Best Rivalries of World Soccer

Best Rivalries of World Soccer — page 3 — MASCHERAND CHAPTER 1 14 unicef QATAR AIRWAYS Fly Emirates LOS CLÁSICOS 4 A pass from Lionel Messi considered by many to be the world's best player set up Barcelona teammate Andrés Iniesta for the opening goal just seven minutes into the game Karim Benzema one of the world's most dangerous strikers answered with a goal for Real Madrid only 13 minutes later

Best Rivalries of World Soccer — page 4 — 3 3 2 1 Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema lines up a shot against Barcelona in one of their 2014 El Clásico showdowns More than 85,000 fans erupted in cheers at Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu Stadium Matches between Spain's most powerful men's club teams are nicknamed El Clásico or The Classic And this meeting on March 23 2014 soon became one of the most memorable El Clásicos in the rivalry's long and storied history The Frenchman Benzema dressed in the iconic all white uniform of Real Madrid put his team up 2 with a right-footed goal in the 24th minute Just before halftime Messi in the blue-and-dark-red-striped shirt of Barcelona lurked in Madrid's penalty area When the opportunity came the Argentine slipped the ball into the net At 26 years old Messi now had 19 goals against Real Madrid That made him the leading scorer in El Clásico history However Real Madrid had its own superstar with a claim for being the world's best player in Cristiano Ronaldo And in the 55th minute the Portuguese forward scored on a penalty kick That put Madrid up 3 However Ronaldo's teammate the skilled but at times reckless Spanish defender Sergio Ramos was sent off with a red card a few minutes later Messi tied the game 3 on the ensuing penalty Then in the 84th minute he added another goal from the penalty spot to secure the hat trick and the 4 win It was another iconic El Clásico 5

Best Rivalries of World Soccer — page 5 — 6 EL CLÁSICO Soccer rivalries develop for many reasons Some begin because teams are neighbors in the same city Others involve teams from cities that frequently compare themselves in areas such as business or culture Sometimes fans from certain teams have opposing values Often rivalries simply emerge because teams find themselves facing off in big games over and over again Lionel Messi kisses the Barcelona badge after scoring the game-winning goal against Real Madrid in 2014

Best Rivalries of World Soccer — page 6 — 3 56 16 Cristiano Ronaldo scored 18 goals for Real Madrid in 30 career appearances against Barcelona Only Messi has scored more El Clásico goals The Barcelona-Real Madrid rivalry has it all The teams come from Spain's two biggest cities The real in Real Madrid's name is Spanish for royal As a result the team is often linked with Spanish nationalism On the field no team has been better Real Madrid won the first five European Cups beginning in 1955 In 2022 the team known as Los Blancos The Whites won the tournament now called the Champions League for a record 14th time 7

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