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23 February 2009
Many stories have been told of sporting adventures in soccer stadiums around the world and the feeling of seeing hundreds of thousand of screaming fans rooting for their beloved team. With stadiums such as La Bombanera in Argentina, Maracana in Brasil, and Wimbley in England, national and club pride often act seamlessly. The raucous crowds of the Bernabeu in Madrid and prestige of watching a game in Munich at the Allianz Arena have always intrigued me, but I have never experienced it in person.
Until now.
Living in Barcelona, I can’t help but be intrigued by local culture, especially the Catalan language. It’s a mixture of Portuguese, Spanish, French and a local flavor. An interesting aspect of Catalan life is the idea of being a separate nation from Spain. Catalonia is its own little world, and the locals love it that way. But, how does the mental solitude, and independent way of thinking, affect local and national sport?
The idea of flying a nations flag next to the club one and sporting both colors shows an interesting parallel in today’s game because there are so many international players in each league. I have seen games where local teams have played in their respective leagues in countries such as Italy, Spain, and Germany, and there always seems to be the national flag flying proudly somewhere in the stands.
Camp Nou was a little different.
The Catalan flag is similar to the Spanish one except for its many stripes, as it gloats the same combination of yellow and red, but without the Spanish Coat of Arms. The interesting thing at Camp Nou was the lack of both flags. I didn’t see very many of either one flying proudly in the stands. This struck me as odd as I knew the level of passion that Catalans had for their country.
Where the massive stadium made up for it was with its Barcelona FC flags and the use of Catalan over the
PA system to announce the players. Crazed fans sang chants in Catalan and screamed words I can’t repeat at the referee in this foreign language.
The typical Spanish lifestyle was in full affect as the concessions served café con leche, bocadillos (sandwiches with ham and cheese), and botifarra (sandwiches with sausage). Older gentlemen could be seen smoking their cigars and the younger crowd puffin on a cigarillo. In an interesting twist, my friends and I tried to order a beer, but the only one that was served was without alcohol. As we entered the stadium and took our seats, I quickly realized why. A group of rowdy fans were trying to sit closer to the pitch, and were giving the guard a hard time, yelling obscenities and chanting their Catalan song. No wonder the cerveza was sin alcohol (without alcohol).
As the players entered the field, the stadium absolutely woke up from the dead. The hair on my arms stood at full attention and a true fan of the game couldn’t help but be excited. With the likes of Thierry Henry,
Samuel Eto’o, Lionel Messi, and Rafael Marquez running onto the field, I felt like a youngster again. My friend Cristy looked like a kid in a candy store, and that’s when it hit me. I was actually at Camp Nou, watching one of the most historic teams in the history of the sport.
It’s easy to get lost in a moment like that, and sharing it with new friends made it all the more exciting. Barcelona dominated the first half as Messi ran rampant on the right side using Danny Alves to cross the ball into the middle. Thierry Henry set up Samuel Eto’o several times, but his shots kept going wide. Henry missed a few great chances in front of goal himself, and wasn’t helped by the acrobatic Espanyol keeper, Kameni. The first half was also marred by a bit of Spanish theater from the Espanyol players, which seemed to drop like flies every time a Barcelona player came near. The referee was baited into the antics and sent off Barcelona midfielder Seydou Keita for a rough tackle.
The teams went into halftime with the score 0-0.
At the start of the second half, Espanyol stiker Ivan de la Pena scored a header from a perfect cross, as Barcelona keeper Victor Valdes was helpless. Four minutes later, Valdes was put under pressure and passed the ball straight to de la Pena, who quickly lobbed it over the Barça keeper to make the score 2-0. The Barça fans were shocked, as they were 2 goals down before really getting the second half started.
Yaya Toure pounced on a loose ball and pulled a goal back, but Barça could do nothing else but misfire and went down in flames to only their second defeat of the season. Barcelona fans cheered their team even though they lost in a good show of sportsmanship.
My friends and I left the game feeling revamped and excited to have seen such a great game between 2 local rivals. We couldn’t talk about anything else, and I found great joy in sharing an experience like that with others who share my passion for this great game.
Thanks for the experience guys.
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