Samuel Eto’o feels Barcelona are the favourites to win the Clasico, which will be played at the Nou Camp on Wednesday.
Both Barca and Real Madrid are tied on 35 points from 16 matches in the La Liga table, but it’s a superior goal difference that puts Lionel Messi and his teammates at the top.
The match will be streamed live on Facebook from 12.30am (IST) on Thursday.
You can be in top form going into the game, yet it might not go your way because such is the pressure of a Clasico, Eto’o stressed.
“Obviously, I want Barca to win and I think they will win. But I also want to see a good game with respect for both sides. I hope it will be a great game, as it usually is,” the Barca legend, who made 144 appearances for the club, said.
“You can come into the game in top form, prepare as much as possible and it (still) may not go your way. That’s how a Clasico is,” the former Cameroon captain added.
Barca’s record against Madrid in La Liga, especially in the last decade, has been quite impressive with Messi playing a lead role in the victories against their arch-rivals.
Recalling his days in the Barca jersey, Eto’o said he was always eager and anxious to be the middle and play his heart out. But he would make sure he stayed calm ahead of what he calls “the best game of the world”.
“At Barca it was different... It was about Catalonia... Everybody used to talk about the game...
“I was always anxious just to be out there playing, but I’d be calm a week before the match. My wife always said, ‘You look very calm. What are you up to?’
“But I just wanted to play and be on the pitch for the best game in the world. And to win, obviously…” Eto’o reminisced.
His first encounter versus Madrid was during his stint with Mallorca. “Some would say, ‘Gosh! You’re lining up opposite (Zinedine) Zidane, (Luis) Figo, (David) Beckham…’ And to talk of us, nobody knew who we were. But then we’d always beat them,” Eto’o said.
Former Argentina and Real Madrid defensive midfielder Fernando Redondo too feels it would be tough for Madrid to win at Nou Camp.
“It’s well known that in my heart, I’m a Madridista and I hope Real Madrid win. But it’s tough, as Barca will be playing at home.
“But Madrid have great forwards and they’ll get into top form the more games they play,” Redondo said.
Talking about the emotions attached to a Clasico, Redondo said: “It’s a unique game, a unique fixture.
“Back in my day, you’d really begin to feel the significance of the game a whole week before, in the press, among the fans, on the streets… It’s such a different game…”
