Football is not really my sport. However, having lived in the UK, France and now in Spain, I cannot really avoid it, even if I wanted to. Football it seems, is far more than a game with 22 players, a round ball, 2 goal posts and lines and semicircles marked on a pitch. Rather it gives people a great sense of belonging, of pride, of joy or of sorrow. Nowhere is this more true than in Catalunya where the “only” team is affectionately known as BARÇA:
I expect many of you watched the Barcelona – Arsenal match last week. My little town of Palafrugell was like a ghost town that evening, with practically all of the citizens lodged in bars (no longer smoky!) or with friends at home glued to the TV screens. Every pass, every step, every near miss, every off-side, every yellow card – and indeed the red card – was scrutinised and marked with a clap or a groan. I did not watch the game, I did not need to, as I could hear the cheers and grunts of my many neighbours and so I knew precisely how well, or not, Barça was doing.
It must be said that Barcelona Football Club is unique to the sport. Two-thirds of their players are “home grown”, chosen at a very young age to join the academy and nurtured by the club until they reach the supreme standard required to join the Premier team. When Spain won the World Cup, 7 of the team players came from Barça and the winning goal was indeed scored by Iniesta, so the Catalans joked that Catalunya had won, rather than Spain. The celebrations in the streets that night were memorable, very noisy and extremely good-natured.
Even some Spaniards, i.e. non-Catalans, are prepared to admit that Barça is currently possibly the finest football team ever in the history of the La Liga and that Lionel Messi (along with Christiano Romnaldo) is the best football player. This is praise indeed as there is an historic, cultural, political and fervent rivalry between 2 football clubs in particular, Barça and Real Madrid (Royal Madrid), Ronaldo's team, the former founded in 1899, Real Madrid in 1902.
Barça is also unique in other ways. Its supporters are effectively shareholders and the club is donating 1.5 million Euros to Unicef and proudly wear its logo on their shirts. Tourists and football supporters can visit the Club ground, Camp Nou in Barcelona easily, as one of the main tourist buses takes you to the stadium where you can disembark, enjoy the newly refurbished museum to learn more about the history of this ambassador for Catalunya and wander through the official Club Shop.
Arsenal supporters were no doubt disappointed by last week's result in Barça's favour, but as my neighbour told me, they did not have a shot at goal during the entire match. He did think, though, that the red card for Robin Van Persie was “estúpido”. On 17th April, Barça will play Real Madrid, so once again I will learn about who is winning and who is loosing by the vocal exclamations of my neighbours while I attempt to listen to music or watch a TV programme that isn't showing the match!
Sally
The Overseas Guides Company
http://www.spainbuyingguide.com/
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