David (L with Barcelona) and Dorian (R with Real Madrid); photo: fcbarcelonanoticias.com
Spanish newspaper Marca published an article describing the friendly rivalry of the Babunski brothers who play for the youth teams of Spanish rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Macedonian international
Boban Babunski spent several years during his playing career in Spain. After he retired, he decided to make Spain his permanent home. His two sons, David and Dorian, showed interest in football at a young age and drew interest from various Spanish clubs. David is considered the more talented player and has spent the past couple of years playing for the Barcelona youth system. Meanwhile, Dorian, just last year, left Cornellá to join the youth system of Real Madrid. The newspaper mentioned that this is the first time brothers have played for the heated rivals, whose games are referred to as the El Clásico.
Speaking to Marca, their agent, Esteve Calzada, stated the following, "They are two good players. David associates well with his teammates, has good technique, vision, and a great final ball. Dorian, on the other hand, has different characteristics. He is a centre forward, stronger, with a good shot."
Meanwhile, Boban Babunski said the following about his sons and their teams, "They are at two of the best clubs in the world in terms of developing talent. However, the two teams have different philosophies. Barcelona teaches kids to keep hold of possession and play within the rules while at Real Madrid, they give more freedom to the player and they are allowed to improvise more."
Boban Babunski further added, "The rivalry has become an enormous affection. David and Dorian always talk to each other, discuss games, and wish one another luck. I miss that. Dorian has always said that his best coach is his brother."
Boban Babunski is currently the manager of the Macedonian U21 national team and is also the top assistant to John Toshack on the senior national team. Toshack also lives in Spain so Babunski and him regularly communicate in both Spanish and English during training.
Both
David and Dorian Babunski have recently played for the Macedonian U17 national team but both players have dual nationalities so they are also eligible to represent Spain. Therefore, the Football Federation of Macedonia (FFM) must remain persistent and convince the Babunski brothers to represent Macedonia internationally. Boban Babunski is currently employed by FFM so that should help in convincing his two sons to play for Macedonia moving forward.
Who knows, maybe one day in the future, we will see David Babunski and Barcelona face Dorian Babunski and Real Madrid during the El Clásico, the biggest rivalry in club football.
