Recalling Ivan Zamorano’s one-man demolition of Barcelona in El Clasico

In the modern era of El Clasico, the likes of Romario, Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho immediately spring to mind when discussing the greatest South Americans to ever grace this fieriest of La Liga fixtures.

Yet arguably the single best performance from a South American came not from a player in the Blaugrana of Barcelona, but the Blanco of Real Madrid.

From the moment Ivan Zamorano arrived at the Bernabeu from Sevilla for €5million in the summer of 1992, the significance of the rivalry with Barcelona was made abundantly clear.

“The first thing I learnt at the club is the importance of winning the games against Barca,” he later recalled. “I was taught how it’s more than a game of football; it touches on social and political aspects, centralism against independence. These were games where no additional motivation was needed.”

Zamorano already had some pedigree when it came to scoring against Barcelona. A return of 23 goals in 63 outings for Sevilla had included a memorable brace in a 4-2 victory over the Catalan club in September 1991.

Johan Cruyff’s dream team would eventually claim the title that year as well as a first-ever European Cup, but Zamorano caught the eye of the Real Madrid hierarchy, finishing the season with 13 goals despite Sevilla spending much of it flirting with relegation.

The Chilean, who earned the nickname ‘Bam Bam’, soon made good on that promise too, scoring in a 2-1 win over Barca in La Liga during his debut campaign in Madrid and playing an instrumental role in Madrid’s Copa del Rey semi-final victory over the Catalans.

Zamorano scored decisive goals in both the home and away legs, as Los Blancos edged out Barcelona on their way to defeating Real Zaragoza 2-0 in the final. By then he had also scored