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El Clasico special: Real Madrid's celebrations at Cibele

Sharing titles with the fans at the fountain is a club tradition, one that truly cemented itself in the mid-1980s.

Real Madrid

Bengaluru, March 18: As all roads lead to Santiago Bernabeus for the El Clasico with Real Madrid set to take on Barcelona in the most anticipated fixture in the top flight of Spanish La Liga, it is time to look at some history.

Real Madrid takes on Barcelona in the El Clasico tie on Sunday 8pm local time (Monday, 1.30am IST).

In India, Viacom18 Media have the rights to broadcast La Liga. MTV, the flagship channel of Viacom18, will air the El Clasico. The match will also be available for streaming through Voot Select and JioTV.

Before that let us take a trip down the memory lane.

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When Cibeles Fountain was constructed in the centre of Madrid in 1782, nobody knew that a couple of centuries later it would become the meeting point for Real Madrid fans after every trophy win.

When Real Madrid secure a major title, fans gather at the fountain to see players wrap a club scarf or flag around the neck of the goddess Cibeles -- Cybele in English.

Unprecedented circumstances

Unprecedented circumstances

Due to the unprecedented circumstances forced by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic crisis, such a gathering was not possible when Real Madrid clinched their 34th La Liga title in 2019-20.

The club announced that the players would not be visiting and local authorities urged fans to stay away both the fountain and the square - la Plaza de Cibeles - which surrounds it in the event of victory.

Greek goddess

Greek goddess

But all Los Blancos' other titles since the mid-1980s have been toasted with a party in front of the Greek goddess. Before then, small groups of both Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid fans had visited the Plaza de Cibeles on occasion to celebrate major successes, in all likeliness due simply to its central location.

In fact, hard as it is to believe today, it is widely believed that the first instance of such a celebration came after Atletico Madrid won the 1961-62 European Cup Winners' Cup final against Fiorentina, before fans of both capital city clubs and of the Spanish national team gathered at the fountain for other important victories over the following years.

Distinct identity

Distinct identity

However, it was during the 1980s, and the era of dominance for Real Madrid's so-called Quinta del Buitre team, that celebrating at Cibeles cemented itself as a distinctly Real Madrid tradition.

They certainly celebrated there a lot, winning five La Liga Santander titles in a row between 1985 and 1990. Atletico Madrid's trophy drought in the 1980s and Real Madrid's trophy addiction made the goddess a Madridista for life. By the time Atletico Madrid started winning again with a pair of Copa del Rey triumphs in 1991 and 1992, their fans had decided to move their celebrations 500M down the Paseo del Prado to Neptuno, 'Neptune's Fountain.' They left Cibeles exclusively to Los Blancos.

Ramos still savours it

Ramos still savours it

When Real Madrid do celebrate there, it is the captains who have the honour of dressing Cibeles up in club colours after a big win. The last captain who could experience that, Sergio Ramos, had done this several times, having won a horde of trophies from taking on the captain's armband in 2015 until leaving the club in 2021.

"It's a true platonic love," Ramos said of his relationship with the statue of the goddess in an episode of Movistar's Informe Robinson series. "Spending a moment with Cibeles is like when you see your mother again after going two or three months without seeing her. Whenever I drive by the fountain, I sit gazing at the statue for as long as the traffic lights stay red."

(By a special arrangement)

Story first published: Friday, March 18, 2022, 12:54 [IST]
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