Re: The Rivalry
Ah, great football rivalries...
How about El Clįsico, the two annual matches between Real Madrid and Barcelona? More than a football match, it represents the deep political and cultural divide between the Castile region of Madrid and the fiercely independent Catalonia region of Barcelona. Real Madrid; conservative, centralist, the establishment club. Barcelona; liberal, independent, flamboyant. For Catalans, Real Madrid symbolized Franco's dictatorship, and the match was seen as a venue to vent their resentment of Franco's oppression of Catalonia. The hostility still lingers 30 years after Franco's death, and makes for one of the most passionate rivalries in any sports.
Or how about the granddaddy of them all? Old Firm, the rivalry between Scottish mainstays Rangers and Celtic, both based in Glasgow. The first match was played way back in 1888, and has since been perhaps the most heated rivalry in football, infused with religious (catholic vs. protestant) and political (loyalist vs. republican) disputes.
On a more general note, I think a rivalry needs to be fueled by some kind of political, cultural, religious or socio-economic divide between the followers of each team for it to be considered a truly great rivalry.
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