catalan nationalism at the forefront.

In the 1930s, when General Francisco Franco launched his coup d'état against the democratic Spanish Republic, all regional languages and identities, such as those of the Catalan population in Barcelona, were suppressed. In fact, Franco had Barcelona club president Josep Sunyol, a member of the separatist Republican Left of Catalunya, arrested and executed without trial.

In later years, Franco would become associated with Real Madrid, though in truth he seemed to prefer Atlético and the mists of time have perhaps blurred the reality.

But, for example, Barça blamed their 11-1 loss to Real Madrid on intimidation from Franco's forces, while Santiago Bernabéu, after whom Real's stadium is named, did fight on Franco's side.