Barca – Real: more than a classic confrontation? – The Équipe.fr

This shows what can be a clasico. In this April 19, 2003, the people of Madrid (1st) have twenty-four points ahead of their rivals Barcelona (12th). What to expect a more dispassionate than usual match between two Spanish grandees. But if the match will end in a draw (1-1), it will end especially with eleven warnings and expulsion … With this scene in the 35th minute, when we will see Zidane hang with Puyol and even with Luis Enrique and everyone with everyone.

We can not imagine the two former players, now on the Madrid and Barcelona benches need to be retained by their staff for not s ‘écharper this Saturday at the first clasico of Zidane as Real coach. But their players, not impossible. Because the Clasico is a match at hand. With tension that entails.

More mistakes more warnings, more evictions …

Since the 2005-2006 season, la Liga, only confrontations between Sevilla FC and Atletico Madrid saw more distributed cartons (167) that Clasicos (163), more struck than average Spanish matches. Over the period, there are 34.7 fouls per clasico, when the average in La Liga is 31.7. The number of warnings is 7.3 for an opposition between Madrid and Barcelona; it is only 5.4 in the championship. Very intense, are the knockout Champions League as tight a Barça-Real? Missed. Since 2005, the referees officiating at the closing laps of the C1 distribute three cartons per game less than a clasico, and half of red (0.22 against 0.48).

The tension between the two clubs is still mounted in a tone with the arrival on the bench of Real Jose Mourinho in the summer of 2010. There are fourteen evictions on the twenty-three duels which opposed the two clubs since, including ten for Real. Ramos (three times), Pepe, Marcelo, Di Maria, Özil, Valdés, Villa … the list of players who have not completed a clasico in recent years is long. But she is hardly enriched with new names in recent seasons. The departure of the Portuguese coach in 2013 seems to have calmed the spirits. Of the six Clasicos played the last three seasons (five in La Liga and a Copa del Rey), only two red cards were out. The arrival of Zidane on the Madrid bench she will confirm the trend?