Hello everyone and welcome to Soccer 101.

My name is Joe Lowry, and on this episode, we're answering the question, why is El Classico so important?

In English, it literally translates to the classic.

It's almost as if the name is begging for us to talk about why the classic is so classic.

And we'll get there. Or at least we'll get close. But let's start with the basics, like what

El Classico actually is. El Classico is one of the most famous rivalries in all of sports. It's the

name for the matchup between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, the two largest clubs in Spain and

two of the biggest clubs in global soccer. In recent history, these Barcelona-Madrid clashes were

defined by two names. I'll go ahead and let you guess. You got it. Cristiano Ronaldo and Leonel Messi.

The narrative was easy to craft, like really, really easy. Which all-time great player will lead his

megaclub to victory over the other all-time great player and the other mega club? It's a pretty

convenient storyline to pull out for preview coverage, and I'm guessing a lot of editors from around the country probably let the intern churn out that preview piece. Don't get me wrong,

that Messi versus Ronaldo storyline was very justified. Their El Classico's will go down

as some of the most consistently compelling soccer games ever. Messi, on one side, either out on the

right wing preparing to cut in on his left foot or standing up top ready to drop into midfield in Pole Madrid's centerbacks with him, and Ronaldo on the other side, on the left wing, itching to drive at Barcelona's right back before chopping the ball over to his right foot, or maybe starting in a more central position, ready to turn in opposing centerback and hit a shot on goal. If the images that I've just put in your head of Messi and

Ronaldo doing their things on the field weren't enough to prove their combined significance to

the Barcelona-Rial Madrid rivalry, may I direct your attention to Messi versus Ronaldo.app

forward slash club dash stats forward slash L-classico, a web page dedicated to tracking, comparing,

and contrasting Messi and Rinaldo's El

Classico statistics. After you're done listening to this podcast, or while you're listening,

check it out. The internet is a wonderful place, isn't it? El Classico is, or was, Messi

versus Ronaldo, but it's also so much more. How classic can a classic be if it's completely tied to the legacy

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