13 December 2008 - When The Paradigm Shifted In Spain

On 13 December 2008, Barcelona won their first Clásico in almost three years, beating Real Madrid 2-0.

It is difficult to picture at the moment, with Barça having just won their eighth match against their Madrid rivals in twelve tries across all competitions (the lone loss came in the 2011 Copa del Rey Final), but there was a time not too distant in which Real Madrid were the dominant team. Since suffering a 3-0 loss to Barcelona on 19 November 2005, the Merengues rattled off a five-match unbeaten streak that included three wins and two draws, all in the league.

The last match of that run was the worst for Barcelona as, on 5 May 2008, Real Madrid won 4-1 at the Bernabéu with goals from Raúl (12'), Arjen Robben (20'), Gonzalo Higuaín (62'), and Ruud van Nistelrooy (77') (Barcelona's lone goal was an 86th-minute consolation strike from Thierry Henry). It was the final nail in the coffin for Barça manager Frank Rijkaard, as the club announced shortly afterward that he would be replaced at the end of the season by youth team coach Pep Guardiola. Real Madrid, meanwhile, went on to claim their second consecutive La Liga title

Guardiola duly took over the following month and immediately began to reshape the team by offloading a number of players, including two-time FIFA World Player of the Year Ronaldinho. After an opening day loss to Numancia, Guardiola's Barcelona went unbeaten in their next thirteen league matches, with eleven wins and two draws. They were at the top of the table on 13 December when they hosted Real Madrid for Guardiola's first Clásico as manager. It was close until the last few minutes, when goals from Samuel Eto'o (83') and Lionel Messi (90') delivered a 2-0 victory.

Since then, Barcelona have extended their unbeaten streak against Madrid to seven league matches, with six wins and one draw. They've also gone undefeated against their rivals in the Champions League and the Supercopa de España, with a win and a draw in each of those competitions.



Photo credit to Albert Olive/EPA.

21 September 2003 - And The Gunners Kept Rolling Along

On 21 September 2003, Arsenal preserved their unbeaten streak by the narrowest of margins, drawing 0-0 after a missed Manchester United penalty.

When the Gunners arrived at Old Trafford, they were enjoying a modest seven-game unbeaten streak that stretched back to the last two matches of the previous season--a season that had ended with United beating Arsenal to the top of the final table after some heated confrontations between the two sides. In February 2003, Arsenal won a heated FA Cup contest over United in a match that saw a slew of yellow cards. Then, in April 2003, the teams played to a draw after Arsenal defender Sol Campbell received a straight red for an elbow to the face of United's Ole Gunnar Solskjær.

Campbell missed the match on 21 September, but the emotions still ran high. The day's first yellow card went to United's Roy Keane in the 21st minute, with seven more to follow. Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira was ejected in the 80th minute after receiving a second yellow for a confrontation with United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy.

In the 91st minute, the referee awarded United a penalty for Martin Keown's challenge on striker Diego Forlan. Van Nistelrooy stepped up to take the kick, despite missing his previous two attempts. True to form, he slammed the ball against the bar, drawing an emotional taunt from Keown.

The match ended as a scoreless draw and Arsenal proceeded to go undefeated for the remainder of the season.

1 July 1976 - Striking Similarities

On 1 July 1976, two future Dutch internationals were born in the Netherlands - Patrick Kluivert in Amsterdam and Ruud van Nistelrooy in the city of Oss. In addition to sharing the same birthday, they share the same position - striker - and both were included on the FIFA 100, Pelé's March 2004 list of the greatest living footballers.

Kluivert was the first to rise to international prominence, debuting with the Ajax senior side in August 1994 at the age of 18. Ajax won the UEFA Champions League that season, with Kluivert coming off the bench to score the winning goal in the 85th minute in the Final against A.C. Milan. He joined Milan for a brief period in 1997-98, then transferred to Barcelona, where he made 255 appearances in all competitions, scoring 120 goals.

Van Nistelrooy, meanwhile, started his professional career at Dutch Second Division side Den Bosch, where he played from 1993 to 1997. He played the 1997-98 season with Herenveen in the Eredivisie, then moved to PSV Eindhoven, where he scored 75 goals in 91 appearances from 1998 to 2001, winning back-to-back Eredivisie titles in the last two seasons. He also secured individual honors as the Eredivisie top scorer in 1998-99 and 1999-2000 and was twice named Dutch Player of the Year (1999, 2000). He continued to enjoy success with Manchester United (2001-06) and Real Madrid (2006-present).

Although their time on the Dutch national team overlapped, with Kluivert playing from 1994 to 2004 and van Nistelrooy from 1998 to 2008, they never played together for the Oranje in a major tournament. Van Nistlerooy did not play in the 1998 World Cup or UEFA Euro 2000, while Kluivert was on the bench for the entire UEFA Euro 2004 tournament and was left out of the 2006 World Cup squad.