Barcelona; "More than a Club"
Submitted by admin on Wed, 2007-10-24 14:46.
Many say that Barcelona makes Manchester United look like Scunthorpe, and while that may be a preposterous exaggeration, "Barca" (pronounced "Bartha") are certainly a huge club in world soccer. Like many continental European football teams, Barcelona began their life as a general sports club, with departments for gymnastics, tennis, squash, etc. Their main stadium is the famous Camp Nou, the biggest stadium in Europe, holding over 100,000 people. Barca's fans are irreverently known as culers or culés, which means "arse" or bottom, due to the days when they would pack the benches of their old open stadium, and to a passer-by in the street, a mass of bottoms could be seen. In June 2007, the number of socis (club members who also sometimes owners) reached 156,366. Barca has a huge number of official supporters' clubs, or penyes, believed to be around 1782 worldwide.
The history of the region is fiery and political, with the story of a fractured Spain and a proud Catalonia featuring heavily. One of the chief talking points, in this world of rampant commercialism, is the fact that Barca don't actually have a sponsor's name on their shirts, and many say this may change one day soon. Barcelona's traditional rival, Real Madrid, have fought out many seasons' worth of honours, and the needle between the two regions and football clubs continues to bristle. The big game between the two is referred to as El Clásico, and is watched by every sports fan in Spain. If you ever go to Spain when this game is being played, it is a must-see; the sophisticated city of Barcelona is the place to be, where the natives cram into the cafes and bars, and the windows of the apartments above the streets are flung open. The Catalan songs and the colour with which these people like to celebrate life become one with the soccer, and a true footballing spectacle is in the offing.
The history of the region is fiery and political, with the story of a fractured Spain and a proud Catalonia featuring heavily. One of the chief talking points, in this world of rampant commercialism, is the fact that Barca don't actually have a sponsor's name on their shirts, and many say this may change one day soon. Barcelona's traditional rival, Real Madrid, have fought out many seasons' worth of honours, and the needle between the two regions and football clubs continues to bristle. The big game between the two is referred to as El Clásico, and is watched by every sports fan in Spain. If you ever go to Spain when this game is being played, it is a must-see; the sophisticated city of Barcelona is the place to be, where the natives cram into the cafes and bars, and the windows of the apartments above the streets are flung open. The Catalan songs and the colour with which these people like to celebrate life become one with the soccer, and a true footballing spectacle is in the offing.
Barcelona were strongly fancied to win the 2006-07 season, but they finished in second place. Leading scorer Eto'o and the meteoric Argentinean star Messi were both injured, and many blamed the hectic off-season schedule. Eto'o became publicly involved in a criticism storm with coach Frank Rijkaard and Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho, but by most other team's standards, runners-up was a pretty good record for that year.
Politics forever rear their head in this Catalonian hotbed. In September 2007, the club demanded they be awarded the La Liga title of the 1936/37 season, which they say they were denied due to Franco's mutiny, which caused the outbreak of the Civil War and a suspension of the sporting calendar. In the resultant action vacuum, the various regions of Spain embarked in independent tournaments. Barça played in the Mediterranean League and won it after 14 games with 20 points. The RFEF recently recognised Levante's triumph in the cup Copa de la España Libre as a valid Copa del Rey trophy, and it was this that spurred Barcelona to also make a bid for an old honour.