It’s the fairly small matter of El Clasico today… and the first without Messrs Messi or Ronaldo for over a decade.
Indeed one of the players who played that day in 2007 produced one of the most seminal moments, not just El Clasico folklore, but generally in the game’s rich history in November 2005.
Ronaldinho was at the peak of his powers in an era before the Messi-Cristiano Ronaldo duopoly took over.
He clinched the Ballon d’Or in early December – and just weeks before composed a performance for the ages which effectively wrapped the award up for him.
At the time of kick off, the great rivals were separated by a single point in the La Liga standings.
And in truth the only real difference between the two sides was the brilliant Brazilian Barca boasted in attack.
On the biggest stage of all – in the home of Barca’s arch enemy – the maverick conjured an individual display that sparked a standing ovation from Real fans in a 3-0 win for the Catalans.
After Samuel Eto’o put Barca ahead in the first half, it became the Ronaldinho show after half time as the best player on the planet grabbed the contest by the scruff of the neck.
First he collected the ball on the halfway line, left Sergio Ramos on his a***, twisted inside Ivan Helguera and buried a clinical shot past Iker Casillas.
The combination of close ball control, speed and unerring finishing was then replicated just minutes later.
Ramos was again left chasing shadows, too scared to bring down his marker, as Ronaldinho effortlessly glided past him before curling into the far corner.
What happened next was a show of humanity and appreciation rarely seen between the bitter rivals.
As Ronaldinho ran off to celebrate, Real fans around the Bernabeu were seen getting to their feet to applaud the work of genius unfolding before their eyes.
This was a Real side very much in the midst of the Galactico era, with the likes of David Beckham, Raul and Roberto Carlos all starting for Los Blancos.
But Ronaldinho reduced some of the biggest stars on the planet to mere spectators that special night.
It serves as a welcome reminder that, while Messi and Ronaldo are almost certainly from a different planet, nobody quite had the capacity to entertain quite like Ronaldinho.
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