Two hours remained before the match, but Barcelona's fans had already begun streaming toward Camp Nou.
The streets and alleys throughout Barcelona were filled with groups of fans wearing Barcelona jerseys. They shouted all kinds of slogans or carried various banners as they headed toward the football stadium in the city center.
El Clásico not only drew the attention of football fans and journalists around the world; it also drew the attention of the entire city, the whole region of Catalonia, all of Spain—in short, everyone.
Over the past few years, Barcelona's record against Real Madrid had been far inferior. They had won only once in four years, with precious few draws as well. This had undoubtedly caused Barcelona's fans immense pain, to the point that they had even complained and grown angry over it.
Yet every time El Clásico approached, they could not help looking forward to it, hoping that the team would do better.
They might shout their slogans especially loudly and passionately. Some Barcelona fans might even deliberately say things before the match to put Barcelona down, or intentionally praise Real Madrid in order to belittle Barcelona...
But behind all these actions was the same reason: they desperately wanted to win!
They wanted to win so badly it drove them mad!
Over the past four years, Real Madrid had been incomparably glorious, while Barcelona had fallen into darkness. It was not until last season that Barcelona regained some morale by winning the Champions League, but Real Madrid had also captured La Liga and the Copa del Rey to claim the Double Crown, refusing to be outdone.
This summer, Barcelona had defeated Real Madrid to bring Cristiano Ronaldo in from Manchester United, forming an unbelievably dreamlike trio of Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Neymar. They had also been unstoppable