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Ideologies clash as Barcelona and Real Madrid prepare for La Liga duel
Barcelona will again look to rely on graduates of their academy to repel the threat of Real Madrid in the coming La Liga season

A tiny stone farmhouse conquered the world, according to Joan Laporta. "Barça," he insisted after Spain's success in South Africa, "won the World Cup. It's just that they were wearing the wrong shirts". The outgoing president of FC Barcelona, a vociferous Catalan nationalist, provocateur and campaigner, now embarked upon a bid for the presidency of the Catalan Generalitat, Laporta would say that. But here's the thing: he may just have a bit of a point.

Spain's coach, Vicente del Bosque, is from Salamanca and played for Real Madrid, while the captain, Iker Casillas, was born in the Spanish capital and still does. So does Sergio Ramos, who is from Seville, and Xabi Alonso, from the Basque country. Joan Capdevila is Catalan but plays for Villarreal. Counting the Asturias-born David Villa as a Barcelona player before he had been unveiled at the Camp Nou is pushing it. But still, six of the starting XI that defeated Holland were Barcelona players.