Why Lionel Messi Was The Best Thing To Happen To Cristiano Ronaldo

By Shane Thomas

Sunday night continued the vintage era of clasicos between Real Madrid and Barcelona, with the game ending in a breathless 2-2 draw. But the latest chapter in this magnum opus may go on to be one of the most indelible in the memory, simply because it showcased both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in all their splendour. And while history is likely to judge Messi as the finest of his - and possibly any - era, a lot of credit must go to Ronaldo for this.

Too Many Clasicos? How Can You Have Too Much Of This?

By Shane Thomas

When Real Madrid and Barcelona were set to play in the quarter-finals of the Copa Del Rey, the howls of lament could be heard from fans and pundits; "Too many clasicos!", "I'm sick of seeing Real & Barca all the time!", "What's next, are they going to play each other every week!?"

Barcelona's Weeping Angels Show Their Nasty Side

By Shane Thomas


The worlds of Doctor Who and el Clasico are ones that seldom collide. But the twain seemed to meet after last weekend's encounter between Real Madrid and Barcelona.

As Real suffered their ninth defeat in the last ten clasicos, I was put in mind of the brilliant episode of Doctor Who, "Blink". The monsters in the aforementioned piece were "The Weeping Angels", benign statues whenever they are looked at, but rapid, ferocious monsters when they could escape the affliction of being gazed upon.

El Clasico - Here We Go Again

By Shane Thomas

In football parlance, the phrase "clasico" refers to a match between two marquee sides. You know the type, the Manchester United's, AC Milan's and Bayern Munich's of this world. Well, contests between Real Madrid and Barcelona have become so big that they have been dubbed, "el gran clasico". This is an occasion where the febrile hype is justified. Real and Barca is not a "clasico", it's the "clasico".

El Clasico - The Thirty-Six Pointer

By Shane Thomas

As the weekend dissipates into Monday, many people will return to the grind of their working week, bemoaning how quickly the weekend passed them by and looking wistfully ahead to Friday evening. In one part of Cataluyna, the hard work will also begin for Real Madrid & Barcelona.