Not many footballers get a warm welcome when playing at home to rivals. The story of Diego Maradona, Ronaldinho and Andres Iniesta is a rare moment. All three are Barcelona players who get a ‘standing ovation’ when playing at the Real Madrid headquarters, Santiago Bernabeu.
As is known, Barcelona and Real Madrid are two teams that are and will continue to compete for the title of the best Spanish club. Playing in a rival camp, in fact did not make Maradona, Ronaldinho, and Iniesta hated.
Then, when did Maradona, Ronaldinho and Iniesta receive the Bernabeu public ‘stadium’ ovation?
1. Diego Maradona (1983)
Diego Armando Maradona was the first Barcelona player to receive the Santiago Bernabeu’s public standing ovation. That happened on June 26, 1983 after Maradona scored a beautiful goal against Real Madrid. Before struck the ball, the man who drove Argentina 1986 World Cup champion passed two Madrid players (including the goalkeeper).
Hence, the Bernabeu public applauded while standing up to welcome a goal from a rival player.
2. Ronaldinho (2005)
The Bernabeu public standing ovation was also accepted by Ronaldinho. At that time, the Brazilian attacking midfielder scored two goals through individual action when Barcelona faced Real Madrid on November 19, 2005. After Ronaldinho’s second goal, Real Madrid fans did not hesitate to stand up and give a standing ovation to the maestro.
Rather incredibly, Ronaldinho admitted later on that he didn’t even realise he was being applauded by the Real Madrid supporters.”Because of the joy of scoring and the celebration, I didn’t notice the standing ovation. It’s special. Only a few players have had this joy of being acclaimed by the fans of your arch rivals in a derby.”
3. Andres Iniesta (2015)
Andres Iniesta carved out a similar story. He received a standing ovation from supporters of Real Madrid in the El Clasico party at the Santiago Bernabeu, November 21, 2015. Iniesta is one of the key figures behind the match won by Barcelona with a score of 4-0. The Spanish midfielder contributed one assist for Neymar’s goal in the 39th minute and scored Barcelona’s third goal in the 53rd minute. Not surprisingly, Madrid supporters applauded while Iniesta was replaced by Munir El Haddadi in the 77th minute.
