El Clásico’s most important under-the-radar stars

El Clásico is always a fun game full of stars for us to coo over. Lionel Messi. Cristiano Ronaldo. Neymar. Gareth Bale. But these are deep teams, filled with outstanding players.

If you’re willing to look past those headline names, there are other footballers, lesser lights if you will, who are deserving of just as much praise even if they lack the sheer force of stardom that the Messis and Ronaldos bring. These are the players who help make their teams go, who do the little things that allow the superstars to shine so brightly.

Rakitic is a smooth operator in the middle of Barcelona’s squad, serving as a playmaker and vital, driving link between defense and attack. It’s a role traditionally held by Xavi for what feels like the last 50 years, but as age has caught up to the venerable Spaniard, the need for a fresh set of legs like those of Rakitic arose. Rakitic is far more mobile than Xavi ever was, and that allows him to offer a greater degree of dynamism to the role than Xavi has been able to in recent years as he’s slowed.

It’s safe to say that with six goals and six assists in all competitions, Rakitic has been part of the beating heart that makes Barcelona tick. Even if he doesn’t always get the attention that he deserves, Rakitic has certainly earned significant admiration.

Carvajal, who has been a revelation since he re-joined the Castilian side last season, has brought much-needed stability to the right side of Real Madrid’s defense. Carvajal is quick and driven when pushing forward, and he cycles the ball into Madrid’s attack well with crosses and passes, which provides much-needed width with how narrow their front line can get with Ronaldo and Bale cutting in most of the time.

More importantly, though, Carvajal is one of the best one-on-one defenders on the ball in Spain. Madrid’s attacking aggressiveness can leave them stretched out and exposed at times, so having someone with Carvajal’s recovery speed and defensive skill is vital in keeping them from being punished on the counter attack.

Without Carvajal, Madrid’s defense wouldn’t be nearly as good or as deep as it is now. Obviously Madrid can afford to spend big on pretty much whoever they please, but right backs of his quality are hard to come by and very, very expensive. After the season he had away at Bayer Leverkusen, he would normally have cost four or five times as much as the €7 million Madrid were able to purchase him for, thanks to the buyback clause that was a condition of his sale to Bayer in the first place.

These are two players who, despite being vastly overshadowed by those around them, make Barcelona and Real Madrid much better with what they add to their respective sides. They’re stars in quality if not in acknowledgement, but at least for this moment, they’ll get what they’re due.