El Clasico fever grips Miami

The La Liga 2017 season is still weeks away, but El Clasico fever took over Miami as Saturday night´s tickets of the match sold-out already.

For the first time in over 35 years, Barcelona and Real Madrid will meet on foreign soil at Hard Rock Stadium on coming Saturday. It´s also the first encounter between the two sides in the United States.

Back in 1982, the match staged post-season in Venezuela, coming just before that year´s World Cup, was so nondescript it wasn´t even shown on television in Europe.

TV network ESPN have transplanted a crew of 25 reporters and presenters to South Florida to help produce wall-to-wall coverage.

Their daily Sports Center news show will be on-site in Miami and, at a time of the year where the NFL, NBA and NHL are in hibernation, the timing couldn´t have been better.

The game has long since sold out -- tickets on the black market are now costing upwards of $900 (770 euros) each -- although only 30% were bought by fans in the South Florida region, with the remainder being snapped up by the rest of the United States as well as people in 50 countries.

Football supporters from Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica and Honduras will all descend on the recently renovated home of the NFL´s Miami Dolphins while the city itself is basking in the glow of a fun filled festival of soccer.

A legends game at the ´Casa Clasico´ event at Bayfront Park in downtown Miami on Friday sees legends such as Patrick Kluivert, Fernando Hierro and Carlos Puyol among others all dust down their boots once again and recreate the magic moments of yesteryear.

Live music and DJs will keep fans entertained and on Saturday watch parties on huge TV screens are planned for those unlucky enough to miss out on a ticket as well as allowing the casual fan to get a unique taste of what this match actually means.

Travel companies have also been offering special ´El Clasico packages´ with prices, including stadium tickets and hotel stays in luxurious South Beach properties, starting from $750 per night.

Naturally, both sides are in the middle of pre-season preparations and have been travelling across the United States for the past two weeks along with the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City, Juventus and Tottenham Hotspur.

Yet such a mouthwatering rivalry ensures that whenever Real and Barca meet, interest abounds. The build up has, invariably, been centered around incredibly priced incomings -- and possible departures -- both at the Camp Nou and the Bernabeu.