Exploring the Narratives of Conflict in El Clasico and their Larger Political Relevance in the Evolution of Political Discourse

The relation between sports and politics is much deeper than just political contention, manifesting itself on a public stage in order to attempt to push issues into the forefront of global attention. Sports, especially team sports, are often powerful expressions of identity and related emotions. Football is no stranger to this phenomenon, and the world of the World’s Favourite Sport is, by virtue of its status, rife with contestation and rivalries. In the European context, these rivalries are most often defined by conflicts of class, or national identity, or even both. This paper considers arguably the most important of these, the Barcelona – Real Madrid rivalry, popularly known as El Clasico (‘The Classic’ in Spanish). The paper analyses the growth of conflict narratives linked to non-state sports entities linking them to their respective political identities, and the reasons why this might have happened, before arguing that the aforementioned modernisation is not a symptom of the gradual regression of identarian conflict narratives from popular discourse, but simply an evolution of such narratives.

The Development of Conflict Narratives and their National Nature

Let us first explore how conflict narratives are manufactured in media, and how this ties back to the rise in popularity of ElClasico with the spread of communications media. The concept of a war is often utilised by sports journalism to rationalise the clashes seen in these games (Lopez-Gonzalez et al.). This metaphor is especially integral in any understanding of the clash between Madrid and Barcelona, since due to the aforementioned history, every single encounter between the two teams becomes a “global media event whenever the two rivals clash” (O’Brien 316). The birth of Marca in 1936 as a mouthpiece of Madrid and by extension Franco’s regime, as opposed to El Mundo Deportivo becoming more strident in its support of Barcelona, resulted in an environment wherein “the rivalry between the two clubs [took] place more openly within the public sphere” (O’Brien 322). Football was an integral part of radio and TV programming, and “Saturday night viewing on TVE1 consisted of a live football match, usually involving Real Madrid” (O’Brien 322). However, this allowed Barca to display their excellence as well, showing on the pitch the spirit they knew they needed to display as a population. Thus, the television, radio, and print media were also party to the growing narrative of the “war” between the regional “separatists” and the establishment now.

Back to the modern day, as international TV rights flourish, the whole world bears witness to this clash of the giants, and the resultant polarisation is strong. The same effect of belonging that made the Clasico relevant for the people of Spain in the 60s, is now becoming a global spirit. People possibly find comfort in the classic story of the artistic underdogs who use home-grown talent to clash against the rich and powerful team of the State, who use their excesses to buy already developed players from around the world in service of their singular cause – vanquishing the underdogs. This David versus Goliath narrative is, of course, not necessarily true. For example, the difference between the revenue made by Barcelona and Real Madrid is not as vast as it may seem from the sentence before the last. Discounting Barcelona’s reckless spending trends that ultimately put them in debt, the incomes earned by the two clubs on a yearly basis are always very close, and Barcelona even outdoes Madrid some years, even as recently as the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons (Football Benchmark). Also notable is the peculiar lack of coverage of the one major ‘atrocity’ committed by Madrid over Barca that practically birthed their rivalry from the perspective of Madrid themselves. The role of literary journalists, who have “depicted the match as a clash between two nationalities and, more generically, between two ways of understanding politics” (Lopez-Gonzalez et al. p.690) becomes increasingly relevant here. For example, in celebrated journalist Sid Lowe’s seminal work Fear and Loathing in La Liga, which is itself extremely well researched and derived from countless sources, the part describing the 11-1 match is viewed almost entirely from the perspective of the Barcelona players, with only one reference to something a Madrid player said. Of course, this is not to blame Lowe for a lack of journalistic integrity, since such accounts are barely available (owing perhaps to the vaguely defined and prideful machismo of the Real Madrid side) but to further understand the signifiers of identity that drive this conflict, and serve as signposting for the rest of the world to also interact with it actively without having the national background to understand it personally.

Undeniably important in this context is an explanation of the effects of the Bosman ruling of 1990 on the European transfer market, which, put briefly, allowed clubs to get better and more skilful foreign players into their squad as soon as their contracts ran out with their previous club. Consequently, every single club started seeing an influx of new and increasingly high-quality international players entering their ranks.

The influx of players into Europe for the significantly larger paycheck and the promise of greater competition from various countries resulted in an influx of viewership from not only their populations, but also their international fan-bases formed during events such as the World Cups. Consequently, the identities of these clubs ceased to be limited to simply the countries and contexts from which they originated. International players became more than just a talented player playing for a good club; in front of the eyes of the world, they became symbolic of the crest they stood for. Lionel Messi’s explosive runs down the right wing (of the pitch, of course) were now symbolic of the cause of Catalonia. Cristiano Ronaldo’s “calma, calma” is no longer a publicization of his own arrogance, it is now an expression of the pride of the establishment.

These identities helmed by individual players were now interacting with the general populace of the world. In this era of celebrities, there seems to be, at least superficially, an “abandonment of the so-called ‘nationalistic matrix’ (Llopis Goig, 2009: 10) in favour of a post-national liquid identity (Alabarces et al., 2001)” (Lopez-Gonzalez et al. 702). However, this paper argues that the incorporation of the celebrity status of the individuals involved in such conflicts into the narratives about the same is in itself symptomatic of a changing definition of nationalism in an increasingly cosmopolitan world.

Novel Global Identities

Lopez-Gonzalez’ paper finds no direct reference to the Civil War or any other distinctly political or nationally identarian jargon in media coverage of the Clasico (Lopez-Gonzalez et al.). What it does find instead is a fixation on the aforementioned personalities and the outcome. However, an argument must be made that this fixation is in itself a representation of the polarised national identity conflicts relevant to Spain, in their evolved state.

What is this modern state of the identity conflict, then? Here’s an example: in 2017-18, when the question of Catalonian secession under Carles Puigdemont regained significance in Spanish political discourse, there were actual serious talks of a separation. The President of La Liga, Javier Tebas, a known opposer of Catalan independence, clearly stated that in the event of Catalan independence, Barcelona, Espanyol, and Girona – the three clubs in La Liga from Catalonia – would no longer be able to play in the Spanish top flight league (Fernandez). He specifically threatened Barcelona’s status, suggesting that even if there were plans to constitute a new Catalan league, it would certainly not draw the same revenue from television rights that La Liga drew, thereby jeopardising Barca’s status as a European power in football. This was in September. By October, erstwhile Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu responded, saying that in the event of a separation, Barcelona would like to remain with and play in La Liga (Sharma).

According to Lopez-Gonzalez, this would reflect the “post-national liquid identity” (Lopez-Gonzalez et al. 702) and a focus on the interests of the worldwide celebrity status of the club and the personalities it has on its payroll. However, this displays the evolution of national identities in the modern global commodified landscape. It may be post-national, but it is certainly not liquid. An unavoidable consequence of the ‘transnationalization’ of these originally regional identities is their transformation into brands. The reason people adopt such identities seems to be at least linked to the nature of the brand related to the identity. The obvious benefit of this is a new international recognition of the cause(s) endorsed by these clubs, and at least a potential theoretical impact on international policymaking as a consequence of the same. Even without ramifications in terms of policymaking, such recognition is crucial in any pursuit of legitimacy. While recognitional legitimacy is primarily limited to contexts of States (Rocheleau), it is also relevant here, since the legitimacy is not intended for Barcelona, but for Catalonia. This legitimacy would be lost if Barca became unable to show up on the global stage of the Champions League and the Spanish top-flight, so even at the apparent cost of their allegiance to the Catalan cause, they choose to stick with the league.

However, if we hypothesize about a scenario wherein the secession did happen to a partial extent (so that there is still an unresolved conflict), and Barca managed to stay in the league, they would still be identified as the torchbearers of the Catalan cause on the global stage. This is because the existing narratives about their representation of this cause are so incredibly powerful (hearkening back to manufactured narratives and their significance in the development of identity), that a performance of the identity of Barcelona is inextricably linked with a performance of the identity of Catalonia, down to the colours of the crest and flag. The players on the pitch as well as the fans in their living rooms all subscribe to this singular concept, that is now beyond any limitations of geography or language. Moreover, the onus to motivate participation in this performance is not on the end of the club, since the question now is of belonging to the circle (of Barca fans and by extension supporters of the liberation of Catalonia). The perks of participation may be as simple as bragging rights, but that is where the uniqueness of sports as a medium of political expression shines – it is not necessarily that deep.

Conclusion

The phenomenon of the linkage of identities to sporting entities in any context, is persistently interlinked with history. However, interestingly, the more these identities are magnified into global proportions, these contexts go from being explicit to implicit, and yet maintain popular support and recognition. Perhaps this is where the idea of the universality of sports is the most apparent. Personal stakes aren’t necessary for humans to sympathize with causes they find legitimate. The aggression with which such fans defend the actions of their clubs is symptomatic of a larger trend towards the objective global recognition of originally subjective conflicts (note BLM, LGBTQIA+ rights movements, Iranian freedom of speech protests, etc.). From the perspective of both political science as well as sociology,  such trends represent developments in the public understanding of politics of identity and their implications on a global scale.

Works Cited

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Fernandez, S, and P Terroba. “Tebas: If Barcelona Were in a Catalan League, They’d No Longer Be a Major European Power.” MARCA, 7 Sept. 2017, https://www.marca.com/en/football/spanish-football/2017/09/08/59b29ac0ca474110028b460d.html. Accessed 28 May 2023.

Football Benchmark. “Total operating revenue of FC Barcelona and Real Madrid from 2016/17 to 2021/22, by season (in million euros),” 2023, Statista.

Lopez-Gonzalez, Hibai, et al. “Manufacturing Conflict Narratives in Real Madrid versus Barcelona Football Matches.” International Review for the Sociology of Sport, vol. 49, no. 6, 2012, pp. 688–706, https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690212464965.

Lowe, Sid. Fear and Loathing in La Liga: Barcelona vs Real Madrid. Yellow Jersey Press, 2014.

O’Brien, Jim. “‘El Clasico’ and the Demise of Tradition in Spanish Club Football: Perspectives on Shifting Patterns of Cultural Identity.” Soccer & Society, vol. 14, no. 3, 2013, pp. 315–330, https://doi.org/10.1080/14660970.2013.801263.

Rocheleau, Jordi. “Recognitional Legitimacy.” Encyclopedia of Global Jjustice, edited by Deen K. Chatterjee, Springer, New York, 2011, pp. 935–936.

Sharma, R. “Barca Want to Stay in La Liga amid Independence Crisis – Club President.” Reuters, 2017, https://www.reuters.com/article/soccer-spain-fcb-bartomeu/barca-want-to-stay-in-la-liga-amid-independence-crisis-club-president-idINKBN1CQ0EW. Accessed 28 May 2023.

Ayon Basu

Intern, Asia in Global Affairs