Eighteenth different Clásico venue
In times of Covid-19 and with renovation work being done on the Santiago Bernabéu, Real Madrid are playing all of their home fixtures at their training ground, the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium in Valdebebas. And that includes this weekend’s Clásico (Saturday at 9.00pm CEST), which will make it the eighteenth different venue to have hosted the world’s biggest club football fixture.
We take a look at the seventeen other grounds where Barça and Madrid have gone into battle over the years, with a few surprises!
Hipódromo de Madrid (1902)
Games: 1 (Copa Coronación)
Wins: Barça 1, Madrid 0
The first game between FC Barcelona and what was then called Madrid FC was played on 13 May 1902 at the old horse racing track in Madrid. The occasion was the semi-final of the Copa Coronación in honour of Alfonso XIII, the first ever tournament played by teams from different parts of Spain.
Camp del Carrer Muntaner, Barcelona (1906 and 1916)
Games: 2 (1 friendly and one Spanish Cup)
Wins: Barça 2, Madrid 0
Madrid returned the visit four years later, when Barça were playing in Carrer Muntaner. Curiously, even though by then it had become the home of Espanyol, Barça also used the field when they beat Madrid in their first official encounter, the first leg of the 1916 Copa del Rey semi-final.
Camp de la Industria, Barcelona (1913 to 1921)
Games: 10 (all friendlies)
Wins: Barça 7, Madrid 0 (3 draws)
Barça had moved to L'Escopidora (the spittoon), the club’s ‘proper’ stadium. Madrid visited ten times between 1913 and 1921, all friendlies, in which Barça were never beaten.
Estadio de O'Donnell, Madrid (1914 to 1922)
Games: 3 (all friendlies)
Wins: Barça 2, Madrid 0 (1 draw)
During the same era, Madrid FC (called Real Madrid from 1920 onwards) were playing at a ground in Calle O’Donell. Barça visited three times, and were never beaten there either!
Campo de O'Donnell, Madrid (1916)
Games: 3 (all Spanish Cup)
Wins: Barça 0, Madrid 2 (1 draw)
That ground is not to be confused with the Campo de O'Donnell, just down the road, which was the home of Athletic (now Atlético) Madrid. Real used their neighbour’s ground for three Copa del Rey games with Barça in 1916, including two replays, one of which finished 6-6!
Campo de Delicias, Zaragoza (1922)
Games: 2 (both friendlies)
Wins: Barça 2, Madrid 0
In 1922, the clubs met for the first time on neutral territory in back-to-back friendlies as part of Zaragoza’s celebrations of the Fiestas del Pilar. Barça won both games, but the biggest talking point came when Josep Samitier was sent off. The fans were so outraged that the referee ended up getting sent off instead!
Estadio Chamartín, Madrid (1926 to 1946)
Games: 23 (15 Liga, 2 Spanish Cup, 6 friendlies)
Wins: Barça 7, Madrid 13 (3 draws)
Madrid’s first major stadium held 22,500 people and was opened in 1924. Barça first played there in a 1926 friendly, winning 5-1, and would be returning on an annual basis after the first Liga season was played in 1929.
Camp de Les Corts, Barcelona (1927 to 1957)
Games: 36 (26 Liga, 4 Spanish Cup, 6 friendlies)
Wins: Barça 21, Madrid 7 (8 draws)
Two years earlier, in 1920, Barça had opened a grand new stadium of their own, the 20,000 capacity Les Corts (which would eventually become three times as big). Madrid’s first visit was for a 1927 friendly that ended 0-0.
Mestalla, Valencia (1936, 1990, 2011 and 2014)
Games: 4 (all Spanish Cup finals)
Wins: Barça 1, Madrid 3
Barça and Madrid have met in seven Spanish Cup Finals, and four of them were played at Valencia’s ground. The all-whites were victorious in three of those, while Barça took the title in 1990.
Stadium Metropolitano, Madrid (1946 to 1947)
Games: 2 (both in La Liga)
Wins: Barça 0, Madrid 1 (1 draw)
During construction of their new stadium, Real Madrid borrowed Atlético’s ground for a season and a bit, which included two games with FC Barcelona.
Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid (1948 to present)
Games: 98 (73 in La Liga, 11 in Spanish Cup, 7 in Spanish Super Cup, 3 in League Cup, 4 in European Cup/Champions League)
Wins: Barça 26, Madrid 50 (22 draws)
The Bernabéu has been the venue for more Clásicos than any other stadium, and Barça have generally fared very well there, including the famous 5-0 win in 1974, the unforgettable 6-2 of 2009 and four league wins in a row from 2015 to 2019.
Camp Nou, Barcelona (1958 to present)
Games: 87 (65 in La Liga, 8 in Spanish Cup, 7 in Spanish Super Cup, 3 in League Cup, 4 in European Cup/Champions League)
Wins: Barça 44, Madrid 21 (22 draws)
Madrid won 2-0 on their first ever visit to Camp Nou in 1958, but Barça have usually had the upper hand, including an amazing run of 20 home league games without defeat between 1984 and 2002.
Ramón de Carranza, Cadiz (1959 and 1968)
Games: 2 (both in the Trofeo Ramón de Carranza)
Wins: Barça 1, Madrid 1
This tournament was once of the most prestigious close-season tournaments in Spain. Madrid and Barça met in it twice, with one win each.
Vicente Calderón, Madrid (1974)
Games: 1 (Spanish Cup Final)
Wins: Barça 0, Madrid 1
Atlético Madrid’s former home was the venue for the 1974 cup final. Barça had just won the league for the first time in 14 years, but the cup had a rule that no foreign-born players could play. That meant no Johan Cruyff, and Barça lost 4-0.
Farid Richa Barquisimeto, Venezuela (1982)
Games: 1 (Copa Presidente de la República)
Wins: Barça 0, Madrid 1
The first time the teams met on foreign soil was in a summer tournament in Venezuela. They lost their semi-finals (against Porto and Inter Milan) and were looking forward to going home when a third/fourth place game was hurriedly arranged for the fans. Vicente del Bosque scored the only goal.
La Romareda, Zaragoza (1983)
Games: 1 (Spanish Cup Final)
Wins: Barça 1, Madrid 0
The Aragonese capital was the venue when Barça won the cup for the 20th time, beating Madrid 2-1 thanks to a Marcos Alonso goal in the very last minute.
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, United States (2017)
Games: 1 (International Champions Cup)
Wins: Barça 1, Madrid 0
Four years ago, a Clásico was played on foreign soil for only the second time when the home of the Miami Dolphins hosted a summer friendly. Barça won 3-2 with goals from Leo Messi, Ivan Rakitic and Gerard Piqué.