After one year of me living in Barcelona, my dad came to visit. He wished to see a Clásico match at Camp Nou and take a photo with Messi before his trip. Of course…The most popular-almost-impossible-to-get-a-ticket-for match in Barcelona. Can I perform miracles?
So here I am at work, talking about my life’s challenges during the coffee break. And a friend sent me to one of our colleagues. He is a Catalan and a season ticket holder. Both aspects seem to be intertwined. It appears that many Catalan families own a season ticket and pass it down through generations. They also enjoy watching the matches regularly. Those are some of the reasons why the tickets are hard to get.
I got two tickets to watch a Clásico match at Camp Nou!
Fortunately for me, I was able to obtain two tickets to experience a Clásico match at Camp Nou from my colleague. So after all, I am capable of doing miracles!
Two tickets because I cannot send my dad out there on his own, can I? With my ticket, I will kill two birds with one stone: watch a Clásico and be inside Camp Nou during a game. Camp Nou means “New ground” and is the home of the worldwide famous FC Barcelona. But OMG, for the money I paid for them, I could easily cover the expenses of a wonderful weekend in Roma.
Why is it so expensive? My consolation is to believe that love has no price and also that there is one unmissable-once in a lifetime event in any location where you reside. In Dublin, it could be a U2 concert in Croke Park which I never attended while living in Ireland (sigh!). Here in Barcelona, it would be a Clásico match at Camp Nou.
What about this Clásico match?
So why is it called a Clásico match in the first place? I had no idea about these matches until my father informed me he wanted to go.
Well, it is the name given to any match between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. The two most important teams in Spain belong to two rival cities. It is followed by hundreds of millions of people all over the world. I keep on being privileged by being able to watch it live.
The match starts with the Barça song – El Cant del Barca. After that, they announce each player’s name. When it is time for Barca’s team to be introduced, the whole stadium yells “hey”: Messi “hey”, Pujol “hey” and so on until everyone has been introduced.
I liked the atmosphere in the stadium. There was only one Madrid supporter in black and white where we were and nobody taunted or booed him. Everyone was there for sport. There were no fights between supporters. No sense of impending violence. It reminds me of the same friendly atmosphere that can be found at Gaelic games. The Barça fans are also supporting through the good and bad times. True fans…I admire that.
On the other hand, I am used to noisy and passionate (but not violent) supporters screaming and gesticulating to support their club at games. For me, Barça supporters in Camp Nou appear too calm and polite. The atmosphere was lacking life for my taste.
Going to the game felt like a patriotic act at times, especially when many chanted “Independence” during the game. During a sporting event, I prefer not to take a political stance. However, it was merely an expression of opinions. A few sport venues all around the world are used to express political beliefs. Because of its history during the English colonisation of Ireland, Croke Park, in Dublin, for example, previously could only host Gaelic games.
What is all this fuss about Barça?
So what is all the fuss about this Barcelona team? I finally got to see Messi and Neymar, two of the most famous players in the world. And Shakira’s husband (yeah).
During that match, I did not see Messi particularly active on the pitch so it was quite disappointing. Neymar got shoved around so many times during those 90 mins, I am surprised he did not break.
I saw how the tiki-taka, in which they exchange short passes, works. For a while, the other team was unable to touch the ball at all. This is my first time watching a Clásico, and I understand the fascination for the Barça game. I also witnessed Neymar Jr score a spectacular goal from a long distance. But I guess this is not news to soccer fans.
Well, I have not much to say after that. Apart from the fact that my dad got his photo with Messi after all. Well with the real-life cardboard version of Messi from the Camp Nou museum. Lol.
CAMP NOU
To get a ticket, you can go to the official website http://www.fcbarcelona.com/camp-nou. If you cannot watch a Clásico, it is easier to purchase tickets for other games.
C. d’Aristides Maillol, 12, 08028 Barcelona