‘El Clasico’ and the demise of tradition in Spanish club football: perspectives on shifting patterns of cultural identity

Abstract

The deeply embedded dimensions of 'El Clasico', historic, political, cultural and sporting, have defined the Real Madrid-FC Barcelona axis as the seminal representation of Spanish club football to a global public across a plethora of contemporary mediascapes. This article examines the consequences of the saturated intensity of this megaspectacle for representations of ethnicity and cultural identity. It argues that the capacity of FC Barcelona and Real Madrid to articulate and reflect deeply rooted constructions of Catalanism and Spanishness has been transformed and distorted, with significant implications for both protagonists. These go to the heart of contested issues of nationhood within the vortex of a plurinational, democratic Spain. It critically examines the impact of the dominance of 'El Clasico' for the folkloric local and regional rivalries within La Liga and suggests that the globalization of the Real Madrid-FC Barcelona axis signals the erosion and demise of tradition in Spanish club football.

“Més Que Un Joc?”: Sport and Contemporary Political Nationalism in Scotland and Catalonia

“…Piqué’s attempts to explicitly highlight that his interventions did not act as an endorsement of Catalan independence thus illustrates that, similar to the Scottish context, any specific indication of support for a political constitutional outcome remained a risky endeavor for sporting personalities, whether for personal or commercial reasons. Indeed, Piqué’s comments about losing “half of my followers” had he made any such political statements further illustrate the commercial implications of political statements by sportspeople, and thus mimic the arguments of past analyses of the shifting rhetoric of FC Barcelona as a club in relation to the Catalan political climate and the club’s commercial considerations (Lopez-Gonzalez et al, 2014; O’Brien, 2013; Vaczi, 2014, 2017a, 2017b). Other high-profile sporting celebrities in the Catalan context, such as the motorcyclist and four-time MotoGP World Champion Marc Márquez, also deliberately endeavored to emphasize their political neutrality as was the case for Piqué.…”

“…Nonetheless, most academic analyses have focused on the importance of football, and particularly the status of FC Barcelona and the Catalan “national team,” to the ongoing maintenance of a distinctive Catalan identity, both within Spain and on the global stage (Barcelo, Clinton, & Samper Sero, 2015; Crameri, 2000; García, 2012; Kassimeris, 2012; McFarland, 2013; O’Brien, 2013; Pujol & Yuba, 2014; Shobe, 2006, 2008; Stout, 2016; Tunon & Brey, 2012; Vaczi, 2014, 2017a, 2017b). However, many of these academics have also cautioned about the risks of oversimplifying the symbolism of FC Barcelona in relation to Catalan identity and political nationalism, arguing that the uncritical presentation of FC Barcelona and its mantra of “Més que un club” (“More than a club”) in this fashion runs the risk of ignoring the shifting positions of the club in relation to Catalanism, both historically and in the highly commercialized contemporary era where the financial implications of adopting a position other than relative neutrality within current political turmoil in Catalonia (Lopez-Gonzalez, Guerrero-Sole, & Haynes, 2014; O’Brien, 2013; Vaczi, 2014, 2017a, 2017b). When Joan Laporta became FC Barcelona’s president in 2003, the overt identification of the club with independence became remarkable (García, 2012).…”

Miracle or Debacle? Anti-Colonialism, Nationalism, and Pan-Africanism in Reports of the Friendly Football Match between Kenya and Ghana in 1965

“…As with newspapers in other parts of the world, the Spanish-Portuguese domination of European soccer was often mentioned in the Daily Nation's football news reports in the 1960s [28]. As one of the oldest clubs in Spain, Real Madrid dominated Europe during this period, winning the initial five European Cups from 1956 to 1960 [29]. Thus, when the Ghana Black Stars were invited to play a friendly match at Real Madrid in 1962, European newspapers commented that "the match-up was dubbed as a 'David and Goliath' encounter [30]" because of Real Madrid's legendary status.…”

Less Partisan and Less Aggressive? The Impact of Covid-19 on the Media Discourse of “El Clásico” on Spanish Radio

“…Francisco Franco saw Real Madrid also as a powerful symbolic tool in his personal fight against the separatist regions of the north, and particularly Catalonia. According to O'Brien (2013, p. 319), the importance of El Clásico in Spanish football “is rooted in the historic political and cultural conflict between Catalonia and Castile”. This conceptualisation of “nationalism” is one of the main themes of the present paper.…”