"Football is not a matter of life and death, it is much more than that," said Bill Shankly.And nothing like a Classic to find the maximum exponent of the sentence.Some are derbies, others are simply battles for the national throne.They are not normal matches.As soon as the whistle blows, rankings are forgotten.From there, only feelings matter.Friends turned enemies and families untying bonds for 90 minutes.This Sunday (4:15 p.m.) takes place, perhaps, the biggest confrontation on the football planet, a Real Madrid-Barcelona, ​​and few better excuses to review the most important classics in the world.In AS we chose 15 and, trying not to show more than two per country and in no special order, remember, they are all the ones that are, but not all the ones that are are.The classic.Not even outside our borders is the name changed, only the accent and pronunciation.It is one of the sporting events of the year and the images it has given away are countless.They have met 248 times, with 100 wins for Madrid, 96 for Barça and 52 draws.An equality above states of form.First it was the Clásico de la Dársena, then the Clásico de los Clásicos and the journalist Juan José Lujambio gave it its definitive baptism: the Superclásico.The nickname speaks for itself.A rivalry that germinated to be born in the same neighborhood of Buenos Aires: La Boca.River left, but the feud still lingers.258 matches: 91 wins for Boca, 84 for River and 83 draws.The fiercest rivalry?Here there is much more than football.The Old Firm Derby is a clash between Protestants, Rangers, and Catholics, Celtic.Like a good derby, they divide Glasgow and even Scotland.But their rivalry is one of the most hostile, with religion and politics as the backdrop.431 games, with 168 wins for Rangers, 162 for Celtic and 101 draws.The Derby d'Italia is not a derby, since they are separated by 142.5 kilometers, the distance from Turin to Milan.However, the deep rivalry between the two led the journalist Gianni Brera to coin the term in 1967. The Vecchia Signora, more successful, also clearly governs the personal duel: 110 wins, to 75 for the Neroazurri and 60 draws that complete the 245 total clashes .With Der Klassiker we have something special, because it wasn't until the 1990s, when Dortmund began to poke its head into the elite, that it reached the category of big game (before Werder Bremen was Bayern's biggest rival).Since then, year after year the rivalry grows, although the inequality in direct confrontations is still evident: 65 victories for the Munich team, 32 for the Borussen and 35 draws (132 games).In Mexico it is known as El Clásico de Clásicos and we are talking about the two most successful teams in the country.At the end of the 1950s and the 1960s, the rivalry was born, which grew around the eternal duel between the provincial team, Chivas de Guadalajara, against the team from the capital, América de México City.The fight for national preponderance has led to an even duel dominated by the residents of the capital by 90 to 77, with 79 draws).Just 56 kilometers separate Manchester from Liverpool and make this duel the Derby of the North West of England.The rivalry is much more entrenched than the real derbies against Everton and City for a simple matter of history.They are the most successful teams in the United Kingdom, although the dominance of one and the other has gone through the ages.The Red Devils dominate the 207 total clashes with 82 wins, to the Reds' 70 and 58 draws.The late birth of PSG (1970) makes it a classic of modern French football.Although it began to appear in the 90s, in recent years, with Parisians becoming a world power, through petrodollars, antipathy and tensions in Le Classique have increased.Only French teams with a European title: Champions League for Olympique (1993) and Cup Winners' Cup for PSG (1996).100 matches with 46 wins for the Parisians, 33 for the Marseilles and 23 draws.Although Ajax-PSV calls the youngest of the place more, Feyenood is the historical rival of the ajacied.The only Dutch teams to have been club world champions.Yet another case of working class (Feyenoord) versus upper class (Ajax).In this case, in Amsterdam they rule the rivalry with an iron fist: 92 wins to 59 for the rotterdamer and 48 draws in De Klassieker.The Meeting of the Nations or El Clásico del Pueblo, as it is commonly known.Corinthians against Flamengo, or what is the same, São Paulo against Rio de Janeiro.The two teams with the most fans in Brazil have had a terribly even fight since they met for the first time in 1918: 61 wins for Fla, 54 for Timão and 30 draws.Another Superclásico, in this case of Uruguayan football and Montevideo.The oldest of all if we take the CURCC as the precursor to Peñarol: the first match was played in 1900 and both teams share the majority of the country's leagues.El Nacional originated as a Creole team, unlike the aforementioned CURCC of English immigrants.556 matches, with 196 wins for Peñarol/CURCC, 181 for Nacional and 179 draws.Lisbon against Porto, another fight between the two most important cities of a country.O Clássico was not such until the 80's, when the dragons began to grow without stopping.Before, Benfica and Sporting were the most successful.Now, the eagles are at the national level, while Porto is internationally.100 wins for Porto, 88 for Lisbon and 62 draws (247 games).Milan is the only city with two champions of the highest continental competition in Europe.Reason enough for the Derby della Madonnina to be one of the most rival classics.Originally, Milan fans were considered proletarian and Inter bourgeois, a distinction that has fallen into disuse over time.As in the case of Portugal, Milan dominates internationally, while Inter dominates in Serie A. 233 games: 85 wins for the Neroazurri, 79 for the Rossoneri and 69 draws.We already said that England's historic game was not this, but in recent years, with the arrival of Sheik Mansour at City, it has grown in interest.Originally, the relationship between fans was good, but the clash between citizens and Diablos Rojos has become a worldwide event.United have the history, City the recent titles.77 wins for those from the Trafford neighborhood, 58 for those from Etihad and 53 draws.Bonus track.The only confrontation between teams, but being accompanied by the nickname Superclásico de las Américas makes it break down the door.One of the most even crosses, with 42 wins for Brazil, 41 for Argentina and 25 draws.Even in terms of scoring they go practically hand in hand: 165 for the Verdeamarelha and 163 for the Albiceleste.Brazil dominates in World Cups (5 to 2) and Argentina in Copa América (15 to 9).Pure rivalry taken to the international arena.To be able to comment you must be registered and logged in.Forgot password?Subscribe to our newslettersThe Classic |Real Madrid-BarcelonaGet the Panini album from the Qatar 2022 World Cup, with up to 100 sticker envelopesWatch this week the Clásico Real 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