Sport | Football
A land where futbol is everything
A staggering 90 per cent share of the sports pages is devoted to the build-up to the weekend's league games, complete with tables, betting odds and interviews.
- By Gautam Bhattacharyya, Deputy Sports Editor
- Published: 00:34 December 1, 2008
- A view of several ornaments (caganers) which depict Barcelona's soccer player Leo Messi, Real Madrid's captain Raul and Barcelona's Ronaldinho seen at the inauguration of the Santa Llucia Fair in Barcelona.
- Image Credit: EPA
Rafael Nadal may be the new world number one in tennis, or Fernando Verdasco have just won the crucial rubber to take the Davis Cup home, but for the Spaniards - nothing matters more than their 'futbol.' Especially, if it's a weekend and either Barcelona or Real Madrid are playing.
To the man on the street, the Argentine golden boy Lionel Messi - now plying his trade for Barcelona and who scored two gems last night, or the homegrown stars like Xavi Alonso seem to enjoy more brand recall with the country's other sporting heroes almost resigned to playing the second fiddle.
Chance encounter
A stroll in downtown Barcelona may lead you to a chance encounter with a big cutout of 'Rafa' inside the Kia showroom, the car manufacturers being one of his major sponsors, but flip through the major vernacular dailies and the bias towards the world's most popular game is quite clear.
A staggering 90 per cent share of the sports pages is devoted to the build-up to the weekend's league games, complete with tables, betting odds and interviews.
There is of course, the odd attempts at doing something 'different,' for example, the highly popular La Vanguardia invited the Spanish non-playing captain Emilio Sanchez over to their office for a chat last week - with the fabled Davis Cup trophy lugged in his arms. However, they are more of exceptions proving the rule.
"It's a pity that we are not playing at home this week," said the helpful owner of a small pub-cum-café in the neighbourhood, as one managed to slink into a corner of his choc-a-bloc shop on a wintry Saturday night.
All eyes are glued to the medium sized TV screen, where Barca were kicking off against Sevilla in an away game.
Fanfare
Muted words of approval filled the air everytime the blue-and-maroons were in an advantageous position, while there were claps all around as Messi produced two late left-footed stunners.
Before the match, a few gentle efforts to remind how brilliant an year it had been for the Spanish sport failed to evoke much of a reaction from the middle-aged pub owner.
Did you join the nightlong party when in late June this year, Spain ended a 40-year-old heartbreak by crowning themselves as European champions in football? After a slight pause, he countered: "Do you mean 2005, when we won the European Cup (the Champions League)?"
Hard to believe this, but this is the kind of jingoistic fervour that characterises the fans of Barcelona and Real Madrid - bitter foes for reasons that go beyond the gameof football.
Antonio Cabezas, a 63-year-old hotel employee and a witness to several of the 18 league titles that his city team has won, tried to somewhat put things in perspective: "It's not that we are not aware of other achievements in sports - but it's the clubs that keep us going for nearly six months in an year."
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