Barcelona 4-0 Borussia Moenchengladbach - 6th
December 2016
It’s nearly two months since I went to Barcelona, but
finally I’ll get around to posting that blog post. Actually, it was written
weeks ago, then my laptop quite literally died. So, I had to start again. Not
like people actually read this, it’s more a chronicle for myself.
Anyway, I was off to Catalunya, to tick Spain off the list.
After a delayed flight, I got into Barcelona the afternoon of the match, and it
was not only a chance to tick off a great club, but also my first live taste of
Champions League football.
Luis Enrique’s men had already won their group, and as such
rested players. But it was still a team packed with talent, with Lionel Messi
starting, so I can say I’ve seen both Messi and Ronaldo live.
As you may or may not know, Barca ran out 4-0 winners with
Arda Turan bagging a hat trick. The Camp Nou is one of those places you get
that feeling when you go in it. Before going there, I stopped off a small bar
on the walk from Collblanc metro station to the stadium, and had a few reasonably
priced beers.
Gates seem to open just over an hour before kick-off, and
after a body search at the gates, well away from the ground, you can take the
walk up to the ground. I had great seats, in the lowest tier of the Gol Nord
(if you watch a game on TV, it’s the goal to the left) and was behind the
ultras, who sang songs mocking Espanyol, probably, and definitely sung chants
of Catalonian independence. I imagine if not for them, it would be a flat
atmosphere, with too many tourists like myself, but they were great and didn’t
stop.
After the game, I stayed around the grounds of the Camp Nou.
There is an outdoor café type establishment serving beer and hot snacks, that
the locals largely stay away from, so it was a reasonably empty space to get
another Estrella and let the metro get less crammed. They also have Barca TV on
screens so you can watch back the match highlights. After about an hour, I went
back to the city centre, where the metro wasn’t too crammed.
Other highlights of the trip included having a look at the
Sagrada Familia and the expensive La Rambla, which like Nicky Wire, I have now
walked. If you’re fit enough, have a walk from town up the Estadi Olimpic too.
The views looking down on town from Montjuic are well worth the pain of the
steep walk up. The former home of Espanyol and the main venue for the 1992
Summer Games is now a community facility. It’s free to walk around the
concourses and take photos, while there is a sports museum, and for a small fee
there are activities locals can take part in on the pitch and track, which
seems a nicer legacy than handing it over to some mate’s football club on the
cheap because they have the same political affiliation (hi London).
(NB, I’ll put some photos up at a later date!)
