The season hasn’t even yet begun, and El Clásico is here, with the International Champions Cup bringing us an early rendition of arguably the greatest and certainly highest-profile football rivalry in the world between La Liga giants Barcelona and Real Madrid, and it’s going to be played out in Miami, Florida.
Barcelona vs. Real Madrid 2017: Start time, TV schedule for El Clásico in Miami
El Clásico has come to Miami.
Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images
The fact that the season is still weeks away doesn’t matter for El Clásico, with both teams always ready to go at the others’ throat. It’s a must-watch match whenever Barcelona and Real Madrids square off, no matter the context and no matter the location. This is going to be a heck of a show, and it’s going to be something fans need to watch.
Fun Barcelona player to watch: Samuel Umtiti
Umtiti has been drawing some attention on the transfer market thanks to a release clause that suddenly looks reasonable compared to an exploding defender market, and there’s a lot of reason why teams like the idea of signing him. He’s young, athletic, and immensely talented, capable of shutting down almost anyone on his day. He’s still on the raw side, but he’s shown rapid improvement since joining Barcelona.
Fun Real Madrid player to watch: Marco Asensio
Asensio made waves for Real Madrid late last season, and looks set for a bigger role in the side in this upcoming campaign. He’s young and exciting, with a solid range of creative talents and the ability to bring the game right to the face of the defenders in front of him. This kind of match is the perfect kind of proving ground for a player like him — if Asensio does well Saturday, it will help prove to Zinedine Zidane that he’s ready for a whole lot more.
Compared to other friendlies, is this worth my time?
El Clásico is always an entertaining match just for the pure venom on the pitch between the two clubs, though the fact that this is pre-season and that both teams have major lingering questions hanging over them means that this match probably won’t quite be as great as it can be. 6/10.
Match date/time: Saturday, 8:05 p.m. ET
Venue: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, Florida
TV: ESPN, ESPN2 (U.S. - English), ESPN Deportes (U.S. - Spanish), TV3, Cuatro (Spain)
Online: ESPN3, WatchESPN (U.S.)
Listings from LiveSoccerTV.
See More:
