yep
i like European football in general, madrid is my fave
i live in the states, didnt know it was like that. lionel is a great player, perhaps that is why i want them to win.
:hatsoff:
If you just look at it in simple footballing terms then there's no reason you can't like both. However if you looker deeper into the histories and ideologies behind the two teams you would either support one or the other, often depending on your political views. First of all they are both from the two biggest cities in Spain so there are obvious rivalries there, further more these cities are in 'two very distinct regions and two distinct schools of thought. Barcelona is Catalan, Madrid is Castilian. Catalans favour independence, while Madrid is seen as the seat of the establishment and the royal family. This split became especially pronounced during Franco’s fascistic reign when regional languages like Catalan were officially suppressed. So when El Clásico (Barcelona vs Real Madrid) rolled around, a Barcelona win represented a rebellious victory for an independent regional culture, a win for Madrid represented the establishment re-asserting its authority. And it still does.'
For this reason I've always supported Barcelona, often associated with free thinking and independence as well as honour, the only shirt sponsor they've ever had was for the charity Unicef, and they paid Unicef rather than vice versa. Real Madrid on the other hand are associated with Fascism (dictator Franco during the Spanish civil war) and the Royal family and many of their supporters have links to far right groups. I also hate the way Real get preferential treatment from Spanish banks, the only reason they have all this money to spend on players is because the bank loans them whatever they want, Barcelona is limited finacially. Barcelona and Real Madrid are more than just football teams, they are also ideals and I'm very happy with what Barcelona represents.
Read more here
http://www.theoffside.com/world-foo...adrid-is-the-best-game-in-world-football.html
