Whenever Real Madrid and Barcelona face each other, there are bound to be some all-time great players facing off on the pitch.
Whether it’s Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo now, or Ronaldinho, Zinedine Zidane, Johann Cruyff, and countless others from yesteryear, some of football’s biggest legends have graced the stage in El Clasico.
So while picking an all-time XI is a Herculean task, we decided to take it on.
Here’s what we came up with…
GK: IKER CASILLLAS
It’s hard to pick a better candidate between the posts. There have been some excellent goalkeepers to pass through the Camp Nou and Bernabeu ranks, but Casillas is among the best to have played the game.
RCB: CARLOS PUYOL
Carlos Puyol was the heart of his Barcelona team. Passionate, fierce and uncompromising, yet at the same time, skilled and accomplished on the ball.
CB: RONALD KOEMAN
Leaving aside his managerial career, Ronald Koeman must be one of the more underrated players in the game’s recent history. But Barcelona knew exactly what they had, a composed defender with the ability to set off attacks – and finish them, too.
It’s easy to forget Ronald Koeman’s excellent playing career.
LCB: SERGIO RAMOS
There may be some traditionalists in the Madrid camp who would still prefer Fernando Hierro – and could make a strong case, no doubt – but there’s no arguing with what Ramos has achieved. When Puyol retired, Ramos took over the mantle of Spain’s best centre-back, and it’s one he’s refused to relinquish.
RM: DANI ALVES
There was a time when playing wingbacks was the fashionable thing to do. Dani Alves brought that era into the modern world, rampaging up and down the right flank like a man possessed. And there was nothing he loved more than facing – and beating – Real Madrid.
CM: XAVI
If ever a player has symbolised the philosophy of a club, it’s Xavi. The master of the tiki-taka, with his vision, passing range, and quick release of the ball, Xavi is deservedly in the pantheon of Barcelona midfielders – no mean feat, given the line of talented players who came before him.
Puyol and Xavi have cemented their place in Barcelona legend.
CM: ZINEDINE ZIDANE
The best thing about the Madrid-Barca rivalry is the number of players it has seen further the “greatest of all time” debate. Before Messi, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, it was Zidane who first pushed the boundaries of that title in modern times, gliding effortlessly across the pitch and often leaving a trail of embarrassed players in his wake.
LM: ROBERTO CARLOS
The prototype of the modern full-back. Roberto Carlos wed blinding pace with a deadly ability to strike the ball, not just from set pieces but in open play as well. It’s fitting that he and Alves take up the wingback spots in this squad.
RW: LIONEL MESSI
No player has made the Clasico his own personal stage quite like Messi. He’s often reserved his best for Real Madrid – and as everyone knows, Messi’s best is unlike anything we’ve ever seen in football.
CF: CRISTIANO RONALDO
The self-proclaimed greatest of all time, Ronaldo has needed the Clasico to shake off the one flaw people found in his game early in his career. After he was plagued by criticism for seemingly not turning up in big matches, it was performances against Barcelona that made his greatness unquestionable.
LW: RONALDINHO
The ultimate showman – and the man who brought even the rival Real Madrid crowd to its feet as he bamboozled them. Ronaldinho had the amazing ability to put opposing players through torment yet leave them in awe.
How would the Ronaldinho-Ramos duel pan out now?
