In every way, the two men photographed above have been dueling at the epicenter of what is considered a cataclysmic battle for supremacy in Spanish football. To each, the other is the Darth Vader to his Luke Skywalker, the Joker to his Batman in many senses. The removal of one would theoretically and statistically depolarize La Liga BBVA; they are awesome powers working against each other that secure balance amongst El Clásico’s big two. Each hero symbolizes his respective club’s supposed philosophy - philosophies that masses of people all over the world have accepted as truth in football’s modern theatre. But it hasn’t always been that way and as the future suggests it, it may very well change again.

I apologize for the very doomsday-like prophesy I commenced this article with. I’m no prophet of any kind, merely a writer entranced by what football has given me. Let these words not go down as a prediction but as the activation to an investigation guiding the thoughts La Liga fans.

Barcelona and Real Madrid, eternal rivals since the dawn of football and perhaps even before, counteract one another from the naked eye in a number of complicated aspects – politically, geographically, culturally… the list continues. But what I’m here to direct my attention to now is the philosophy in which each club adheres to in order to achieve the utmost success.

For fans of football who tune in regularly to matches, news, reports, etc. about the beautiful game, the press will tell us in a round about way that in recent seasons Real Madrid and their business-savvy president have motivated a financial offensive on the sport, purchasing shirt-selling juggernauts to not only rake in the silverware but also revenue to go along with it, giving the club an enterprising exterior. The image is for the club to actively claim. Since the first import of galácticos at the turn on the century, Madrid has been viewed as Spanish football’s evil empire of sorts.

Barcelona, on the other hand, have not only reveled in vastly more success in the past decade but have also bathed in the light of stereotypical favoritism from the neutrals. Widely know for growing their own world-class talent like turnips in a back garden, their trophy haul in the last five seasons is a testament to their globally renowned academy, La Masia. This movement has invigorated the war between Barça and Real even more, with Blaugrana faithful reasoning talent over money, inspiring popular social media slogans such as “Real Madrid buy great players. Barcelona makes them.”

But this perception, though merits a degree of truth, isn’t entirely accurate. It’s only the current interpretation. We can rewind time all the way back to the mid-1950s when Real Madrid so triumphantly claimed the first five European Cups. The club was instrumentally inspired by what many consider to be the club’s best ever player, Alfredo Di Stéfano, a foreign import from Argentina which Madrid purchased from Millonarios of Colombia. However, as legend has it, another Spanish club almost secured his services. Barcelona was actually the primary club in line to sign Di Stéfano, but through a series of legal-related debacles involving the Spanish Football Federation, FIFA, and other parties, lost the player to rivals Real Madrid ,who acted on the confusion. Not to anyone’s surprise, the two sides still debate the events, but it doesn't take away from the fact the Barcelona may have actively pursued what the Spanish game could consider the first galáctico.

In the late 1990s to early 2000s, Real Madrid introduced players who made their mark on the first team. For instance, Raúl, Guti, and Iker Casillas all experienced success and were all part of the youth set up in Madrid. And it’s not as if Barcelona has always been dominated by La Masia promotions. Throughout the last 40 years Barcelona has been seasoned by a Dutch influence - the great Johan Cruyff, Ronald Koeman, Kluivert, the de Boer brothers, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Edgar Davids, and Mark van Bommel amongst many others. None of which were drilled at La Masia.

Currently, Barcelona have a squad crammed with talent they have manufactured in their own factory. A list that includes Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Pedro, Puyol, Piqué, Valdés, Thiago, Busquets, Alba, and Fabregas have all played large parts in Barcelona’s unmatched success in the last five seasons. Pep Guardiola, former Barcelona B manager, took the reins of the first team in 2008 and through his trust in Barcelona’s youth system won 14 trophies in four seasons.

Coincidentally, a golden age of La Masia products were in the first team when he took charge (exhibit A, the majority of the list above). Guardiola proved to be the perfect man for the job because his philosophy in trusting the club’s youth set up matched up seamlessly with the then current squad’s distinguished personnel. Nonetheless, the trend can’t last forever. Is the well of world-class talent drying up?

Under Tito Vilanova this season Barcelona pillaged back the La Liga trophy from Real Madrid but signs of smudging began to show on their glistening appearance. Failing to beat Real Madrid in the last five attempts and miserably crashing out of the Champions League to Bayern Munich 7-0 on aggregate raised a few eyebrows in the football world. Barcelona, after all the bountiful treasure hunts, were beginning to look a bit weathered. The club’s fearless leader and captain, Carles Puyol, endured an injury-plagued campaign, limiting his appearances; the commander is now 35. And he’s not the only one getting on a bit now. Xavi, Barcelona’s visionary cog, is now 33. Davi Alves is 30 and Victor Valdés, who seems on his way out soon, is 31. Spain’s all-time leading goal scorer, David Villa, is also 31.

The question arises whether or not faith in the youth system can replace these superstars when they retire and/or lose their spark. Are La Masia graduates like Tello, Cuenca (on load at Ajax), Bartra, Montoya, Jonathan dos Santos, and Thiago ready to step up and fill the inevitable holes? I’ll let you, the reader, make up your mind for yourself. But if the answer to that question is 'no,' Barcelona have a dilemma on their hands. Do you A.) continue to trust your academy and suffer the consequences as the standard drops or B.) purchase the talent needed to keep winning while offloading your products… like Real Madrid? Finding a balance is critical.

Madrid’s academy is as notorious as their rival’s if not more so in the concurrent era but for different reasons entirely. Many Real Madrid Castilla products are making waves in football but not in Madrid. One of their highlights includes Juan Mata. He was never given the chance to shine at Real Madrid. After four years at the youth academy, he was shipped off to Valencia. Now years later at Chelsea, the diminutive attacker produced 20 goals and 35 assists in all competitions this season.

There are more examples. Álvaro Negredo has become a figurehead at Sevilla, as has Roberto Soldado at Valencia. Negredo, 25 goals in the league, and Soldado, 24, were only outscored by Falcao, Ronaldo, and Messi. Compared to Gonzalo Higuaín’s 16 and Karim Benzema’s 11 in the league this season, there’s a valid argument for Madrid to be a little more patient with their youth. After all, Higuaín was in the team when Soldado and Negredo got bumped. But let’s keep in mind these stats are only from this past campaign and Higuaín and Benzema have been tirelessly splitting time in Madrid’s formation for the last four seasons.

The latest to be produced from the Real Madrid youth academy are those such as Álvaro Morata and Nacho Fernández. Over the past season José Mourinho publically rebuked Real Madrid Castilla coach Alberto Toril, but against all odds showed warmth to the pair of Spaniards. Nacho made 12 appearances for the first team this season, most of which came in a streak in the finals months of La Liga. Morata is an energetic striker who displays great promise, but despite lighting up the scoreboard for Real Madrid’s B team and at the U-21 EURO in the past week for Spain, fans may wonder if he will be packaged up and sold like so many before him.

Furthermore, in some instances where Madrid deem their academy products surplus to requirements, they don’t totally cut the ties. Real Madrid’s first signing of this summer was by means of a buy-back clause for Dani Carvajal. A year before, Madrid had sold the defender to Bayer Leverkusen, but included in the contract a clause to repurchase their former player for a specific price that increased as seasons lapsed. This practice usually includes a money loss by several million euro for the capital club, but what’s a couple million to them?

Real Madrid also brought back José Callejón from Espanyol in 2011, but the buyback not a tactic exclusive to Madrid. Barcelona bought back Piqué from Manchester United in 2008, Fabregas from Arsenal in 2011, and Jordi Alba from Valencia in 2012.

The sad truth for each club is that they both face tests of their own current philosophy. In actuality each club could learn a little something from the other, as much as conceited fans would hate to admit. What you’ll see in the text to follow may come as a shock to some. Since 2010/2011 season (the season after Ronaldo, Benzema, Kaká, and Xabi Alonso signed for Real), Barcelona have spent approximately 33 million euro more than Real Madrid according my calculations partnered with information I pulled from transfermarkt.co.uk (excluding loan deals). Seemingly the latest addition of Brazil’s Neymar tipped the scale, but 57 million euro for such a high-rated player would be considered a galáctico had he gone to Madrid.

The facts go to show that even though Spain’s big two have taken on two entirely different personas, that is not to say that the images are permanent. It’s just another cycle that will too come to pass. But as the perceptions change, the rivalry will remain forever.

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About the author
Bobby Mohr
I hail from Erie, Pennsylvania, USA. I am a 24 year old writer with a degree in COMM Media and Spanish minor. Since my playing days in college, I have turned my focus to journalism and coaching. I am an avid supporter of Real Madrid, Southampton, and the United States national team of course. My outlook on football is religious. I view the sport as not only a game but a way of life, a uniting culture that the world shares to its farthest corners. I base my articles off of how I interpret the beautiful game through personal experience and often from the content view of a barstool on match day. Football belongs to the people; my job is to help deliver it to you.