El Clásico goes global

The Clásico, the Liga BBVA’s flagship game, will be contested by a multitude of nationalities. Only 22 men will be on the pitch to represent their respective countries in the biggest clash in world football. Both FC Barcelona and Real Madrid possess an array of players from different parts of the globe to add that exotic touch to the Clásico.

Up to 14 nationalities will be represented in the game, and Spain will have the largest presence with 19 players. The Barcelona squad includes 10 Spaniards, with the Iberian nation making up a large portion of the back line (Martín Montoya, Marc Bartra, Gerard Piqué and Jordi Alba) as well as the midfield (Sergio Busquets, Sergi Roberto, Xavi Hernández and Andrés Iniesta). The azulgrana’s other two Spanish players are Jordi Masip and Pedro Rodríguez. Meanwhile, Real Madrid have nine, whose presence is especially felt between the sticks (Iker Casillas and Fernando Pacheco) and in defence (Daniel Carvajal, Álvaro Arbeloa, Sergio Ramos and Nacho Fernández). Los blancos’ other three Spaniards are Asier Illarramendi, Isco and Jesé Rodríguez.

The second most represented country is Brazil, with seven players. The presence of the samba nation is particularly strong at Barça, who have five (Dani Alves, Douglas, Adriano Correia, Rafinha and Neymar Junior), compared with Real Madrid’s two (Lucas Silva and Marcelo). Third place is made up of three nationalities, one of which is that of the reigning world champions, Germany, which will be represented by three players in the Clásico: André Ter Stegen (FC Barcelona), Sami Khedira and Toni Kroos (Real Madrid). Tied with the Germans with three are France (Jeremy Mathieu, Karim Benzema and Raphäel Varane) and Portugal (Pepe, Fábio Coentrão and Cristiano Ronaldo).

Argentina and Croatia are represented by just two players apiece. The case of the Balkan nation is especially interesting, as the fellow countrymen will be fighting it out against each other in the middle of the park. Ivan Rakitić (FC Barcelona) and Luka Modrić (Real Madrid) will be in charge of pulling the strings for their respective teams. Meanwhile, just two Argentinians will be taking part in the match, Barcelona’s Leo Messi and Javier Mascherano.

Seven countries represented by just one player each make up the rest of the numbers. Barcelona have a Chilean (Claudio Bravo), a Belgian (Thomas Vermaelen) and a Uruguayan (Luis Suárez), while Real Madrid’s squad includes a Costa Rican (Keylor Navas), a Colombian (James Rodríguez), a Welshman (Gareth Bale) and a Mexican (Javier Hernández 'Chicharito').

The Clásico is the Liga BBVA’s most important game as well as the most watched in world football. But on top of that it is also a showcase event of different nationalities, where a huge array of countries will be represented on the pitch, and in some cases on both teams. This is one of the reasons Barcelona v Real Madrid is such a global match.