Real Madrid OR Barcelona?

Which is the better team, Real Madrid or Barcelona and why?


Being a Real Madrid fan, I would try to answer this as impartially as possible. If you look at various basis for comparison:

Success: Real Madrid have won 32 La Liga titles to Barcelona's 22 and 19 Copa del Rey crowns to Barcelona's 26. But it is in Europe's Holy Grail - UEFA Champions League where Los Blancos have made their reputation as Europe's most successful club, having won the trophy 10 times to Barca's 5. So in terms of success, the spoils go to Real.
Head-to-head: In competitive games, Real Madrid edge out Barcelona 92-89. Yet based on these figures, one can barely conclude about one team being better or worse. Also, the last time El Clasico ended 0-0 was in 2002 -
which tells how attacking these teams are when it comes to facing each other. Both of them have managed to inflict thrashings on each other numerous times. But every time these two have met, they have produced a feast of football.
Style of Play: Since the days of Johan Cruyff, Barcelona have maintained the possession-based brand of football and built their shrine upon their youth academy, La Masia. Almost every team has at least once tried to emulate their "tiki-taka" but no one has done it better than the Catalans. To add to this, most of their players are home-grown and are well acquainted with the type of football which is demanded. Also every time a player hangs his boots, a new shining talent from La Masia is ready to take his place.