Liga Preview: Barcelona-Real Madrid

Coins, knives, cigarette lighters, mobile phones and…a pig's head. Just some of the everyday objects hurtling towards Luis Figo on a typical day out at Camp Nou.

Disgracefully, almost nothing has been done by way of sanction for the hysterically thuggish behaviour of mob elements in the Barcelona support on Real Madrid's last two visits to Camp Nou. Does it take injury to Figo before the Spanish federation clamps down on Barcelona?

Sadly, the fact is that Barcelona, like Real Madrid, are almost beyond sanction in Spanish football. Both national institutions are far more significant than even the FEF. Moreover, if the FEF are impotent, club officials are immoral. Ex-Barcelona president Joan Gaspart excused the behaviour of his club's fans last season by accusing Figo of provocation. So now we know. It's provocation to take a corner at Camp Nou. And that about sums up the bitter hatred between Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Normal rules of decency don't apply, and it's win at all costs. Gaspart's reaction also details the inferiority that Barca feel towards their ancient rivals. Despite remaining unbeaten at home for almost two decades of Real Madrid visits, Barcelona feel deeply insignificant when confronted by their nemeses from the capital. This isn't so much to do with the fact that Real are Europe's most successful club. After all, AC Milan, Juventus, or Bayern Munich would feel no such lack of self-esteem when facing the Spanish champions. No, this is an inferiority borne out of failing to meet their own standards.

Barcelona – for all their natural advantages and attributes of size, prestige, and wealth – have underachieved as a club. One European Cup is a paltry return for the biggest club in soccer. Nobody has a better stadium and nobody has more supporters paying through the gates every week. No other club of their stature can claim to represent an entire people. Yet Barcelona traditionally fail. Milan had Schiaffino, Rivera, Altafini, Gullit, Van Basten, and Baresi. Juventus had Sivori, Charles, Zoff, Platini, Rossi, and Baggio. Bayern had Beckenbauer, Müller, Breitner, Rummenigge, Matthaus, and Effenberg. Real had Puskas, Di Stefano, Gento, Butragueno, Michel, and Sanchez. Yet Barcelona too have had names to equal all of those great clubs. Kubala, Neeskens, Cruyff, Maradona, Schuster, and Stoichkov. So how come they've achieved so little in comparison?

While Di Stefano and Puskas were winning five European Cups, Kubala and Barcelona had to make do with two Fairs Cups. Indeed, from 1961 to 1991, Barcelona won a miserly three league championships. This cannot be blamed simply on Real's dominance. After all, Real Sociedad, Valencia, and Atheltic Bilbao all won titles in this period. Quite simply, Barcelona have traditionally failed to punch their weight. Therefore, when confronted by the one club that always seems to deliver when it matters, many Catalans feel inadequate.

Many people point to history for this sense of perceived injustice. Many talk of Franco's support of the capital club and the suppression of Catalonian culture during his regime, but such historical fact holds little weight with the younger generation, the generation that supplies the hooligans to bottle Figo, a generation that has known no such cultural imperialism from Madrid. The only inferiority they know is on the football pitch. And with the exception of the glorious early '90s, Barcelona have played second fiddle to Real Madrid.

So it surprises people that Real haven't won a league game at Camp Nou since 1984. True, they won a Champions League semi-final there in 2002, but Barcelona seem to offer their greatest challenge to Real hegemony once a year at Camp Nou in front of their own braying support.

Figo, the symbol of Barca brilliance and architect of numerous Real defeats took on the image of Judas in abandoning the sinking flagship of Catalonia for the white shirts of Madrid. For two ghastly nights since, he has endured a torrent of merciless abuse and drawn the poisonous inferiority of the Catalans upon his shoulders.

On Saturday, he will be spared the madness as he is suspended having picked up a booking in the Madrid derby in midweek. In his place will be another "traitor," Ronaldo, his erstwhile partner in glory during the mid 1990s. The Brazilian missed last season's visit through injury, and is sure to be joined as scapegoat-in-chief by David Beckham who preferred Madrid to Barcelona last summer and will surely be made aware of the locals' displeasure come kick off. It won't matter to them that Beckham never reneged on any deal with Barca, that he was used as a pawn in a canny, if tawdry, political game of electioneering by the incoming Barcelona president. He plays for Madrid and not them. That will be enough. All the better that he will be presented as the third traitor.

FORM GUIDE

So, in the light of this, the game itself promises to be its usual over-hyped, hysterical self, with little in the way of classic moments to cherish over the years. Strangely, for a game that everybody wants to see, most of us can barely recall truly great meetings between the two sides. A 5-0 thrashing either way in the mid 1990s apart, Barca-Real is more about emotion and frenzy than football.

Real come into the game having beaten city rivals Atletico with some ease on Wednesday. Yet, their defence was fragile and Atletico made precious little of their penalty box possession. Three wins, two draws, and a 4-1 defeat at Sevilla in the last six proves that Real are far from invincible.

Barcelona, for their part, contributed to their legacy of underachievement by losing 5-1, yes, 5-1 at mighty Malaga on Wednesday. Is it any wonder why they are nowhere near a title challenge and sitting down in 8th place having won just twice in their last six outings? The visitors lead the table by two points from their real challengers Valencia. Barcelona can really only aspire to aiding the 2002 champions by lying in wait for Madrid.

TEAM NEWS:

Barcelona hope to have captain Carlos Puyol back in defence after the defender missed the massacre in Malaga. Coach Frank Rijkaard will keep his selection under wraps however.

"I'm not going to give them clues as to who'll play," he said. "What you saw in training isn't necessarily what we'll plump for on the day. One thing is clear, we won't sit back and defend. This team isn't made to do that. We mustn't let the Madrid players have any space. We need to concentrate on keeping possession and not giving the ball away, which lays us open to counter attacks. Motivation is important, but I don't think we'll need to worry about that. Training before a game like this is always a bit different, but I'd insist that the most important is how motivated we are on the pitch. I don't think that there is a great difference between the squads. Maybe the only thing that distinguishes them is that they have a few specialists who make them particularly dangerous".

Real Madrid are without Guti who has a swollen ankle.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Barcelona: Valdés or Rustu, Gabri, Reiziger, Puyol, Van Bronckhorst, Gerard, Xavi, Cocu, Motta, Kluivert, Saviola.

Real Madrid: Iker Casillas, Michel Salgado, Raúl Bravo, Pavón, Roberto Carlos, Solari, Beckham, Helguera, Zidane, Raúl, Ronaldo.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

Well, take your pick from Kluivert, Zidane, Ronaldo, Saviola, Beckham, Raul… This is perhaps the most star-studded fixture in world football.