A very Catalan problem

Christmas in Catalonia is a very traditional affair: a shitting wooden log that’s hit with a stick and taunted with a song threatening a further beating if he doesn’t shit out gifts for everyone (caga tió); a small defecating figure hidden amongst the nativity scene (el caganer); and the yearly outing of the Catalan national team (la Selecció).

Nationalism and sport have gone hand in hand since the dawning of time – the ancient Olympic games – and have continued up until the present day. Who doesn’t know about the boycotting of the Moscow games by the US and the counter boycott of the Los Angeles games by the USSR? Sport has been used to nurture nationalism by every nation everywhere: Mussolini’s use of Italy’s World Cup success to champion his political ideology; Hitler’s Games in 1936 held in Munich to legitimatise the Third Reich; and Askhan Dejaga, a German-Iranian footballer, who in 2007 refused to play for Germany U-21’s because their opponents were Israel.

Nationalism though is not just used as an anathema but also to foster positive feelings within a nation: the pride felt in South Africa about their successful holding of this year’s World Cup; Greek pride at boring their way to the European Championship title in 2004; and Spain’s own national team succeeding in uniting a country through winning South Africa’s World Cup.

At the end of that final in South Africa, I was already in bed, disappointed at the Dutch inability to hold on and win on penalties, listening to the radio. Horror struck when I heard the words ‘as Xavi and Puyol go around the pitch holding the flag’. I died on the inside. The Spanish flag is something many regions reject in preference of their own regional flag and the carrying of the Spanish flag is still largely seen as a right-wing activity. The radio was in English and maybe the presenter was unaware that the flag the Catalan players were carrying was their own Catalan flag and not the Spanish flag. I saw the photo myself a few weeks later and was relieved that I had died for nothing.

Both Xavi and Puyol partake in that funny festive tradition of playing for Catalunya, as do most Catalan players, but it falls very far short of being used successively to foster any notions of nationalism. Catalan football is run (poorly) like any other football association. La Federació Catalana de Futbol (FCF), the day after la selecció convincingly beat Honduras 4-0, fifteen directors resigned leaving FCF head Jordi Casals to announce elections complaining that he has been the victim of an attempted coup d’état, pointing the finger at resigning vice-president Andreu Subies and chief-infidel Josep Llaó.

Recent Catalan footballing opponents have been Brazil and Argentina. Brazil promised, after playing Catalunya in 2002, that if they won the World Cup later that year they would come back for another game. Sure enough they were victorious in Korea and Japan and two years later another game was had. Catalunya lost both games, 1-3 and 2-5 respectively, but there was something in the air. Argentina came to town just six months after the second Brazil match and the games were deemed total successes that seemed to capture the imaginations of everyone involved; most importantly Catalans themselves. Although playing Argentina twice since then, other games against the Basque Country, China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia, Paraguay, Chile, Lithuania and Honduras (since 2000) have failed to have quite the same draw.

Catalunya has played Spain four times (in 1924, ’34, ’47 and 1953) and winning just the once in 1947. However Spain isn’t the problem. Politically it might be, but socially something else is going on. The problem is actually F.C. Barcelona and RCD Espanyol, the two teams that supply ninety per cent of the talent pool. Both teams have their various versions of nationalism and what it means to be Spanish, Catalan or both. The point is that for so long both teams have taken on the mantle of representing their own ideologies that la selecció, although fielding players from both teams; usually more Espanyol players than Barça employees, is seen as an add-on piece of entertainment. It isn’t taken seriously.

Catalanisme is expressed in other ways in Catalonia, not just through the mediums of scatological themed Christmas gimmicks, but through traditions and a history that dates back more than a thousand years. It’s more bound up in language than sport; more about democracy and democratic institutions than wearing a national shirt. Catalan politician and ex-vice president of Catalonia Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira (voted worst Spaniard by El Mundo newspaper last year precisely because he says he’s not one), appeared on the show Tengo una pregunta para usted (I have a question for you) and was asked ‘I would like to know because I’ve been a Barça fan for a long, long time, that it’s really important to know that if we get independence, there’s doors that they’ll close on us and Ronaldinho, well he won’t be as interesting playing against Girona, with all respect to Girona, and I need to know, it makes me restless, like the man earlier, what would your solution be?...Who would we play against?’. By they she meant Spain and them taking revenge on Barça and Catalan teams by not letting them play down the park at the weekend, and yes, in a debate mostly about independence this was the second time the question was asked about whether or not Barça could continue playing in la Liga.

The current head coach for the part-time team is no other than non-Catalan speaking Johan Cruyff, whose son Jordi played nine times for Catalunya. He took over last year and in his own arm-around-the-shoulder manner told Catalans, before the game against Argentina, that it would be lamentable and shameful if the stadium didn’t sell out. It didn’t, but not a word was said after a game that Catalunya won 4-2. As mentioned earlier this year’s opponents were Honduras and after the four-nil win Cruyff said ‘we should be really proud of the youngsters because they behaved and played like veterans and have given more than everything’. He didn’t mention the half-filled Montjuïc Olympic Stadium and the masses that had stayed away from the game. There was just over 28,000 in the stadium although he did say ‘we hope people come and it’s obvious that we’re getting better at attracting people to the games, that we’re winning the confidence of a nation that wants to be proud of its country and enjoy its football.’, he did fail to add which nation that was.

There was more fall out afterwards as Espanyol coach Mauricio Pochettino publically declared that Cruyff had not stuck to the agreement that his players would only play forty-five minutes. Whether that was to do with the injuries to Piqué and Puyol just before the game we don’t know, but whatever the reason and whatever the status to Catalonia as a country, nationalism hasn’t yet been transferred into national support.

Article by

Raül Pope Fargüell for Forza Futbol 

Barça players of the decade

1) Ronaldinho
The first choice is easy and maybe it will be slightly surprising to some, but Ronaldinho set the tone and was the undoubted figure head of the team that won the Champions League under Frank Rijkaard. He started things that we see the fruits of today, a new culture of sexy football taken to the next level that culminated in a standing ovation at the Bernabéu. His goofy look and ‘do you want a drink?’ style hand gesture became legendary. I lived in Cyprus in 2005-6 when he single handily converted the world into Barcelona followers.

2) Xavi
Just played his 500th game in a Barça shirt in an age where loyalty is rare. Perhaps no-one else has honed their game more this decade and perhaps no other player on the planet has had such an impact implementing their style. Xavi ‘the brain’ is the lynchpin of this Barcelona side and has stamped his authority in a similar vein on the Spanish national team. Some would call Messi the jewel of La Masia, but Xavi is the epitome of what La Masia produces: intelligent, ball-passing and match winning midfielders. Xavi makes everyone else look better because he does the simple things well, but more because he makes the most finely threaded through ball look easy.

3) Messi
Best player in the world and, despite never doing it at the Britannia Stadium, has won everything in the game apart from the World Cup. He’s only 23 and does things never seen before on the pitch. Off the pitch he’s humble and quiet and never makes the headlines for the wrong reasons. For me, his most memorable moment wasn’t his goal against Getafe where he beat the whole team a la Maradona, nor his hat-trick against the arch enemy Real Madrid, but his goal in the Champions League final against Manchester United that made it 2-0. Big players perform in big games and despite the first eight minutes of that game being insufferable and the tensest minutes of my life, Messi, if there were any doubters, didn’t go missing and exploited the gap in Manchester United’s defence and get on the end of Xavi’s cross and seal the game. Many forget he’s more than a one-trick pony, instead he’s often unselfish and puts the team before his own success. He made the key pass with a cool head when others may have panicked that saw Iniesta get the winner in the Champions League semi-final victory against Chelsea in the ninety-third minute.

4) Eto’o
Crazy. Badly-behaved. Loved. A total enigma. Fans adore him and managers put up with him. Eto’o made his name at Barcelona and gave everything for the club. Two goals in two Champions League finals that literally salvaged the club’s chances of success: his first was the equaliser against a ten-man Arsenal, put through on the left and blasting the ball in at the near post after relentless second-half pressure and then against Manchester United, a goal against the run of play, after those eight minutes from Hell. Vidic slipped and this time from the right Eto’o took advantage and made no mistake in beating Van Der Saar. Guardiola’s boys never looked back and bossed the game from then on.

5) Iniesta
The goal against Chelsea to take Barcelona to the Champions League final has already been mentioned and the winning goal for Spain in the World Cup final against Holland will go down in history. Iniesta’s a darling of the Spanish nation, probably only second to Iker Casillas in terms of popularity but he couldn’t be more different. He shies away from the public limelight and comes from a village near Albacete of just 2,000 inhabitants. He graduated from La Masia just as the likes of Xavi, Messi, Piqué, Pedro and Fàbregas have and on the pitch he’s made his name that will live on long after he’s retired, but it’s off the pitch, for me, that makes the man. After scoring the winning goal in the World Cup final, Iniesta lifted up his shirt to reveal a vest that bore the words “Dani Jarque, siempre con nosotros” (Dani Jarque, always with us). Dani Jarque was an Espanyol player that died while on a pre-season tour in Florence at the age of 26 and Iniesta and Dani Jarque were great friends, when asked about his homage to Jarque after the final Iniesta said “I haven’t been able to do anything for him all season and he deserves it”. Espanyol invited Iniesta before the Barcelona city-derby to take part in a ceremony in memory of Dani Jarque, showing that city rivalry can be overcome by friendship.

6) Belletti
World Cup winner before he came to Barcelona and won League titles, Super Cups domestically and in Europe. Juliano Belletti spent three years at Barcelona and with Geovani Van Bronkhurst was key to Rijkaard’s style of play that saw the full-backs used as de-facto wingers to create space and squeeze the opposition in the final third of the pitch. However, Belletti is on this list, and Geo Van Bronkhurst not, because he made history. We remember people who made history, we remember Neil Armstrong for walking on a bit of rock in the sky, Rosa Parks for sitting on a bus and Martin Luther King for telling us about his nap, but Belletti scored Barcelona’s winning goal on the Champions League final ten minutes before the final whistle to capture Barcelona’s second European Cup. It was the culmination of a walk with destiny which without the Barcelona legend currently in the making would be less legend more hype. Teams are remembered, ultimately, for what they won and Belletti has ensured that it wasn’t a false start. He donated the boots he wore that night in Paris to the Barcelona club museum.

7) Pedro
Another addition on historical grounds. I have to say I never really rated Pedro in his first full-season at the club. He was another product from La Masia and Guardiola threw him in and the start of the season and used him somewhat sparingly at first, but as the season went on he was used more and more and he scored goals, key goals. Pedro became the only player in history to score in all competitions when Josep Guardiola’s Barcelona took the lot and won everything: la Liga, the King’s Cup, Spanish Super Cup, the Champions League, the European Super Cup and the World Club Cup. By the end of the season I couldn’t imagine a team without him in it.

8) Puyol
Carles Puyol is the face of the club. Unfortunate because his hair-do leaves a lot to be desired and he’s very ugly, but he’s the stalwart of the team and more importantly, he’s club capità. He wears the armband with pride and leads from the front. He’s invincible. He plays when he breaks every bone in his body and quite literally would die on his feet. For all his commitment on the pitch though, there was always a question mark against him as to whether he was in the class of Maldini, Baresi and the like, and if that matter has been resolved then it’s in the last two seasons that any final question has been put to bed. Puyol’s a warrior and an utmost professional (that’s a euphemism for boring post-match speaker), but in recent years he’s matured. Pictures of him sliding in and making last ditch challenges were commonplace, fifty-fifty headers where he won the ball and come off worse could fill countless youtube videos, but there was a little of the headless chicken about him. What he’s added to his game is a positional discipline and awareness. He always sacrificed himself for the team, but in wanting to lead by example sometimes he cost the team. Now, however, Puyol is more considered, he’s more Arsenal’s Tony Adams than Atleti’s Parea, he wins the ball and sacrifices himself when it’s right to do so. He doesn’t miss and wins the ball with the same ferocity as before, but now waits and waits, almost stalking opponents. He was nominated, alongside Cafu, Cannavaro and Maldini, in The Sun’s team of the decade which also included Zidane, Figo, Buffon and Thierry Henry.

9) Valdés
I recall a conversation I was a part of just a few days ago with person B, from Catalonia, who went to visit person A’s off-spring, in Madrid:

• Person A: Do you like Casillas?
• Person B: I prefer Valdés
• Person A: Hmm, do you want a glass with Casillas and the “selección” on it?
• Person B: I’d prefer a glass with Valdés and the “selección” on it.
• Person A: It has Barça players on it.
• Person B: It could have Valdés and other Barça players on it, too.

For Spaniards in general Casillas is king; the best thing since sliced bread. At least for Catalans the clamour made over Casillas leaves us a bit miffed. Yes, he’s good, sure, but Valdés is something else for us. Mourinho said that Valdés is the perfect goalkeeper for F.C. Barcelona and to us it simply means he should be playing for the national side too. It shows how far he’s come from a player that nearly quit shortly after coming into the first team because of the pressure he felt playing for the club. He was prone to errors and looked a bit goofy and after a string of dodgy Dutch and German keepers, and an even younger Pepe Reina, Valdés looked like next in line for a short spell in the first team. Valdés, though, despite the errors, was persevered with and it’s paid off. I feel that when talking about Valdés he’s dismissed by other fans and yet when I see him keep Barça in the game and prove a strong last line of defence, I feel he’s under-rated to the detriment of the league.

10) Deco
It’s a tough one between Van Bommel and Deco and to be honest either could be in this list. Around at the time of Ronaldinho and crystallised into perfection by the Champions League win, Deco was Xavi and Messi pre-Xavi and pre-Messi. He scored goals, made wonderful passes and dived. To put it simply, he gave Xavi time to settle in and was creative enough to let Messi have enough air to breathe and find his feet.

Article by

Raül Pope Fargüell for Forza Futbol