Fear and Loathing in La Liga: Barcelona vs Real Madrid Paperback – 7 Aug. 2014

Football is politics. And in certain cases it can be beautiful both despite politics and because of politics. The classic clash between Barcelona and Real Madrid is one of these matches; every time they play is a guarantee of fantastic football and politics. Sid Lowe's book describes the history of this rivalry, both in political and in football terms, but mostly, how they both have mingled to create a rivalry that today is followed by the entire world.The rivalry is not only about historical facts, but also about myths: Barcelona sees itself as the righteous rebels against Franco's regime, while Real Madrid sees itself as a club of gentlemen and good football. But there are many more nuances to this history, as Sid Lowe so amply shows. For instance, during the civil war a Real Madrid president was in fact part of the anti-Franco Republican government, while Barcelona, after having competed during the civil war (contrary to Real Madrid, as the city was under siege), became the dominant team in Spain immediately after the war. Real Madrid was from the 1950s largely run by a pro-government president, Santiago Barnabeu, who led the way in making them the best team in the world in the 1960s, ahead of a Barcelona side that constantly saw a conspiracy behind Real Madrid's success. This is mostly showed by the myth that Alfredo Di Stefano was “stolen” from them, while it rather appears that they were less smart than Real Madrid in a complex negotiation involving clubs in Argentina and Colombia.The rivalry changed and evolved with Spanish history, and this is fantastically described in the book. The transition up to and after Franco's death is very interesting, when Johan Cruyff went to Barcelona as a player, and a new period of rivalry started. In football terms during the 1980s and 1990s the rivalry became the best in the world, with the best players in the world having played for either club. The list is simply amazing when one sees the players that have gone through either (or both in many cases!): Paul Breitner, Gary Lineker, Hugo Sanchez, Diego Maradona, Ronaldo, Hristo Stoichkov, Emilio Butragueno, Michael Laudrup, Zinedine Zidane, Ronald Koeman, Raul, Romario, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo.... etc... The book has fantastic interviews with many of these players!In the 1990s Johan Cruyff, now as coach put the foundation for what made the great Barcelona of the 2000s. In an attempt to be as good as FC Barcelona, Real Madrid's president, Florentino Perez, was instrumental in wanting to create a global brand spending millions on the best players in the world. In all, the 2000s became a period of rivalry defined by the best football in the world, money, and not least politics, as FC Barcelona continues to be an entry point of a growing Catalan nationalism demanding independence from Spain (the book starts with a highly politicized game of 2012 when thousands of fans in Barcelona shouted for independence during the match).In this regard, the clashes are as political as ever, but at the same time the match has become a global affair: the best footballers in the world facing one another in a match that is never insignificant, but a final every time. The teams are completely dominating in Spain, and their high class also makes them among the best teams in Europe (in since 2000 Real Madrid and FC Barcelona have won three and four Champions League respectively) and surely in the world.Sid Lowe is an English journalist, and that gives the book strength, as he does not take sides in what is a rivalry full of bitterness and myths, something that is surely difficult. Many fanatical fans of either Real Madrid or Barcelona are probably not going to like the book as he tries to demystify some of their stories.In the end, one realises that these two teams need one another. They would not be able to define themselves without that rivalry, which has surely pushed them to always be better, until now them being both the best. It is a perfect symbiosis of opposites that has given us some of the best football we can wish for.Any football fan should love this rivalry, and there is no better book to understand it.

A clever title and a thoughtful book, this is a well researched and balanced account of a rivalry that brings out atavistic emotions. This reads like a novel and I would recommend it without hesitation - even for those readers, like myself, who are not football fans. This book is as much about history and cultural attitudes and politics as it is about sport. A necessary read to know about Spain and Catalonia!

I am a filipina from the Philippines and my fiance is currently living in UK who is also a British. My fiance is a very sports enthusiast especially in football. In the Philippines, basketball is the most popular sports, even so, I am not a very sports person so I am not good in conversing with my fiance about sports, about football. I am trying to learn it but it's hard and I want my fiance to know that I still love listening to his sports stories even if I do not have any idea at all. I never wanted my fiance to think that I am not interested with sports, and I know that every thing about sports will make him happy. Recently I have been seeing his tweets about Atletico Madrd and Barcelona and all about La liga stuff in Spain, so I searched and I found this book. I know that he will really love it, I didn't hesistate to purchase it and it was delivered to perfectly within estimated date. My fiance opened the package the day of our anniversary and posted on facebook how happy he is, telling his facebook peeps that he has the best woman ever. I asked him how it was and he loves the content as it also includes history :) I am so happy that he loves it.If your partner is a sports enthusiast, I would defo recommend it!!! Great book, good content and very informative.

The author Sid Lowe is a knowledgable, entertaining and informative correspondent on the Spanish game, and this book has some of his best writing. I found it a gripping story about the relationship between Madrid and Barcelona, as well as a fascinating insight into Spain. I have read a few books about both of these clubs and have been lucky to attend a few of their games, but this book puts a new light on much of their respective histories. Highly recommended for anyone whether you are a football fan or not.

I have always enjoyed Sid Lowe's excellent Spanish articles on Spanish football, and he doesn't disappoint with this book.It is thoroughly well researched, and beautifully crafted. Lowe also busts a lot of myths, and put the clubs rivalry in context. The historical aspect, particularly around the Spanish Civil War and Franco's dictatorship, was fascinating, and helped shaped these clubs politically.The ending of the book felt a little more rushed, and I would have liked to read a little into Lowe's insight of present day Real and Barca. However, there is a lot of that material out there, and the book was very long as it is.Overall, a wonderfully researched book, beautifully thought out and crafted. It is a rarity that a book about these two football giants does not contain some bias- but Lowe avoids this expertly, and presents the history of both clubs equally, impartially, and passionately.

An excellent piece of history writing, Lowe excavates many of the myths that surround the rivalry between these two clubs. The early chapters on the experiences of Barcelona and Real Madrid during the Civil War and the Franco era are particularly good. Throughout the book, Lowe offers vivid detail, amusing anecdotes, and good analysis. One topic that was not covered was the fan culture - the story is mainly told from the point of view of the clubs and their leading stars and administrators. Anyway, it is a terrific read and I learned a lot about the two cities as well as the clubs.