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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.
Notes
1. Linares, La Gran Guerra, 22
2. Solis, 146
3. Duke and Crolley, 27
4. Goldblatt, 150
5. Crolley and Hand, 127
6. Tremlett, 331
7. Montalban, cited in Crolley and Hand, 109
8. Hooper, 83
9. Tremlett, 443
10. Ball, Morbo, 247
11. Tremlett, 357
12. Burns, 16
13. Duke and Crolley, 27
14. Crolley and Hand, 109
15. Ball, Morbo, 103
16. Duke and Crolley, 35
17. Ibid, 36
18. Montalban, 65
19. Ball, White Storm, 155
20. Vinolo, Los anos 50, 160
21. Ibid, 301
22. Tremlett, 428
23. Santacana Torres, 234
24. Alfredo Relano, Head of Sports, AS (El Pais) May 11 2011, Madrid.
25. Ball, White Storm, 179
26. Duke and Crolley, 48
27. Niemann et al., 143
28. Dagoberto Escorcia, Sports Editor, La Vanguardia April 7 2010, Barcelona.
29. Ball, Morbo, 24
30. Crolley and Hand, 10
31. Goldblatt, 688
32. Crolley, 307
33. Payne, 236
34. Hooper, 227
35. Cashmore, 240
36. Ball, Morbo, 234
37. Linares, 21
38. Jordi Badia – El Pais July 8 2012
39. Debord, 426