Barcelona against Real Madrid is often described as cantera versus cartera. A cantera, quite literally, is a quarry; Barca’s young players are dug up, unearthed as raw diamonds, then well-drilled and polished to become the finished article – real gems. A cartera is a wallet; synonymous with spending, with Real Madrid and with the club’s policy in recent years, especially since the 'Galactico' era. But it’s all easy to forget that Madrid, too, has a cantera – and it’s a very, very good one at that.
