On Saturday (October 28th, 2023) there will be a duel between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid for the 201st time. It will be the Clasico debut of Ilkay Gündogan and Jude Bellingham, who stand out as newcomers.
Jew Bellingham admits that he is of himself “somewhat surprised” is. The 20-year-old moved from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid in the summer for a transfer fee of over 100 million euros in order to sooner or later take over the veterans’ midfield legacy Luka Modric and Toni Kroos. Instead, Bellingham has become the solution to another problem, making the departure of striker Karim Benzema forgotten. New striker Bellingham scored eleven goals in his first twelve games for the Royals.
After just a few weeks, the Englishman announced his leap in performance, so to speak. “I think I’m ten times better than last season. I’m like a sponge that absorbs everything possible from my teammates“, said Bellingham, who now has the opportunity to absorb something completely new. The biggest task of a Real player lies ahead: El Clasico. On Saturday (from 4:15 p.m.) the Madrilenians will play against arch-rivals FC Barcelona.
Bellingham fit for the top duel
For a moment it seemed questionable whether Bellingham would even be able to come to its premiere. He was injured in the 2-1 win in the Champions League at Sporting Braga – but a short time later he was able to give the all-clear himself. “I’m ready, I feel good“, Bellingham told the TV station “RTVE” in an interview and looked ahead to his first Clasico. “I’m really looking forward to it. The atmosphere and meeting an opponent that we respect as a club. It will be great fun.”
In his opinion, the fact that his start at Real was characterized by fun and success had everything to do with Carlo Ancelotti. “We have incredible individual quality, but all the players are given permission by the coach to be very free“, said Bellingham. And the ex-Dortmunder has so far made perfect use of his freedom.
The DFB captain also directs the Barca game
At the Clasico opponent Barca But there is also a new midfielder who is given a lot of freedom and uses it for the benefit of his club: Ilkay Gündogan. Like Bellingham, he has been with his new club since the summer and is immediately an absolute asset. The only difference is that the DFB captain, who was recently honored by his former club Manchester City, fulfills exactly the role for which he was brought in.
Since Frenkie de Jong’s ankle injury, Gündogan has been the undisputed boss of the Barca midfield and, as an experienced player, the support of the young stars Gavi, 19, and Fermin Lopez, 20. The 33-year-old was in the starting line-up and played in twelve of 13 competitive games almost always through and has already prepared four goals. Gündogan is a huge factor in Barca’s strong start to the season with three wins in the Champions League and seven successes and three draws in the league. Gündogan has never experienced a defeat with the Catalans.
That shouldn’t change in his first Clasico. “They are at a higher level, play better in the Champions League and are much more consistent in La Liga in terms of games and results“, for example, ex-Barca player Cesc Fabregas, who favors the reigning champions in the rival duel, said on “DAZN”. He also raved about Gündogan. Like everyone in and around the club.
Xavi raves about Gündogan
“Ilkay got off to a great start, we are very happy with him. Because he has fit in so well with the team and also plays a very good role off the pitch“said his coach Xavi, who once occupied a similar role in Barca’s midfield. “He gives us calm and pace, is very mobile and understands very well how we want to play. He is a player without a price, having him on the pitch is a guarantee. Ilkay is fundamental to the way we understand the game.”
The question now is who understands better how a Clasico works. After a short time, Gündogan and Bellingham became the new decision-makers for their teams – and it is up to them who will win the 201st duel between Barca and Real.
The highlights of the Clasico between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid will be shown a few minutes after the final whistle on the ARD Sportschau on Saturday, which will also be streamed live on sportschau.de. The summary starts at 6:18 p.m.