Neymar, James and the Clasico Rivalry That Never Materialised

It should have been the beginning, but in 55 minutes, it had become the end. Only moments earlier, Andres Iniesta, surging from deep, had rocketed a shot into the top-right corner before storming toward the corner flag, arm in the air, an entire bench spilling out on to the playing surface.

Behind them, white shirts were scattered, two of them on the ground. White handkerchiefs were waved in the stands in the Spanish game’s universal display of disgust. Rafa Benitez sat there taking notes.

Among the expletives put down with enough vigour to tear the paper, one of them might have read, “don’t listen to them again.” Another might have been, “don’t get used to this seat.” Perhaps one more might have been: “James: presi, I tried.”

Instantly, Isco was stood on the touchline, and the substitutes board went in the air. In green was 22 and in red was 10. Quickly amid the rising tension, the Santiago Bernabeu almost on the verge of revolt, James Rodriguez left the pitch and disappeared—in every sense. 

Tucked in the back of the Real Madrid dugout, the Colombian wasn’t seen again that evening. And he hasn’t really been seen again since—not authentically, not as him, not as the James he can be. Fifty-five dreadful minutes from Real Madrid had produced a casualty: James was it, and so was a rivalry within the rivalry. 

What. A. Clasico. (For #FCB) pic.twitter.com/VodVe66EUk

— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) November 21, 2015

That Clasico at the Bernabeu last November had looked set to be the take-off point for the next subplot in the ever-evolving story of Real Madrid vs. Barcelona. The ingredients were there, and the landscape was changing; it wasn’t the point at which they’d take over but at which the potential of it would materialise and provide of glimpse of the next. Neymar vs. James was coming, except it wasn’t. 

More than 12 months on, and with another Clasico looming, Neymar vs. James isn’t anything. One is a global icon and recent Ballon d’Or candidate; the other is simply fighting for a game. Where did it go astray? Why so? Or was it nothing to begin with?

One of the things about rivalries is that we often go looking for them. Columnists and media love a rivalry within a rivalry because it’s the classic “battle within the war.” They add layers to the story and nuances to explore. Fans love them, too, for they can intensify one’s perception of what’s at play. Through experience of them, we …

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