Real Madrid & Barcelona: the Making of a Rivalry

Chapter One

Ambitious Amateurs [1900-1910]

To understand how Real Madrid and Barcelona's branches grew entangled, we must first examine the clubs' roots. At the start of the 20th century, soccer had no divine right to succeed in Spain. Abroad, the country grappled with the demise of its empire. Domestically, several regions with distinct languages, customs, and cuisine formed an uneasy federation. At the time, the nation struggled to form a shared identity. Thus, it is not surprising that both the Barcelona and Madrid elite adopted the customs of expatriates, including soccer. Foreign currents carried the game to battered Iberian shores.

At the other end of the spectrum, England was the dominant maritime power in the early 1900s and a trendsetter for Europe. English schools had adopted a novel concept at the time: the development of the body in addition to the mind. Soccer served as a pedagogical tool: sport taught teamwork and kept the body fit. For economic reasons, English expatriates littered the ports of countless countries, including Spain, where they spread the gospel of soccer. The English, then, played an important role in the early formation of both Barcelona and Real Madrid.

In 1899, in the cosmopolitan city of Barcelona, a Swiss businessman ran a newspaper ad that invited a response from people interested in playing soccer. His name was Hans Kamper, also known as Joan Gamper. The reaction was positive and Gamper held the first meeting a few weeks later at the Solé gymnasium in downtown Barcelona. The group of enthusiasts soon played their first game, but failed to field a full side and lost. However, Gamper recruited the other team's star player, Englishman Arthur Witty. A few weeks later, on Christmas Eve, Barcelona defeated FC Català, another local team. A few hundred spectators attended that game, Barcelona donned their blue and red colors for the first time, and local press praised the skill of their passing.

By October 1900, Barcelona had leased a permanent field: a plot of land near the Hotel Canovas. The rent also allowed the players to use a few hotel rooms for changing clothes. The field only measured a few hundred meters, but, symbolically, Barcelona planted roots. Also, the club began to transition from a group of friends with a shared interest towards a formal association. On the field of play, Arthur Witty captained the squad. Joan Gamper, in addition to running that first ad, was a fierce forward; he combined good dribbling skills with a powerful shot. In those early years, Barcelona played against other local teams, such as FC Català, Hispania AC, and Club Español de Foot Ball.

Club Español de Foot Ball, known today as Espanyol, would become Barcelona's local rival. Why? Politics played a large part. From early on, Barcelona embraced Catalan identity. During the club's history, Barcelona would sometimes embrace Catalan independence or, at the very least, Catalan autonomy. Conversely, Espanyol's name in itself means Spain. The club's crest features the Royal Spanish Crown. These associations would have great repercussions for both clubs in later decades.

Differences aside, on November 11, 1900, the Catalan Football Association was formed. The Association soon hosted its first regional cup, known as the Macaya Cup, and Hispania AC won the initial tournament. The following year, Barcelona won the tournament and claimed their first ever trophy. However, in 1902, factions led to a split and two rival tournaments: Barcelona's local city rival, Espanyol, won the Macaya Cup. Barcelona won the conveniently named Barcelona Cup. The two factions smoothed things over, though, and, in 1903 started a proper regional league: the Catalan Championship. Barcelona would win the regional league three times in the club's first decade of existence.

The history of Real Madrid's founding cannot be traced to a simple newspaper ad. As early as 1896, a group of university friends regularly played soccer in a field alongside the Manzanares river on the outskirts of Madrid. At the time, documents point to the existence of various clubs in Madrid, including Foot Ball Sky, Madrid Foot Ball Club, El New Foot-Ball Club, and Espanyol de Madrid. Given the informal nature of the associations, this should not surprise anyone: clubs were little more than a group of friends, and many of these clubs overlapped in membership. Still, two important names stand out: Arthur Johnson, an enthusiastic Englishman, taught his Spanish friends how to play the game. Julián Palacios, the director of a printing company, had presided over Madrid Foot Ball Club and founded Foot Ball Sky. He merged the two and laid the seed for Madrid CF.

Real Madrid, then known as Madrid CF, officially formed on March 6, 1902, when it elected its first board of directors. The first official president was Juan Padrós Rubió. He and his brother, Carlos, who would later become president in 1904, were both originally from Catalonia. The club's early meetings took place in their store. Ironically, Real Madrid, future target of Catalan ire, was brought into this world by Catalan hands. The club first played two intra-squad games, splitting into a red team and a blue team. Like Barcelona, the very first games drew a few curious fans and some media attention, but largely served to sort out a proper starting eleven.

As a practical matter, Real Madrid needed money to survive. Thus, the club obliged its members, known in Spanish as socios, to pay a monthly fee of two pesetas. Barcelona had adopted a similar policy, thus giving birth to the concept of popular club ownership. Like stock ownership, the socio model allowed the clubs to raise a lot of capital very quickly. It also allowed fans to vote and elect presidents of those clubs, and thus infused the positives and pitfalls of representative democracy into club administration. Real Madrid, Barcelona, and a few other clubs soon reached financial sustainability, but yearned for stiffer competition and recognition.

On May 17, 1902, Alfonso XIII officially became the King of Spain. His father had passed away before his birth, but the boy King did not officially take over the throne until his 16th birthday. He inherited an empire in decline, and Spain lost its few remaining colonies during his reign. However, the industrial revolution offered new economic opportunities within the country. The ports in Bilbao, Barcelona, Huelva, and Málaga blossomed. King Alfonso promoted tourism to Spain and also loved soccer, but domestic tensions simmered. On his return to Spain from his wedding abroad, an anarchist attempted to kill him with a bomb. Upended social hierarchies and uncertainty fostered feelings of gloom and pessimism, not of opportunity and hope.

A few days before King Alfonso's coronation, Spain held its first national soccer tournament. A well-to-do count hosted the three-day tournament at the Madrid Hippodrome. Some called the event the Madrid City Council's Cup because Madrid hosted it, but the tournament's more popular name was the Coronation Cup. It is known today as the King's Cup. Five teams attended the first edition: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Espanyol, Vizcaya from the Basque region, and New Foot Ball Club from Madrid. The public flocked to the event, and, on May 13, 1902, Real Madrid and Barcelona played their first ever derby, known in Spanish as a clásico. Barcelona boasted more years of experience and won 3-1, but the game remained 2-1 until a late penalty kick gave Barcelona some breathing room. Despite beating future rival Madrid, Barcelona lost the final to Vizcaya.

At the dawn of Spain's soccer history, neither Barcelona nor Real Madrid dominated. Rather, the top team came from the Basque region. There are several plausible explanations for this. Industrialization spread new wealth to the Basque elite, especially around Bilbao's port. This influx of wealth and foreigners probably led to an embrace of soccer much earlier than in other parts. Phil Ball, an ESPN columnist and the author of White Storm, 100 Years of Real Madrid, has noted that, in contrast to the traditional Spanish cuisine of seafood, rice, and pork, the Basque diet includes more beef and thus perhaps produces a more robust man. On a similar note, the Bilbao shipyards were populated by physically imposing men: a muscular physique being both a product of manual labor and a requirement to succeed in it. However, these economic and sociological factors overlook another important factor: unity.

At the time, two rival teams existed in Bilbao and came from very different neighborhoods. Bilbao Football Club was founded by shipyard workers in the 1890s. Athletic Club was founded in 1898 by local students who belonged to the Gymnasium Zamacois, a gathering place for the Basque elite. Despite living on different rungs of the socioeconomic ladder, their rivalry lacked the hyper-competitive squabbles of the Madrid clubs or the political undertones of the Barcelona teams. In 1902, the two teams merged for the King's Cup and entered the competition under the name Vizcaya. While clubs in Madrid and Barcelona sparred and poached players, the Basques put aside local rivalries to form a dominant side. They won the King's Cup three times during that first decade.

In 1903, the Madrid Hippodrome hosted another King's Cup. However, only three teams participated: Real Madrid, Espanyol, and Athletic Club of Bilbao. Real Madrid beat Espanyol 4-1, but blew a 2-0 lead in the final to lose 3-2 to Athletic. Barcelona did not participate. The spin from Madrid was that the Barcelona team feared losing; the story from Barcelona was of a protest against Madrid's centralization. Barcelona's president at the time never fully explained the decision. Finances, however, also may have played a role. Barcelona had recently ended its lease with the Hotel Canovas and purchased a plot of land on Horta road in Barcelona. Travel from Barcelona to Madrid may have placed too great a strain on the already stretched club coffers.

Despite a trip to the final, Madrid faced a crisis of disloyalty. The recently elected president, Carlos Padrós, resigned over a dispute about finances. Amid the bickering, other local clubs started to spring up. One new club, Moderno, poached a few key players from Madrid. Another, Español de Madrid, then plucked the remaining jewels from the roster. However, Madrid fused with Moderno and named Carlos Padrós as president. Next season, the recently formed Madrid Football Association forced Madrid-Moderno to play Español for the right to play in the King's Cup. The first game ended in a draw, but Madrid refused to play the replay. It mattered little. Español and another team then refused to play Athletic Club, and the Basques won the 1904 tournament by default.

The following year, Spain would witness the first of many Madrid runs. Carlos Padrós kicked out the Moderno folks, and a leaner Madrid won the King's Cup in 1905, 1906, 1907, and 1908. At this same time, though, Athletic Madrid, known today as Atlético de Madrid, entered the picture. Madrid dissidents, Moderno outcasts and Basque students formed the team, and they tied Madrid in their first game 1-1 in February 1905. The Madrid clubs multiplied and started a regional championship which also served as qualifying for the King's Cup. Madrid dominated their city rivals, but Español de Madrid won the 1909 regional tournament before losing the King's Cup final to Basque team Club Ciclista. Still, Madrid won five regional titles during this era.

Not for the last time, Real Madrid's success coincided with Barcelona's decline. The Catalans suffered from serious financial woes. Liquidation appeared imminent. However, Joan Gamper, the man who ran the very first pickup game ad in a newspaper, refused to let his beloved club die. He ignored the pessimistic board and embarked on a one-man fundraising campaign. He knocked on doors. He made phone calls. He used his connections to raise the necessary funds, and breathed new life into Barcelona. The socio dues could not yet sustain the club's ambitions, but Gamper's drive and dedication filled the gap.

In 1909, several clubs, including Deportivo (known today as Deportivo La Coruña) Madrid, and Athletic Club, held a meeting and formed the Federación Española de Futbol, now known by its English initials as the RFEF. At the time, though, this association failed to smooth out disagreements and tensions. Thus, the RFEF held one version