Camp Nou: The Cathedral of El Clásico

This match is always circled in red on every calendar. Fortunately it comes around a few times a year, and the Spanish temperament makes sure you feel every single minute of it.

Standing here at Camp Nou, you are on ground where football stopped being just a sport a long time ago. When Barcelona and Real Madrid first met in 1902, it was a festive tournament to celebrate a royal coronation. A few hundred spectators, a sandy pitch, no cameras. Barcelona won 3 to 1, and nobody suspected they were starting something that would last over a century.

The rivalry deepened under Franco's dictatorship, when Barcelona became a symbol of Catalan resistance and Madrid represented the centralised Spanish state. That tension reached its ugliest point in 1943, when a government official reportedly visited Barcelona's dressing room before a match and reminded the players of the "generosity" of the Spanish state. Barcelona lost 11 to 1.

Then there was the 2000 transfer of fan favourite Luís Figo to Real Madrid. When he returned to this very stadium, supporters hurled bottles, coins and, memorably, a pig's head into the corner where he stood.

Across 262 official encounters, Madrid leads by just two wins. That balance alone tells you everything.

There are many great classics in the world of sport, and this one absolutely belongs on that list.