Fear and Loathing in La Liga

It's Messi vs Ronaldo, it's Catalonia vs Castilla. It's the nation against the state, freedom fighters vs Franco's fascists. It's majestic goals and mesmerising skills, red cards and bench brawls. It's the best two teams on the planet going face to face and toe to toe. It's more than a game. It's a war. It's Barcelona vs Real Madrid...

SID LOWE is the Spanish football correspondent for the Guardian and World Soccer. He is a regular contributor to the popular Guardian Football Weekly podcast and writes for FourFourTwo. He works as a commentator and panellist for Spanish, Asian and US television and appears regularly on Spanish radio show Al Primer Toque. His previous book, Catholicism, War and the Foundation of Francoism, is about the causes of the Spanish civil war, the rise of fascism, and the creation of the Franco state. He lives in Spain.