Real Madrid and Barcelona are ready to resume what many soccer fans consider the most entertaining rivalry in the game when they clash today in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup (4pm, ESPN3.com)
Real Madrid will be facing their rival for the first time since beating them at the Camp Nou to all but clinch the Spanish League title. For Barcelona, tonight's match will offer the beginning of a new era as manager Tito Vilanova takes over for Pep Guardiola.
Here is my FOX Soccer feature on the rivalry, which focus on my recent interviews with Jose Mourinho and Iker Casillas, who both praised the Madrid-Barca rivalry. Mourinho went as far as to credit Barcelona for pushing Madrid to a new level. Iker Casillas downplayed the notion that the rivalry had turned ugly, stating that it is still very much a healthy rivalry with plenty of friends on both sides of the line.
You can find everything you need to know about the match-up here at FOX Soccer's 'El Clasico' page.
If you will be watching today's match (and we know you will), please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.
Enjoy the action.
True. Damn you, confusing away goals rule.
I don’t want them enough to state this as a fact, but it seems to me that they are very good at recognizing contact and reacting to it.
It makes it very hard to take the ball from them, because how often can you pick the ball clean from someone without a certain amount of contact.
Or draw.
I don’t know about a great win though. Two away goals means they have to win again in Madrid, or score two goals there. Doable, but not a good situation.
Well a great win for Barcelona. Scoreline says 3-2, but a keeper error from Valdes and some superman business from Casillas kept it from being 4 or 5 to 1.
What the hell is that?
When can a player throw a keeper to the ground?
Who is the commentator on ESPN3.com? He seems to have very little emotion when goals are scored. I can barely tell when something awesome happens by listening to it (@ work and can’t watch).
Barcelona is in mid-season form already. Some gorgeous stuff. These guys have eyes in the backs of their heads.
Disagree, not on the diving, etc. but on the quality of play – feel like today’s match is demonstrating that.
Not that good.
For all of those quality players on that team, there’s way too much diving, complaining, and fouling. The play rarely is any good.
Good goal by madrid and then incredibly quick answer by barcelona within three minutes and then Madrid goes close again.
“Overhyped” in the sense that it can’t possibly live up to all the expectation and attention, or “overhyped” in the sense that its just not enjoyable to watch?
I might agree with the first sentiment, but put the anticipation and hyperbole aside and its still Messi, Casillas, Renaldo, Xavi, Ozil, Iniesta, Villa, etc. all at the same time – that’s always a good way to spend a couple of hours.
On the flip side, love Barcelona’s possession play, but theeir players do go down quicker than Berlusconi’s mistress.
Next to the the Honda Super Clasico, Barca vs Madrid is the most over-hyped football derby
Complete thug play. This is pathetic from Madrid. Come on, you’ve got so much talent why play like this?
Espn on XBox is nearly useless at the moment. Which is weird because the website is working swimmingly. Odd.
anyone had a link that doesn’t crash?
Welp, back to the Madrid we saw at the start of Mourihno’s time. Thug ball and no attacking.
Good to see I picked the right match to watch.
3:5 in favor of Hannover. Wroclaw crawled back from 1:3 to equalize, then 96 put them away. Thrilling!
I feel like I’m being dared to not watch.
Awesome it’s on ESPN3. Now I can get half price sushi.
Meh. Oversaturated and overly chippy.
Watching Dolo and Hannover in a meaningful match in the Europa League.
Too bad AZ lost, but only 1-0 on the road.
I expect alot of sportsmanship and clean play.
I am excite!
can’t wait!