Ten years on from humiliating Real Madrid 5-0, Barcelona is a club in turmoil

Soccer journalist Graham Hunter, writer of the award-winning “Barca: The Making of the Best Group within the World,” a e-book that was later used as a foundation for the feature-length documentary “Take the Ball Cross the Ball,” remembers being in awe of not solely the scoreline, however the method of the victory.

“What hit me was a realization that Actual Madrid, even till the primary purpose, could not sustain with the tempo of soccer. It wasn’t concerning the operating, I’ve hardly ever seen the ball fizz precisely, cleverly from foot to foot prefer it did that night time.”

Barca opened the scoring throughout that November twenty ninth match in lower than 10 minutes. Andres Iniesta threaded a move to an unmarked Xavi Hernandez, who caught the ball on his heel after which chipped it over Iker Casillas in purpose.

The second got here after greater than a minute of possession and was completed by Pedro. Seventeen minutes gone and Barca was 2-0 up.

Then got here the third, an ideal by means of ball from Lionel Messi to David Villa, and inside two minutes the fourth. Within the 91st minute, Barcelona made it 5 and, with it, a record-equaling scoreline — the ‘manita,’ Barcelona’s largest successful margin over Actual Madrid since 1994, additionally a 5-0 victory, inflicted by a Johann Cruyff facet filled with worldly skills corresponding to Romario, Hristov Stoichkov and Pep Guardiola.

There was nonetheless time for Actual defender Sergio Ramos to be despatched off seconds after the ultimate restart after he hacked at Messi in frustration. It was the primary crimson card of Ramos’ profession towards Barcelona, however it has since turn out to be considerably of a convention as he is earned one other 4 within the intervening years.

Actual Madrid did not play badly, the workforce from the capital was simply overwhelmed by a facet on the peak of its powers.

Books have been written concerning the 18-day interval throughout April and Could of the 2010-11 season by which the edges met 4 instances. There’s a case to be made that, regardless of the standard of Barcelona’s efficiency within the November El Clasico, it’s overshadowed by the significance of this quartet of clashes later that season, a time of unparalleled depth between the edges.

The ‘particular one’

Nonetheless, that November match in 2010 was Mourinho’s first El Clasico in control of Actual Madrid, and the primary time he had confronted Barcelona since his Inter Milan facet defeated Guardiola’s facet within the semi-finals of the Champions League earlier that yr.

Infamously, having knocked out Barca, Mourinho ran throughout the Camp Nou pitch celebrating, his finger pointing to the Nerazzuri trustworthy. Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes had pleaded with him to cease, however he refused.

A lot hyperbole surrounded Mourinho’s subsequent transfer to Madrid that summer season. The Portuguese was billed as the person to finish Barcelona’s dominance, and a few Barcelona gamers have been irritated by the Spanish press’ obsession together with his arrival.

Hunter had adopted a united Spanish nationwide workforce in South Africa in 2010 because the nation received its first World Cup. A few months later, he interviewed Pique, who was offended.

“Coming away from a unified triumph the place a clutch of Madrid gamers and an equally huge clutch, possibly barely larger clutch, of Barcelona gamers or ex-Barcelona gamers, had tramped throughout South Africa [with] complete unity,” he says. “And Gerard [Pique’s] level was that it p****d them off. Each press convention was Mourinho, Mourinho, Mourinho, Mourinho.

“It was getting below their pores and skin just a little bit, merely: ‘Why is the media extra fascinated with Jose Mourinho than they’re with [us]? We have returned to the coaching floor now because the dominant Spanish facet for the time being, and we have returned as World Cup winners. And but it is the fabled one, it is the person who will carry Actual Madrid all they need.'”

When Mourinho lastly introduced Actual to the Camp Nou later that yr, Barcelona gave him one of the best Catalan welcome it might.

Actual tried to go toe-to-toe with Barcelona, however failed drastically. Normally an animated determine on the touchline, Mourinho as an alternative sat helplessly on the bench because the latter three objectives went in.

Barcelona followers chanted, “Come out of the dugout! Jose, come out of the dugout!” His grand Clasico debut had been ruined.

The price of success

When it’s stated Barcelona received that match taking part in “their method,” it’s not simply concerning the type of play, it is about membership tradition, too, and central to that’s growing gamers by means of the membership academy, La Masia.

Actual’s workforce price €300m ($357.3m), rising to €324m ($385.8m) with substitutes. Ronaldo alone had price greater than Barca’s workforce.

That yr, the three up for the Ballon d’Or award for the world’s greatest footballer have been Lionel Messi, Xavi and Iniesta; three Barcelona gamers who had graduated from La Masia.

On the time, the then Barcelona president Joan Laporta famously made a thinly-veiled jab at Actual, saying: “We create Ballon d’Ors, others purchase them.”

In distinction to the workforce of November 2010, Barcelona used solely 4 La Masia graduates throughout that October recreation with the assembled workforce, together with substitutes, coming at a value of €581.9m ($694.2m).

Extra was spent on the high-profile particular person transfers of Philippe Coutinho, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele than on your complete workforce of the 2010 classic. Three of the highest six costliest transfers transfers of all time at the moment are Barcelona signings.

“I feel that Barca solely desires to be a business and enterprise membership … purchase and promote gamers. If you do this, you lose your identification.”

Striving for a future up to now

The political race to search out his successor started instantly.

“Xavi can be a Barcelona coach it doesn’t matter what,” he instructed CNN. “Possibly quickly, possibly in just a few years. However he can be, it is only a matter of time.

“He is preparing, teaching different different leagues or the opposite gamers to be taught as a result of he simply began on this occupation and he’ll be improbable. I’ve no doubts about it.”

Xavi is at the moment plying his commerce in Qatar. Having left for Al Sadd in 2015, he retired from taking part in and instantly took over as supervisor.

In his first season in cost, Xavi secured victory within the Qatari Tremendous Cup, Qatar Cup and Qatari Stars Cup, whereas additionally ending third within the Qatari Stars League.

This season, which solely started in September, the membership sits first and is undefeated with 5 wins and one draw.

Within the meantime, it’s one other former nice, Ronald Koeman, who has been charged with restoring Barcelona to the higher echelons of La Liga and European soccer, however early outcomes counsel the Dutchman has a lot work to do.

Although Barca has received all 4 of its Champions League group video games this season, the workforce is at the moment thirteenth in La Liga, with 11 factors from eight video games, having received solely one in all its final 5.

Fourth within the league, Actual Madrid’s type has not been significantly better. However a win towards Inter Milan on Wednesday offers the workforce and its supervisor Zinedine Zidane respiration area and, extra importantly, qualification to the Champions League knockout phases.

A decade on from that by no means to be forgotten November night time, a lot has modified for each groups.