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TO many it will remain just a dream but for three Bulawayo men based in South Africa it is a reality. The El Classico, pitting Barcelona and Real Madrid is a match made in heaven. Local bars are usually packed to capacity as people cannot afford to miss the tie. Lovemore Fuyane and his close pals Shephard Maphisa and Morgan Sebele did not make their way to the bars but to the Nou Camp itself. Yes, they were part of the 98 000 strong crowd that thronged the stadium as Barca beat their rivals 2-1.
We asked Fuyane to tell us his experiences and this is his story:
As a long time member and although I had previously attended a number of games involving FC Barcelona both in Barcelona and away this was my maiden voyage to the big one, the El Classico at the shrine, L’Estadi Camp Nou and so one can imagine the degree of utter exhilaration among our touring party. Also accompanying me on their first trip to Barcelona were two seasoned derby watchers, bossom buddies Shephard Maphisa and Morgan Sebele both specialist doctors. Apart from Barcelona we also share a love for Highlanders Football Club.
As I said previously, among the three of us we had all attended many other derbies around the world including the likes of the Manchester clubs, Arsenal, Highlanders Football Club, Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates etc but, this was a derby with its own very unique character.
To begin with we planned in advance to travel to Spain arriving on Friday because unlike any other league in the world, the Spanish La Liga only confirm the exact date of a game around a week before and so a game initially scheduled for Sunday can be moved to Saturday and vice versa at the last minute virtually. To an outsider this may appear somewhat disorganised but like the Spanish siesta it is just the way things are, a uniquely Spanish thing.
We obviously did the usual touristic things on all the other days we spent in Barcelona, four days in all and but I will focus on match day itself in this article. The match was eventually confirmed to kick off at 6pm on Saturday the 26th of October and so that morning we got up around 10 and set off for the most famous street in Barcelona, La Rambla and proceeded to walk up and down the crowded street filled with a festive atmosphere. As you walk along La Rambla you come across all sorts of things from street dancers, human statues, and street hawkers selling all sorts including of course Blaugrana (Blue and Red – FC Barcelona) merchandise. Around lunch time we then found a restaurant along on the sidewalk giving us a front row view of all the festivities around town many quite clearly influenced by match day fever. We sat down to enjoy typical Spanish cuisine including the famous Tapas, Paella and a couple of glasses of the most refreshing Sangria.
At 1pm we made our way to the stadium firstly to collect our tickets from an official agent that we had bought them from and then on to the stadium 800m further down the road. As you approach the stadium, all you can see is this most imposing awe inspiring structure in front of you. All along as we walked among the multitudes you could sense the air of excitement, excitement that cuts across language and cultural barriers. As we walked along I saw a man with his two sons one wearing the Barcelona number 10 Messi shirt and the older one a Real Madrid Ronaldo number 7 shirt walking in complete harmony. Prior to entering the stadium we went into the FC Botiga Megastore, FC Barcelona’s official store at the stadium where we spent the next two hours or so like kids in a candy store.
Were it not for limited funds we could very nearly have bought the entire shop. They had the various club shirts and all sorts of fashionable trinkets and paraphernalia in the club colours of course. Maphisa had the most fun taking a photo of me changing shirts right there in the store after purchasing the 2013 away shirt, the red and yellow whose design is inspired by the Catalan flag the Senyera on which I had printed my name and Neymar’s number 11. In fact that time spent in the Megastore reminds me that I need to call my bank manager this morning to offer an explanation or two. I have little doubt that he is horrified as we speak.
We must have been among the first few thousand supporters who then entered the stadium of the 98 000 who eventually made their way in because we made our entry at around 4.30pm, a good hour and half before kickoff. You sure don’t want to travel all that way then missing a Messi goal in the first few minutes. On our seats were folded up glossy paper advertising boards whose purpose we initially had no idea of. Little did we know these would later form a part of a most beautiful mosaic. Ours were plain blue on one side and featured an Audi advert with instructions telling us to raise them as the players came in as well as when a goal is scored. Before long the stands started filling up and seemingly everyone wearing the Blaugrana colours was almost like long lost family even though you didn’t know them from a bar of soap chatting away. It appears as if time flew and before long the players came onto the ground to warm up to rapturous applause starting with the Real Madrid players and then Barcelona. Yes, both sets of players were cheered onto the field, the Barcelona players much louder obviously. The players then returned to the dressing rooms just before kick off.
At about 10 minutes before kick off all the players returned together with all the officials and as they came in to the stadium the Barcelona anthem El Cant del Barca sounded over the PA system and the entire stadium joined in singing raising their advertising boards creating the most spectacular images I’ve ever seen in a stadium. Some of the words of the song loosely translated in English say something to the effect that, “It matters not where we hail from, the north or south, we all agree, we all agree”. Looking around the raised boards created a panoramic view of the striped colours of the club all around the stadium, a most intimidating sight for any visiting team. The grand stand and the opposite end where we sat featured the standard Blue and Red colours and the goal ends featured the yellow and red or Senyera colours. I later saw more pictures featured on the club’s website which actually showed that on our end of the stadium, the mosaic also featured the words “Forca Tito” loosely translated to mean “Strength Tito” in honour of former coach Tito Villanova who is now battling cancer, what a tear jerker.
Anyway the game eventually kicked off and FC Barcelona didn’t take long to dispossess Real Madrid who had kicked proceedings off and proceed to take control of the game. As Barcelona proceeded to take control and exchange slick passes, the tiki-taka was on full display for all to see as Messi, Iniesta Xavi and company got down to business. Not long after that Andres Iniesta ran down the middle and proceeded to mesmerise the Madrid defence with a pass down the left flank to Neymar (whose number I wore that day) who then cut back in and slotted home the opener deflected off a defender. The stadium went berserk if not delirious with excitement. Some people a few seats from me that I hadn’t even spoken to were suddenly embracing us all as we celebrated.
Half time arrived and the teams walked off to the Barcelona anthem again. The second half began in similar fashion and halfway through the stanza second half substitute Alexis produced a moment of sheer brilliance after getting put through by my man of the match Neymar. Alexis ran down the milled with two defenders in pursuit and as if from nowhere suddenly slammed the brakes, the defenders continuing on their way past him and then proceeding to chip the oncoming keeper. It was a goal of sheer Brazilian brilliance. Barcelona continued to dictate proceedings until later in the second half when Madrid initially struck the post via substitute Benzema and then later pulled one goal back with hardly seven minutes left. Blaugrana then held on until the final whistle but there was never any doubt as to who were the better team on the day.
One final thing I must mention is that on our way out of the stadium in full song we then caught the underground metro and while switching trains came across a street musician who was playing the Barcelona anthem on an electronic keyboard. I then proceeded to pose next to him and dance away.
There was little doubt as to which club I supported.
Online Reporter