On October 4, 2020, the first women's classic in history was played. A match that was played behind closed doors at the Alfredo di Stéfano, due to the pandemic, and that ended with a Blaugrana victory (0-4). Today (12:00 p.m., Dazn) Barça and Real Madrid meet again in Montjuïc. Between them, three years and eleven classics have passed in which they have seen each other in the League, Champions League and Super Cup with a common denominator: Barcelona always won.
The Blaugrana hegemony has been total, with goals for history such as the 5-2 at Camp Nou in the Champions League or the 5-0 with which they mathematically won the 2021/22 League, although the distance has been reducing in recent times . Last season they faced each other three times and in the last two the results were the closest. In the League they won thanks to a penalty goal from Rolfö in the last minutes and in the semi-finals of the Super Cup they had to resort to extra time to eliminate Real Madrid.
“They have improved a lot in a short time,” Patri Guijarro acknowledges. The Balearic soccer player was the first scorer in the history of the classics and she has seen the evolution in these three years: “Madrid's position then was not the same. Last year we played the League between two and this year we are also 3 points away.” “There is an emotional component that makes them ultra motivated, but the numbers right now say that we have won all the classics that we have played,” recalls Mariona Caldentey, who agrees that Real Madrid has raised its level in recent years: “ It is a team that was born relatively recently, that is growing, signing… it is becoming a more competitive team, but we also continue to grow,” she remembers.
Caroline Graham Hansen agrees along the same lines, highlighting that the white team is “working hard” and “signing better players.” “Every year they are closer, but we are also raising the level,” she warns. And if Real Madrid has been increasing its budget for the women's team each season, FC Barcelona has also continued to invest heavily in the team that has given it so much success. This season Barça has increased its budget from 12 million for the 2022-23 season to 17.5 million euros for this season. The women's section was the only profitable one in the entire club last season and for this year the Blaugrana entity already plans to generate profits with Jonatan Giráldez's team.
For its part, Madrid manages a more modest budget, half that of its rival, but has also opted to increase its investment. Last year it was 6 million and this year its budget is 9 million, which has allowed signings such as the Danish Signe Bruun (O. Lyon) or the Australian Hayley Raso (M. City). “For women's football it is important to have a strong Madrid,” reflects Graham Hansen, who believes that the white club “is doing things very well.” For the Norwegian winger, the classic “must be the best game of the year.” “Barça-Madrid is a match that everyone recognizes and it is important that it reflects the level there is,” he adds.
The duel against Real Madrid is always a special match but it will be even more so for Ona Batlle, who will experience her first classic as a Blaugrana. "It is unique. Like the first time there is no other. “I will enjoy it a lot,” the winger hopes.
Irene Paredes, with tonsillitis, and Alexia Putellas are not assured of their presence. The all-time top scorer of the classics has not trained with the group all week due to a bruise on her left knee in Tuesday's match against Benfica. The tests ruled out an injury, but she still has discomfort from the blow. She is practically ruled out in the eleven, but she could enter the call that will be announced this morning.
