With only a week to go before the Spanish League kicks off and Barcelona resume their tussle with Real Madrid, it is los Merengues who are still making the headlines with their latest star signing: the German World Cup star Mesut Oezil. The attacking midfielder, who was reportedly wanted by Chelsea, Manchester United and Barcelona themselves, is a massive coup for Jose Mourinho, who convinced the German that the move to Madrid was the right thing to do. Added to the acquisition of Chelsea's Ricardo Carvalho, Argentine winger Angel Di Maria and Oezil's Germany team-mate Sami Khedira, it is clear that Real have been very busy this summer, even if the fees aren't quite as stratospheric as those required a year ago to bring Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo to the Bernabeu. This contrasts starkly with rivals Barcelona. The Blaugrana have made only two moves this summer, bringing in Sevilla defender Adriano as a replacement for Ukrainian flop Dmytro Chygrynskiy and more notably Spain hero and goalscorer extraordinaire David Villa.
But it is the make up of the overall squads that show the real difference between the two clubs, who last season dominated La Liga so effectively that 3rd placed Valencia were 25 points behind Real in second place. The catalan club are full of homegrown players, brought through at the club's fabled La Masia complex whereas almost every player at los Blancos has been bought from elsewhere. Even homegrown legends Raul and Guti have been offloaded this summer to make way for more transfers. Only three of Real's current squad came through their own youth system, and of those, Esteban Granero and Alvaro Arbeloa both left for periods before being re-signed. Only captain Iker Casillas has been with the club for his whole career. Whereas Barca aren't shy of making big money transfers such as Villa and last year's Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the core of their team have been developed at home. Carles Puyol, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Victor Valdes, Pedro Rodriguez, Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets were all local boys who came through the youth system and even Leo Messi has been with the club from the age of 12.
The philosophy continues at managerial level, Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola was a product of the club's youth system. He spent the majority of his playing career with them, winning the European Cup under Johan Cruyff and eventually returned to manage the B team. After only a year, he stepped up to manage the first team, fearlessly offloading Ronaldinho and Deco, and remarkably won the treble in his first season in charge. As if that wasn't enough, Barca went on to claim the Spanish Super Cup, European Super Cup and World Club Cup, becoming the first team in history to win all six available trophies in one year. When Barcelona are doing so well, Real are invariably unhappy and even when Barca lost their grip on the Champions League last season they still outshone Real, beating them to the title despite Real achieving their record tally for most points in a season. The reason Mourinho has been hauled into the Bernabeu is that he is seen as the one man who can stop the Catalans: his Inter team were the ones to knock them out of the Champions League at the semi-final stage back in April. Mourinho is effectively the first superstar managerial signing at Real, and perhaps the only man who can control a squad full of Prima Donnas.
Having recently visited both cities, the difference in football culture is very clear. In Barcelona, it feels as if the city revolves around the club, you can't walk 100 metres without spotting someone in a Barca shirt, and no matter where you look there is almost no sign of Real's existence. Camp Nou is an incredible venue and really feels like it belongs to the people. Barca's local rivals Espanyol are practically invisible. In Madrid, you'd do well to spot more than the odd fan wearing the famed white shirt in the city centre, and in shops Barcelona shirts sit comfortably alongside Real's and local rivals Atletico's. With most shops aimed at the tourists, the footballing passions and rivalries seem to play second fiddle to the lust for money. Much how Real themselves work. When Real Madrid lust after a player, they invariably get him. With his recent work Florentino Perez has emulated Santiago Bernabeu, the man who pipped Barcelona to the signing of Alfredo Di Stefano back in Real's original glory days of the 1950s. While undoubtedly glorious and visually impressive, there is a somewhat artificial and commercial feel to the stadium which is named after Bernabeu. It is clear all the club cares about is success at all costs - and that means winning the European Cup.
This season, it appears to be the Mourinho factor which has balanced out the two behemoth's chances of silverware. With his achievements in the last seven years the Portuguese tactician is almost certainly the best manager in the world. Yet in Barcelona, who once employed him as a translator, he has a nemesis like no other. If Villa settles alongside Messi and either Ibrahimovic or Pedro in Barca's established 4-3-3 formation then they could wreak havoc like no other team in the world. But with Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain in imperious form last season, the additions of Carvalho and Khedira which will shore up the defensive side of the team could see Real run them every step of the way. Expected to play the 4-2-3-1 formation with which Inter won the Champions League it will be interesting to see how star player Ronaldo fits in to the front four, and if Kaka can resume fitness and become an integral part of the team. With Karim Benzema challenging Higuain for the role of centre forward and Oezil, Di Maria, Pedro Leon and Rafael Van der Vaart all pushing for attacking positions, Mourinho certainly has a challenge on his hands. The two defeats at the hands of Barca effectively sealed Real's fate last year. Unless Mourinho can rally his team to overcome Guardiola's all-conquering Barcelona then even the Special One may struggle to keep his boss Perez happy. While the Spanish league has effectively turned into a Scotlandesque duopoly, the drama between these two is like no other rivalry in the world. Let the battle commence.
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