Cultural+Impacts+of+Spanish+Soccer


 * __ Cultural Impacts of Spanish Soccer: El Clásico __**  Joseph Clark

** Introduction **
While American culture has a heavy influence from professional sports, in many ways, soccer in Europe has a much deeper cultural impact. Nowhere is this more evident than in Spain. Considered one of the most prestigious professional soccer leagues in the world, Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesiona, or simply “La Liga”, is Spain’s premier soccer league. 20 teams compete annually in La Liga, each representing a specific region of Spain. With nearly 100 years of tradition, each team has thousands of avid fans that support their regional team on an almost religious basis. While all 20 teams have a rich fan base, many argue that La Liga’s two most successful teams over the last 50 years, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, have the most passionate fans. Representing the two largest cities of Spain, much of this rivalry is fueled by the strong cultural identity that fans have to their respective city. The rivalry between these two teams has become so intense that the two annual matches between them have been deemed “El Clásico”. However, El Clasico represents much more than just another Spanish soccer game. The cultural impacts of the match extend beyond the field, and represent the long-standing cultural rivalry between two of Spain’s most prominent regions.



Real Madrid
With 31 La Liga titles, Real Madrid is the most successful team in La Liga’s history. In addition, the club is also the world's second most valuable club according to Forbes, worth over $1.4 billion dollars in 2011. However, because of the club’s long-standing history with Spain’s capital Madrid, the club has come to represent much more than a talented soccer team.

==== // Cultural History // ==== During the 1920’s, Real Madrid created their name based on King Alfonso XIII granting the team his “royal patronage”. The team adopted the royal symbols onto their jerseys until the end of the monarchy in 1931. However, following the Spanish Civil War, in 1941 the club reestablished the royal symbols on their jerseys and stood as a representation of the Castilian power in Spain’s political agenda. As the capital of Spain, Madrid has always stood as a prestige center of Spain and carried a significant amount of political influence. With this in mind, because of the importance of soccer in Spain, rooting for Real Madrid has become a badge of identify for many Castilian residents, who politically align with the centralized views of the Castilian region.

// Fans //
With an average of over 65,000 fans, Real Madrid home games have the highest all-time average attendance among Spanish soccer clubs. Avid Real Madrid fans have given themselves the title “Ultra Sur” supporters and are highly associated with the conservative right wing political agenda throughout Spain’s history. Specifically, fans of the club have been linked to [|malicious acts of racism and prejudice against opposing players] with African and various other foreign descents. Much of this long-standing political influence aligns with the Castilian resistance to several of the left wing political movements based upon adopting more social equality throughout Spain. Without coincidence, a majority of these left-wing movements have begun in Cataluña, most notably in Cataluña’s capital, Barcelona. Like Real Madrid, FC Barcelona has come to represent the political ideals of its surrounding Spanish region, further intensifying the rivalry between the two teams.

** FC Barcelona **
FC Barcelona was founded at the turn of the 20th century, and became a professional club in the 1920s. In recent years, FC Barcelona has been the most successful Spanish football club, with La Liga championships in the last three consecutive years beginning in the 2008 season. Since acquiring Lionel Messi, who most consider the best soccer player in the world, FC Barcelona has become one of the most popular soccer clubs not only in Spain but also throughout the world.

// Cultural History //
For over a century the club has represented the political activism of Cataluña, and has even been given the motto, “ // Més que un club”, // translated to mean “more than a club”. This motto helps represent the strong cultural identity that citizens of Cataluña possess involving their long-standing political tension with the centralized Spanish government. Throughout much of the 20th century, FC Barcelona stood as a symbol of opposition to the powerful dictatorships of Miguel Primo de Rivera and of Francisco Franco that attempted to suppress much of Cataluña’s culture. While political tension has decreased since the mid 1900s, FC Barcelona still receives heavy opposition from Castilian regions of Spain, primarily in the nation’s capital, Madrid.

// Fans //
As previously noted, the fan support for FC Barcelona stems primarily from Catalans who identify strongly with the cultural beliefs of the Cataluña region of Spain. FC Barcelona began to see a strong increase in fan support during the regime of Francisco Franco, as Cataluña residents saw the team as a symbol of their suppressed culture. Rather than taking the risk of joining a recognized political movement against Franco’s dictatorship, many Catalans believed their support of FC Barcelona would help demonstrate their cultural identity in a safer manner. Nevertheless, because a central component to Cataluña’s historic culture revolves around the direct opposition to the central government of Madrid, El Clasico games commonly include fights between rival fans and require extreme security precautions regardless of where the game is held.

** Fueling the Rivalry **
Regarded globally as perhaps the biggest rivalry in sports, El Clasico matches today are heavily influenced by historic events that occurred during the 20th century. Perhaps the most influential events that helped shape the historic rivalry are the execution of former FC Barcelona president Josep Sunyol in 1936 and the controversy in the 1950s surrounding star player Alfredo di Stefano.

// Execution of Sunyol //
Francisco Franco’s oppressive dictatorship, lasting from 1936 through 1975, influenced both Catalan and Castilian culture immensely throughout the 20th century. While a majority of the political influence did not necessarily deal with El Clasico’s on-the-field soccer rivalry, the execution of then FC Barcelona president Joseph Sunyol further highlighted the vast influence soccer had and continues to have on Spanish culture. Sunyol was an outspoken supporter of the anti-dictatorship political movement in Cataluña, and was targeted by Franco’s security police as direct enemy of his Madrid based regime. Sunyol’s execution became a symbol for the opposing political views in Madrid and Barcelona, which were now being personified by the cities two prominent soccer clubs, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. While Franco himself was not directly associated with Real Madrid, it was apparent that Real Madrid had heavy ties to his regime and was supported by civilians of Madrid who were in support of Franco’s ideals.

// Di Stefano Co // n// troversy // During the 1950’s, Alfredo di Stefano, an Argentina native, was regarded as one of the premiere soccer players in the world. Both FC Barcelona and Real Madrid tried to acquire Di Stefano, and because of alleged confusion between who had proper rights, both teams believed they owned him under contract. Eventually, FIFA was forced to intervene in the situation and decided that Di Stefano would play for both teams, alternating every other season. However, after a short period of time, FC Barcelona president apparently backed down on the issue and let Di Stefano play primarily for Real Madrid. This act is highly controversial, as Catalans believed their club was pressured by Franco’s regime to relinquish Di Stefano, while Real Madrid supporters argue the act was completely voluntary. This controversy further fueled El Clasico’s rivalry as Di Stefano led Real Madrid to great success during the 1950-60’s, and further highlighted the existing cultural differences between Barcelona and Madrid.

** Rivalry Going Forward **
As political tension has decreased since Franco’s death in the 1970’s, the rivalry between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona has revolved primarily around on-the-field issues in recent years. However, when the teams met in early 2011, because of excessive unsportsmanlike behavior by both clubs, it was apparent that the rivalry was as intense as ever. Both Madrid and Barcelona continue to possess strong regional identities, and as long as this continues, El Clasico will exist as a symbol of the fierce rivalry between these two prominent Spanish regions.

** Sources **
"El Clasico." //Wikipedia//. Web. 04 Dec. 2011. .

"A Glance Back at the History of El Clasico and a Look Forward to the Planetâs Most Eagerly Anticipated Match." //Mail Online - World Football Edited by Matt Fortune//. Mail Online, 09 Apr. 2009. Web. 06 Dec. 2011. .

Kaushik. "A Brief History of El Clasico Aka The Greatest Football Rivalry - The Offside - Real Madrid Blog." //Real Madrid Spanish La Liga Football Blog - Real Madrid//. Web. 04 Dec. 2011. .

Tidey, Will. "The Billion-dollar Grudge Match: The Enormity of El Clasico - CNN.com." //CNN.com International - Breaking, World, Business, Sports, Entertainment and Video News//. Web. 04 Dec. 2011. .

Writer, Staff. "Stop. Watch. Barcelona vs. Real Madrid Is Truly Must-see TV." //Sports Illustrated// 29 Aug. 2011.

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