Fear and Loathing in La Liga: Barcelona, Real Madrid, and the World's Greatest Sports Rivalry

This book comprehensively details the history of the rivalry, from 1902 to present day. Of course you cannot understand the rivalry without understanding the Spanish Civil War and this is where Sid Lowe shines with a ton of detail on those dark days. Personally I thought the best part was the chapter on the Alfredo Di Stefano transfer which I found very similar to the story of how the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees changing both clubs forever. Barca obviously didn't sell Di Stefano but they, like the Red Sox, whiffed on a chance to acquire/keep one of the greatest players of their respective sports. The only flaw of the book I felt was that it felt a little thin when it came to the rivalry present day. It has a detailed overview of Mourinho vs Guardiola but I felt Lowe didn't devote enough pages to Messi vs Ronaldo, ironic considering they are the ones on the cover. Lowe wrote almost nothing on Ronaldo's transfer from Manchester United and little on how Messi ended up at La Masia. But really that's a small nitpick on a otherwise great book. If you want to buy just one book on El Clasico this is the one to buy. Update (10/30/2014): I am changing my rating to 5 from the original 4 stars. When I wrote the review I had read about 50% of it, basically a through scan but now that I've read it more throughly I felt I shortchanged Sid Lowe. What he's written here is a deep rich history of the Real Madrid and Barcelona rivalry that is as much a history book as it is a soccer book. As someone who loves history and soccer this is nirvana. This is no doubt the greatest english language book on the Madrid-Barcelona rivalry and I wonder even if there is a Spanish language book that is better. I stand by my original criticism because I think we all like to read about contemporary stuff because that's the part we've personally experienced but when I read about the Spanish Civil War and how Barcelona and Real Madrid fared and the influence of Francoism on the rivalry (and Spanish society overall) I can't but help admire the totality of Sid Lowe's work. He must've done a enormous amount of research. I'm gushing a bit but I cannot praise this book enough. 5 stars for a book that should be winning literary awards.

A great read for any football enthusiast and a must have for all FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF fans. Sid Lowe narrates with a passionate attention to detail from an unbiased perspective on a heated rivalry dating back generations. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because it drags on in the first few chapters describing the politics of Spain at the time of the civil war and he barely addresses the the current rivalry of the two sides, which are more bitter than ever! The chapters are arranged based on the different era's of the rivalry, so feel free to jump to whatever chapter interests you more. Overall, I enjoyed the read and being a fanatical Barca fan myself this book was an education in the club's history and many of those who represented it.

This book has politics, revolution, intrigue, a severed pigs head, and just about everything else a footy fan would want from an extensively researched and written book on the two biggest clubs in Spain. Sid Lowe documents this dichotomy, this relationship, this interdependence of two sporting entities that find themselves as often on opposing sides of the pitch as they do on opposing sides of a civil war (hyperbole). Lowe's prose guides us through the histories of these two titanic teams as they battle for supremacy in Spain and Europe, having Salomonic tussles over player signatures, courting the favor of dictators and royals alike. Such a delightful and enjoyable read.

Over the past year, football journalism/literature has become one of my favorite genres for casual reading. Sid Lowe, an acclaimed journalist who writes for ESPN and the Guardian (among others), weaves social and sporting history with anecdotes about two of world football's greatest clubs. Those who are intimately familiar with Spanish/Catalan history as they apply to both Real Madrid and Barcelona may find some of the material redundant. Thankfully, I was not in that camp and thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Lowe's insights into Spanish culture, society, and language through the lens of its most celebrated football clubs. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn more about the history of these two clubs or Spanish history as expressed through football.

By far the best account of the El Classico rivalry I have ever read, which is saying something since I have read quite a few books on these two clubs. Amazingly detailed account. Author took a lot of painstaking effort and took some real deep dives into the two clubs history. A very honest appraisal of both clubs, their successes, failures, good & bad sides of an eternal rivalry. A great read for any football fan.

If you are familiar with Sid Lowe's work you will enjoy this book. He provides a lot of historical information about Barcelona and Real Madrid. The book is fairly easy to read. The author points out many interesting facts about both teams. A must read for any football mad fan.

Sid Lowe is the most informed writer in English about Spanish football and this book is a total credit to him. Fascinating for anyone interested in THE greatest rivalry in world sport and it's history which goes well beyond a game of football to involve the politics and history of Spain. For the reader like myself who is greatly interested in both it is an essential read.

Football is politics. And in certain cases it can be beautiful both despite politics and because of politics. The classic clash between Barcelona and Real Madrid is one of these matches; every time they play is a guarantee of fantastic football and politics. Sid Lowe's book describes the history of this rivalry, both in political and in football terms, but mostly, how they both have mingled to create a rivalry that today is followed by the entire world. The rivalry is not only about historical facts, but also about myths: Barcelona sees itself as the righteous rebels against Franco's regime, while Real Madrid sees itself as a club of gentlemen and good football. But there are many more nuances to this history, as Sid Lowe so amply shows. For instance, during the civil war a Real Madrid president was in fact part of the anti-Franco Republican government, while Barcelona, after having competed during the civil war (contrary to Real Madrid, as the city was under siege), became the dominant team in Spain immediately after the war. Real Madrid was from the 1950s largely run by a pro-government president, Santiago Barnabeu, who led the way in making them the best team in the world in the 1960s, ahead of a Barcelona side that constantly saw a conspiracy behind Real Madrid's success. This is mostly showed by the myth that Alfredo Di Stefano was “stolen” from them, while it rather appears that they were less smart than Real Madrid in a complex negotiation involving clubs in Argentina and Colombia. The rivalry changed and evolved with Spanish history, and this is fantastically described in the book. The transition up to and after Franco's death is very interesting, when Johan Cruyff went to Barcelona as a player, and a new period of rivalry started. In football terms during the 1980s and 1990s the rivalry became the best in the world, with the best players in the world having played for either club. The list is simply amazing when one sees the players that have gone through either (or both in many cases!): Paul Breitner, Gary Lineker, Hugo Sanchez, Diego Maradona, Ronaldo, Hristo Stoichkov, Emilio Butragueno, Michael Laudrup, Zinedine Zidane, Ronald Koeman, Raul, Romario, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo.... etc... The book has fantastic interviews with many of these players! In the 1990s Johan Cruyff, now as coach put the foundation for what made the great Barcelona of the 2000s. In an attempt to be as good as FC Barcelona, Real Madrid's president, Florentino Perez, was instrumental in wanting to create a global brand spending millions on the best players in the world. In all, the 2000s became a period of rivalry defined by the best football in the world, money, and not least politics, as FC Barcelona continues to be an entry point of a growing Catalan nationalism demanding independence from Spain (the book starts with a highly politicized game of 2012 when thousands of fans in Barcelona shouted for independence during the match). In this regard, the clashes are as political as ever, but at the same time the match has become a global affair: the best footballers in the world facing one another in a match that is never insignificant, but a final every time. The teams are completely dominating in Spain, and their high class also makes them among the best teams in Europe (in since 2000 Real Madrid and FC Barcelona have won three and four Champions League respectively) and surely in the world. Sid Lowe is an English journalist, and that gives the book strength, as he does not take sides in what is a rivalry full of bitterness and myths, something that is surely difficult. Many fanatical fans of either Real Madrid or Barcelona are probably not going to like the book as he tries to demystify some of their stories. In the end, one realises that these two teams need one another. They would not be able to define themselves without that rivalry, which has surely pushed them to always be better, until now them being both the best. It is a perfect symbiosis of opposites that has given us some of the best football we can wish for. Any football fan should love this rivalry, and there is no better book to understand it.

Impecavel! Top!

Sid is, in my opinion, the best sportswriter in all of European football right now, so I had pretty high expectations about this book. Still, this book exceeded them all. I started watching Barça since I was 5, and incredibly, I learned more about my favorite club in the past 10 days, than I have in the past 18 years. Sid covers the history of arguably the 2 biggest clubs in Europe since their inception, through the days of Franco, all the way up to Pep vs. Jose. Yet, he does all this while keeping everything in perspective, ensuring this book doesn't read like a boring, history lesson, but rather, as a captivating adventure into everything that it means to be born a Blaugrana or a Madridista. In short, this is a masterpiece, and if you even have a remote interest in anything football, sports, or history-related, you should absolutely read it.

I am using the book in order to increase my knowledge of Barcelona - Real Madrid relationship.

Easy to read, kept me gripped throughout. Without knowing much about their history, apart from what's made available in mainstream media, this was a wonderful insight into the background & beginnings of both clubs. After listening to Sid on ESPN, podcasts & various other publications, his writing is a breeze to read. Highly recommended to anyone keen, not just on the Spanish Liga, but football overall.