Spanish Thing

More often than not, watching football in a bar involves sharing the experience with - if you pardon the french - a bunch of w**kers.

During any given game, custom dictates that one must always endure the noisy knucklehead looking to abuse and barrack any perceived opponents and tolerate the shouty, tactical tosspot sharing their particular insights on the evening's encounter.

So this is why experiencing the latest edition of el Clásico, the biggest, bestest brashest match in the world in almost total silence was a genuine joy. The location was a nicotine-stained establishment in the village of Toro - a 1000 year old hamlet clinging desperately to the side of a horrendously steep hill in a bleak, barren corner of Castilla and Leon.

It was not as if the locals gathered in front of a flickering flat screen were not interested in the twice yearly clash of la Liga's titans. It's pretty much impossible not to be in Spain.

Every paper, every TV station, every day ran previews, interviews, and oh-so exciting images of Cristiano Ronaldo's newly non-knacked ankle.

Indeed, one digital channel is set to break a world record by having a 23-hour long 'tertulia' or chat-show with Barcelona's 1-0 win in the Camp Nou clash being the only topic in a long day of increasingly desperate debating.

It's just that the punters in this particular pub were very old indeed. But these wine-drinking wise men were all with the Gandalf in the way they silently studied the intensely tactical clash as if it was a grand master game of chess.

Either that, or some had popped their clogs during a fairly forgettable first half that was only enlivened by a saved shot from Real Madrid's Ronaldo.

Neither team wanted to gamble too much, too early, in a game that would never be able to deliver on the ever preposterous pre-match hype. And that produced forty-five minutes of football that - to use a euphemism - was for the 'purists'.

The bar where your correspondent caught the encounter was the last in a line of five on the creaky, cobbled street. The first was packed to the rafters with Madrid shirt-wearing children - even worse companions than the aforementioned fans when wanting to enjoy a bit of footie.

But curiously the clientele in the bars running from right to left became increasingly older until the last bodega on the corner which was populated purely with pensioners.

With the less than glamourous Valladolid being the nearest top-flight side to the village of Toro, Real Madrid was the club of choice for most of Sunday night's spectators. And there were noises of pleasure from the patrons at the start of the match as their players threw off their tediously indifferent form and tried to take the game to a back-peddling Barcelona.

The previously wingless whites had finally restored a bit of width to their football stylings with the return of Ronaldo to the starting line-up after nearly two months swanning about on the sidelines.

And crucial interventions from Victor Valdés and the truly immense Carles Puyol kept Barcelona in the encounter and allowed them to pile on the pressure in the early stages of the second half thanks to a thunderous volley from Zlatan Ibrahimovic in what must have been one of his first touches since coming on as a substitute.

With Toro being one of the finest wine-producing centres in Spain, the coffin-dodging supporters slurped on their reds as a ten-man Barcelona engaged in some last ditch defending against the counterattacking Madridistas but always managed to make that vital interception to save the Catalan club's skins.

The 1-0 victory for the home side didn't teach more than was already known about both teams, this season. Barcelona are still the superior outfit due to the familiarity of their footballers. However, when Real Madrid finally settle on a settled starting line-up, they will undoubtedly push Barcelona all the way at the top of the table.

Unfortunately, no-one else will, as both Valencia and Sevilla both missed out on the chance to make up some miles on Madrid by dropping the simplest of points at home on Saturday night.

But perhaps the most telling moment of the match from the Madrid perspective was the introduction of Raúl for the final fifteen minutes of the encounter.

With the visitors chasing what would arguably have been a deserved equaliser, the sight of the Real Madrid captain entering the fray brought jeers rather than cheers from many watching fans, a sign that the most successful striker in the club's history is finally entering his twilight years at the Bernabeu club.

Barcelona's victory gave everyone watching a reason to be a cheerful. The Camp Nou club has now returned to the top of the table - something that their superior football this season definitely deserves - whilst Madrid can take heart in a performance that had promise, if not delivery.

"Madrid left the field encouraged by the good image, they portrayed," said Marca on Monday's front page.

The locals of Toro, for their part, shuffled out into the cold having seen an occasionally entertaining affair. And one or two of them will simply be hoping they are still around to catch another Clásico encounter, come May.

Round 12 results

Sporting 1-0 Valladolid
Valencia 1-1 Mallorca
Sevilla 2-2 Málaga
Valladolid 3-3 Tenerife
Getafe 5-1 Xerez
Racing 0-1 Deportivo
Almería 1-4 Athletic
Zaragoza 0-1 Osasuna
Barcelona 1-0 Real Madrid
Atlético Madrid 4-0 Espanyol

Tim Stannard