”The Special One”

There is no match like the one between Barcelona and Real Madrid. A long history and tradition surrounds their fixtures but today’s match has its own under-tones. Real are managed by the ultimate Catalan enemy - Jose Mourinho.

No Barca fan will forget the cartwheel performed by the Special One on the Nou Camp pitch when Inter Milan sent Barcelona out of the Champions League in the second leg of the semi final last season. He was accosted by Barca goal keeper, Victor Valdes, but could not be restrained. The last match Real Madrid lost was in April 17, 2010, to Barcelona; while Mourinho’s last defeat as a club manager was at the hands of Barcelona in April 28, in the Champions League.

History of Mourinho and Barcelona

Barcelona fans may have forgotten that Mourinho honed his coaching skills in Catalonia. First, it was under the late Bobby Robson, and then Louis Van Gaal at Nou Camp. Van Gaal allowed Mourinho to develop an independent coaching style and entrusted him with coaching Barcelona’s second team. Mourinho started out as a player but was dissatisfied with his lack of skill and switched to management.

After spells working as an assistant manager and a youth team coach in the early 1990s, he became an interpreter for Bobby Robson at Sporting Lisbon and FC Porto in Portugal, before following him to Spanish club FC Barcelona. Van Gaal also let Mourinho take charge of the first team (acting as Mourinho’s assistant himself) for certain trophies, like the Copa Catalunya, which Mourinho won in 2000.

There were run-ins when he was with Chelsea; the most famous being the insinuation that he saw referee, Anders Frisk, talking to Barcelona officials during the half time, for which Mourinho was banned for three matches. Today, when he steps unto the pitch, he is sure to receive enough cat calls to raise the dead.

The rivalry

Real Madrid and Barcelona, apart from being the two largest cities in Spain, are also the most successful clubs in the country. Real Madrid has amassed 73 trophies and Barcelona 68. And they are sometimes identified with opposing political positions, with Real Madrid and Barcelona representing Spanish nationalism and Catalan nationalism respectively.

Today, when the teams line out, quality will over flow on both sides. A bulk of the Barcelona side made up the victorious Spain side to the 2010 World Cup; and added to that team is the world’s best player, Lionel Messi, who has already scored 13 goals in the league this season.

On the other side is the most enigmatic footballer since the days of Romario; Cristiano Ronaldo. He has always been the brunt of opposition anger at whichever club he has played for and seems to thrive on the ‘hate’. In the Barca side, the duo of Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta make up one of the best passers in the modern game. Then, there is the £40 million addition of the best Spanish finisher after Raul, David Villa. On the other side is Iker Casillas, arguably the best goal keeper on the planet, joined by Sergio Ramos and Xavi Alonso. In front they have Gonzalo Higuain, Angel Di Maria and the irrepressible Cristiano Ronaldo. These matchups make for an explosive 209th edition of the most intense club rivalry in the world. The match will kick off at 9:30pm Nigerian time.