When Barcelona Went to the Other Side of Madrid
When Barcelona Went to the Other Side of Madrid
When Barcelona Went to the Other Side of Madrid
When Barcelona travels to Madrid, the city welcomes Messi, Xavi and the rest of the Blaugrana with the rawest string of emotions. It’s a history of hatred on top of a general disgust that has seen the club’s eternal rivalry with Real Madrid reach new heights… Except not everyone in Madrid feels exactly like fans in the Bernabéu.
While all eyes close in on El Clásico, Barcelona traveled to Madrid a few weeks ago to face Rayo Vallecano, and we were there to take it all in.
The Rayo faithful hardly gave Barça a warm welcome, but there was a different vibe, including a candidly open admittance of respect for guys like Iniesta, Piqué and Messi before everything kicked off. Beyond that, there were thousands of fans in Madrid who came out to both subtly - and not so subtly - see and support Barça in enemy territory.
Rayo fans cheered on their club until the final whistle and didn’t hold back when calls went against them. They were standing all the way from the ultras section to the apartment complex overlooking the pitch. And they didn’t sit down until Madrid unleashed an absolutely glorious sunset that showed colors slightly in Barcelona’s favor. Rayo may have lost 2-0 on the day, but Messi and Neymar both scored brilliant goals within minutes of one another, so there was plenty for every fan to soak in.
This is the latest installment in my encounters with Madrid’s football culture. Our #MustSeeMadrid trip was a collaboration with iambassador and in partnership with Spain Tourism. If you’ve any questions or comments, feel free to reach me on Twitter at @BeardEric.
