Xavi and Iker bid to bury Real-Barça hatchet for sake of Spain

As the Spain national team convened in Madrid to prepare for its upcoming friendly against Chile in Switzerland and a European qualifying match against Liechtenstein that should serve to guarantee its place in the finals in Poland and Ukraine, Iker Casillas and Xaxi Hernández, the captain and vice captain respectively, were set to hold an extraordinary meeting with the rest of Real Madrid and Barcelona's internationals to bury the hatchet wielded with such venom during recent club encounters.

Relations between the two belligerent sides had sunk to such a level after the fractious clásico series last April and May that when the team toured the USA and Venezuela during the summer, both factions were barely on speaking terms. The absence of Xavi and Carles Puyol, both through injury, left the team with little guidance from wise old heads. "I don't understand it," said a member of the side at the time. "What's happening doesn't make any sense at all, but they're wrecking the group. They're crazy."

Vicente del Bosque, the coach, tried to calm the simmering tension between Real and Barça's players ahead of the Spanish Supercup, the traditional curtain-raiser to the season. Before Spain's friendly match against Italy in early August, Del Bosque warned his players of the danger of overstepping the line and ignoring certain unwritten codes of the game.

The first match, at the Bernabéu, passed largely without incident and the return leg, at Camp Nou, appeared to be heading the same way until a rash challenge from Marcelo left Barça new boy Cesc Fàbregas in a heap. Mayhem ensued, with players from both benches involved in an on-field brawl. José Mourinho, Real's Portuguese coach, prodded Barcelona assistant coach Tito Vilanova in the eye and Mesut Özil, David Villa and Marcelo were all dismissed.

"You all complain about the Portuguese, but they are destroying the team," said Spanish Football Federation president Ángel María Villar in the VIP box as Del Bosque left the stadium with a stormy countenance.

The following day, Casillas telephoned Xavi, the pair having been friends since they were 16. They agreed to talk - to argue if necessary - to put a stop to a club dispute that threatens the unity of the reigning world and European champion. With the rest of the players involved, they will try to do so during this international week. In the meantime, after Italy's 2-1 win in Bari, Holland has replaced Spain as the number-one-ranked team in the Fifa standing.