Historically, the contradiction between Madrid, a symbol of Spanish kingship, and Barcelona, which yearns for freedom and radicalism, is irreconcilable. Madrid is the capital and political and cultural center of Spain, which defends the interests of the noble Spanish royal family. Barcelona is the starting point of Columbus' trip to America, representing the pioneering spirit of being radical, brave and daring to explore the unknown. Real Madrid and Barcelona are just the flags of these two cities with great historical hatred, so the competition on the football field is the continuation of the political, economic and national struggles of these two cities. This doomed the competition between Real Madrid and Barcelona will not be calm in the history of La Liga for more than 70 years.
Political opposition
Before the formation of Spain, Catalonia was an independent country with a parliament of 100 people. 14- 15 century, Catalonia developed into a Mediterranean commercial power, which resulted in a social system such as merchant class and banking system that was completely different from the feudal system in other parts of Spain. With Spain's exploration of the new American continent and overseas colonial expansion, industrialized Catalonia also became the fourth largest manufacturing center in the world in 1850.
1496, the intermarriage between European royal families made Catalonia a part of Spain, but the political power and institutions that once had centuries were repeatedly suppressed in the next 300 years, and the autonomy privilege was once lost in the middle of18th century. Due to the prosperity of the region and the proud industry and commerce, a new round of independence consciousness and nationalism revival in Catalonia was born in the19th century. However, after 1939 to 1975 was suppressed to the greatest extent by Franco, the cultural revival movement became more and more spectacular with political opposition and economic development.
In the field of culture, language and football have always played an extremely important role in the revival and independence, becoming a political supplement and continuation: Catalan, which was banned for 36 years, has changed from an "additional course" to a teaching language from primary school to university, and even been promoted to the official language of the region; Football is based on the Barcelona Club. After maintaining a regional league with a longer history than La Liga, Barcelona took this opportunity to truly introduce the name "Catalonia" and the flag of "country" to the international community. The confrontation with Real Madrid is considered to be the greatest embodiment of the national spirit.
Urban competition
It is no exaggeration to call Barcelona the link between Iberian Peninsula and western European countries. The distance between this city and Paris, Rome and Madrid is similar. 1992 The successful hosting of the Olympic Games has made the style of "international city" more mainstream, so that it is difficult for people to associate the capital Madrid with Spain. It was during this period that Barcelona also built a brilliant "dream team". For the first time in history, it broke the monopoly of Real Madrid by winning the La Liga championship for four consecutive years, and also won back a Champions League champion. If the Olympic Games make Madrid people lose face in the city competition, then the establishment of the "World Tourism Headquarters" will make them regain their balance. Even Catalonia, located between the Mediterranean and the Pyrenees, can arouse and appease everyone's desire for sightseeing.
As the two largest cities in Spain, the division of political and economic roles between Madrid and Barcelona naturally leads to mutual contempt among citizens. "Lazy man" and "miser" are their main names for each other. Therefore, the stadiums of Real Madrid and Barcelona have become places to enhance cohesion. Not only the governor, mayor and local politicians who supervise the "urban war" are never absent, but also the local TV and radio media try their best to publicize it. In contrast, another city can only issue slogans of encouragement.