10 Barcelona Flops in the El Clasico Heat
For every great El Clasico moment throughout the years, there has been a terrible one. The rich rivalry has seen players from both sides put in disappointing performances and even cost their team dearly on some occasions.
In this article, we will take a look at 10 Barcelona players who have flopped under the pressure of El Clasico. This measurement could be based off of their overall performances in the rivalry, or simply a single moment of error.
As always, feel free to get involved in the discussion below and let us know who you think has been the biggest flop against Real Madrid and how you think El Clasico will play out this weekend.
Jose Pinto
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Jose Pinto achieved a lot during his time at Barcelona, but he also received his fair amount of slack for questionable moments. His constant desire to leave his line and be too risky in goal cost the Catalans several times, especially against Real Madrid.
The last time these two rivals met, Pinto allowed two goals to get by him to hand Real Madrid the 2-1 victory in the Copa del Rey final. The second goal came in the dying minutes of the game and stole the life right out of Barcelona fans.
It wasn’t the first time that Pinto had been beaten by a late winner. Back in the 2011 Copa del Rey final, the keeper allowed Cristiano Ronaldo’s header to ripple the back of the net to give Los Blancos the title.
Looking back at Pinto’s time with Barcelona, there are a lot of great memories that will last a lifetime. However, he will also have these El Clasico slip-ups that will haunt him for a long time.
Adriano
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Speaking of that 2011 Copa del Rey final, Jose Pinto wasn’t the only Barcelona player who let his guard down. Left-back Adriano also missed his chance to be a hero and instead had one of the worst moments in Barcelona Clasico history.
When Cristiano Ronaldo rose up to head the winner past Pinto, Adriano was marking him. He got caught watching the cross and misjudged the ball in the air. He was not able to recover, and Ronaldo had a free header that he expertly placed into the goal.
It was certainly not Adriano’s finest hour; in fact it may be his most disappointing moment in the Blaugrana jersey. Since that day, he has had plenty of big moments for Barcelona, but he will likely always remember seeing Ronaldo beat him and win the Copa del Rey trophy.
Javier Saviola
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Javier Saviola left River Plate in 2001 to join Barcelona in what was thought to be one of the best signings of that time. The striker had so much potential and was afforded every chance to realize his best ability at the Camp Nou.
Before his eventual exit in 2007, Saviola played in a few El Clasico meetings. Though he was a very talented player, he failed to ever actually make an impact against Real Madrid.
To be honest, Barcelona may have been better off playing with 10 men against Real Madrid in those matches than letting Saviola onto the pitch. He will go down as a Barcelona flop, but he was even worse in El Clasico.
When he did leave Barcelona in 2007, he joined none other than Real Madrid. The funny this is, he never did anything in a Clasico meeting against Barcelona either.
Gerard Pique
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When Gerard Pique returned to Barcelona in 2008, he was an immediate star in El Clasico meetings. His partnership with Carles Puyol caused major problems for Los Blancos, and it paid off big time for the Catalans.
However, the past few years have been quite the opposite for Pique.
In the last several matches against Real Madrid, Pique has been arguably the worst player on the pitch. His tendency to make mistakes and get beaten by fast attackers has cost Barcelona big time, and fans will be hoping that doesn’t happen again on Saturday.
Real Madrid has learned how to play against Barcelona, utilizing fast counters to take advantage of the Catalan high line. Pique has proved to be very weak against the counter, and that will only continue to be a problem unless the center back learns how to compensate for his speed and positioning.
Victor Valdes
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From giving the ball straight to the Real Madrid attack to holding on to the ball too long, Victor Valdes has a long history of El Clasico mistakes. Some may even argue that the legendary Barcelona keeper cost his side the match on more than one occasion.
Valdes always seemed to get more criticism than he deserved. Barcelona’s style of defending often forced the keeper to do the impossible, but he rarely helped his case by trying to pass the ball creatively.
Regardless of the mistakes that he made in El Clasico meetings, Valdes also bailed out the Catalans just as many times. He may have flopped on several occasions, but he was also the hero in some close matches.
The Catalan keeper may no longer wear the Blaugrana colors, but he will always be admired and adored by Barcelona fans across the globe.
Marc Bartra
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Most fans will never forget the picture above. Late in last year’s Copa del Rey final, Gareth Bale sped past Marc Bartra to go alone on goal and score what would be the winner in a drama-filled encounter.
While Bartra has been a very well-loved player by the Barcelona faithful, allowing Bale to blur past him and net a title-winning goal did not set well with fans. To that point he had been playing at a high level, but one moment can easily change everything.
The look on Bartra’s face after Bale put Real Madrid on top was one of pure disgust. Since then the young defender has matured a lot and may be using that lone error as a memory to help him improve every day.
Defenders can make a dozen great tackles in a game, but one mistake will always be the talking point, especially when it costs their team the match. Bartra had a lapse in focus that led to one of the biggest Clasico goals of the last few years.
Eidur Gudjohnsen
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Along with Javier Saviola, Eidur Gudjohnsen may go down as one of the most disappointing Barcelona players in El Clasico meetings. When the Iceland striker joined the Catalans in 2006 there we lofty expectations, but he never lived up to the hype.
Though the striker did not have a bad career in Catalonia, he did fail to turn up in the biggest of matches.
During his time at Barcelona, Gudjohnsen was a regular face in Clasico meetings. He linked up with stars such as Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry, but never made an impact himself.
Truth be told, Gudjohnsen was the epitome of a player who could have achieved so much more but was unable to handle the pressure. His performances against Real Madrid proved that he couldn’t play at the highest level, and Pep Guardiola was quick to let him go when he took over as the first team coach.
Marc Overmars
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Marc Overmars was already a legend when he joined Barcelona from Arsenal in 2000. He made his name at Ajax, proving to be one of the fastest forwards to ever play the game and a deadly goalscorer when given the chance.
His time at Barcelona was not what he was hoping it would be, and his participation in El Clasico matches left much to be desired.
In 2002, Barcelona and Real Madrid met several times in some intensely competitive matches. One of those meetings Real Madrid won 2-0 in what has widely been considered one of the most complete El Clasico performances of the last few decades.
While Real Madrid’s galactico stars forced their hand against Barcelona, Marc Overmars constantly proved unable to make an impact in the meetings. Had he been able to cause problems on the offensive end of the ball, the Catalans may have done much better against their rivals.
The Dutch winger had a complicated career at Barcelona, but his Clasico matches were simply disappointing to say the very least.
Ramon Villaverde
9 of 10Ramon Villaverde is one of the greatest players to ever put on the Barcelona jersey. He was a leader on and off the pitch and had the ability to change any game at any time.
The Uruguayan played for Barcelona from 1954 until 1963, one of the most competitive times in the Clasico rivalries. While he did help the Catalans win some big matches, he also slipped up when the club needed him to keep them alive.
Villaverde was the type of player who kept everyone together and the system working. When he had a bad match, Barcelona suffered greatly. It just so happens that there were more than a few Clasico meetings that Villaverde failed to turn up in.
Despite his shortcomings in the rivalry, he did have his fair share of big moments as well. Regardless, Villaverde will always be remembered as one of the greatest to ever grace FC Barcelona with his football boots.
Everyone Involved in the 11-1 Loss to Real Madrid in 1943
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While Spain was under the control of dictator Francisco Franco, things were not easy at Barcelona. The country’s leader was openly a big fan of Real Madrid and the club gained a lot from that fact.
When Barcelona faced off with Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in 1943 they didn’t just lose, they were demolished. Los Blancos came away 11-1 victors, but both sides of fans tend of leave out this part of the history.
The match has had scandal written all over it since the day it happened.
As documented in this archived article from FIFA.com, the Barcelona players were threatened before the match, along with their families, as well as the officials. Real Madrid had already won long before kickoff, and on that day politics became bigger than the beautiful game.
Saying that players flopped by trying to protect their families isn’t fair in the least. If the rumors are true, which seems to be the general consensus, no one can be blame them for what happened.
The real flop was the entire game in general. Both sets of players were not able to actually perform properly and that is why it will always be remembered as the worst El Clasico match in the history of this great rivalry.
Still, the fact that Atletico Madrid beat Real Madrid later in the cup final makes the entire story even more curious.
Which El Clasico flop is the worst of all time? Who have been the best El Clasico performers? Leave your thoughts and comments below!
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