Pitched Battles: Volume Five

Spain's biggest rivalry pits two of the best squads in Europe, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, against each other in La Liga's version of the Red Sox and Yankees. Real Madrid is one of the most loaded squads in the history of club soccer, featuring Beckham, Zidane, Ronaldo, Raul, Roberto Carlos... the list goes on. Barcelona is also stacked with talent, including the incomparable Ronaldinho.

More than a showcase of high-priced talent, though, the Superclassico pits a pair of cities that share a historical beef. Here's a tidbit about the rivalry from Expertfootball.com:

"Known as Superclassico or El Derby Espanol, the Barca versus Real match attracts immense attention across Spain as well as Europe. Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia, a morally and ethnically independent region with its own distinct dialect. Spanish dictator Franco repressed the regions' autonomous predisposition until his death in 1975. Fans and ultras take this derby with consideration extending far beyond the football pitch."

In this particular rivalry Doug Perry and Jon Miller battled it out in a grueling game configured to deal with a tie score. We set the match to over-time rules. In the first few minutes of overtime play Perry streaked up the left side-line in a breakaway maneuver. His winger lobbed a high pass to the goal box where a swift forward booted it in past a confused keeper. Perry's aggressive attack surprised and shocked an overly confident Miller, who two days later still shivers in embarrassment after such a devastating loss. This win will certainly go down in history at IGN as the breaking of happy-boy Miller. Will he ever recover?

What's your favorite soccer rivalry? Hit up the IGN message boards and we'll post gameplay footage in this running feature from a near-final build of World Soccer Winning Eleven 9 International. Check out the video link below to see footage of Barcelona and Real Madrid going at it.

©2006-01-30, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved