18.12.2007 12:06
Veterans and debutants in the clásico
Berta Brau
Six Barça players could be playing against Real Madrid for the first time on Saturday, but will be able to count on good advice from seasoned veterans like Carles Puyol and Xavi Hernández, the two players that have appeared in the most classics.
Nothing quite compares with a clash between Barça and Madrid. Both players and fans always get
sucked in by amazing atmosphere of rivalry, euphoria, spectacle and goals.
Puyol the most veteran
Puyol has played no fewer than 15 league games against Madrid, having played his first way
back in the 1999/2000 season, in game that ended in a draw (2-2). He has only missed one game
since, the return match at the Bernabéu in 2000/01, which also ended 2-2.
14 clásicos for Xavi
Xavi has played just one game less, starting with the first
45 minutes against Real Madrid in 1999/2000 at the Bernabéu, which Barça lost 3-0. Like Puyol, Xavi
has missed just one game, through injury, corresponding to the 2005/06 season.
Xavi is one of the few players to have scored past Casillas, and he did it twice, His first
goal against Madrid was scored in 2001/02 at the Camp Nou in a 1-1 draw. He repeated the feat in
2003/04, this time at the Bernabéu, scoring the winning goal in a 2-1 away win.
Valdés, Iniesta and Ronaldinho
Victor Valdés has never missed a clásico since becoming a first team regular, making a total
of eight appearances. His first Barça v Madrid was in 2003/04 and hasn’t missed a game since.
Ronaldinho and Iniesta have faced the Meringues six times, as have Deco, Oleguer and Rafa
Márquez.
Six Barça debutants
Henry, Touré, Abidal, Milito, Bojan and Giovani are the six
Barça players that have never played in a clásico, although the first four have all met Real Madrid
while playing for their former clubs: Milito played Madrid in the league when he was at Zaragoza;
Henry did so in the Champions League with Arsenal; Touré, also met them in Europe when he was at
Olympiakos, as did Abidal with Lyon.
But neither Bojan nor Giovani have ever faced the Madrid first team, although they have often
faced different Madrid youth teams in the past.