El Camino de la Liga

El Camino Awards and Thanks

2010-05-23T19:54:00.003+02:00

Well the football season is over and so is El Camino de la Liga. The challenge has been completed. Twenty stadiums have been visited and twenty Primera Division matches watched. I have travelled on foot as well as by bus, train and plane in an 18,700 km round trip. I have seen 51 goals, seven home wins, seven away wins and six draws. I have paid between 5 and 125 Euros for tickets.

People have been asking questions about my favourite match, best stadium etc. It’s difficult to pick out one trip but below are my awards.

Best Stadium: San Mamés (Athletic Bilbao). Known as the Cathedral, San Mamés is unique in Spanish football. It is a real loss to Spanish football that this was its last season and I feel privileged to have visited it.

Best home Support: Atlético Madrid. Really difficult call but in terms of noise, passion and loyalty it has to go to the colchoneros from the capital.

Best away support: Xerez. Clearly Xerez don’t usually take several thousand away supporters to matches but it was by far the largest and most vocal away support I saw.

Best club song: Sevilla. Anyone who has heard the himno de Sevilla will know what I am talking about, a great football song.

Best Banner: Xerez: Banner read “Xerez no es Cadiz” (Xerez isn’t Cadiz)

Best match: Almeria 2 Barcelona 2

Most watched teams: Athletic Bilbao and Valladolid (4 times)

Finally, El Camino de La Liga wouldn’t have been possible without the help of many people. I would like to thank Pedro Villar Yeates for his advice and help in Valencia and Mallorca. Russell Murrell for his help in Santander. Diana Osak for providing accommodation in both Santander and Tenerife. Juana Alosno for help with accommodation in Barcelona. Xavi Jané López and his family for help in Barcelona. Stephen Abrams for his help in Jerez. Rodrigo Garrido Delgado for his help in Valladolid. Fernando Urra Goñi for his help with Osasuna. And lastly, but definitely not least, Kasia Lewieniec for her help in every single trip. Without her none of this would have been possible and this is as much her achievement as mine.

I would also like to thank Jim Trainor from Vaughan Radio and InMadrid newspaper for helping to publicise the blog as well as friends of El Camino de la Liga at livinglaliga.com, madridatleticos and soccerwrapup.blogspot.com. Check these guys out, they all have excellent blogs. Finally thank you to everyone who has read El Camino de la Liga and left comments either on the blog itself or via other channels. It has really encouraged me to keep writing and persevere.

El Camino de la Liga is over and my weekends won’t be the same again. Well at least not until next season. Watch this space.

Last Day Drama

2010-05-17T21:02:00.000+02:00

The 2009/2010 Spanish football season will be remembered as one of last day drama. Going into the final weekend of the season, nothing except third place had been decided. While most eyes were focused on who would win the championship, another fight was going on to see who would remain in the league. While all that was going on, I was engaged in my own fight to finish el Camino de la Liga and this led me to Pamplona, home of Club Atlético Osasuna.

Pamplona is famous for its annual San Fermín festival which involves the running of the bulls. For many foreigners, San Fermín is a typical image of Spain but Pamplona is far from a typical Spanish town. Pamplona is the capital of Navarra, a region in the north west of Spain. The region has a border with France to the North, Aragón to the East and La Rioja to the South, however, Navarra’s Western border is its most controversial. To the West, Navarra has a border with the Basque Country. In Navarra, Basque is an official language, along with Spanish, and there are some who would like Navarra to join with its Northern neighbour. In fact, shortly after arriving in Pamplona I saw a demonstration calling for a union between the two regions. So despite it being home to one of Spain’s most well known festivals, Pamplona is a city where you see very few Spanish flags and where there are some who openly don’t feel Spanish. There is something of an anti-establishment, anarchist feel to the place and people, many of whom definitely don’t conform to the traditional, conservative, facha image of being Spanish.

As has become clear throughout el Camino de la Liga, the link between politics and football is never far away in Spain and Pamplona’s football team, Osasuna, is no different. Before the match I met with Fernando Urra Goñi, commentator on all the Osasuna games for the local radio station. Fernando told me how Osasuna is a club that is very close to the people and this is reflected in almost full stadiums for every home game. Osasuna’s stadium, El Reyno de Navarra, may only hold 19,500, but it is almost always full and getting a ticket can often be difficult. Fernando told me that attendances weren’t always so high, especially when the club was in the lower leagues, however, everything changed one season when the club came close to relegation. With club languishing bottom of the league a campaign called “we’re not going down” started with the aim of filling the stadium for the remaining fixtures. The campaign was a success and the full stadiums led to Osasuna going on a good run and avoiding the drop. Since then, the club has continued to enjoy a healthy support and have remained in Primera División. Like almost all clubs, Osasuna has a group of ultras and it’s them who add the political edge. The Osasuna ultras are known as Indar Gorri which is Basque for Red Strength. Their political philosophy is far left, Basque nationalism and they have turned the Reyno de Navarra stadium into an intimidating atmosphere for many teams, especially Real Madrid.

The match against Real Madrid is one I would like to return and see but I was in Pamplona to see the final match of the season against Xerez, one of five teams fighting against relegation. The importance of the match led to a very large away support making the long trip north. Large away supports are one of the things most lacking in Spanish football and I was curious to see the reaction the Andalusians would get. To my surprise it was an extremely friendly one, with supporters mixing before, during and after the match without any problems whatsoever. As Fernando informed me, as this was Xerez’s first ever season in Primera División, this was the first time the teams had ever met and therefore they had no historical reasons not to get along.

If the friendliness outside the stadium surprised it was nothing compared to what I witnessed inside. With Osasuna already safe from relegation, the home supporters decided to support Xerez who needed to win and hope others lost. That’s right, as well as the couple of thousand Xerez supporters, the Osasuna supporters were also cheering on the away side. Extremely confused, I asked the people sitting around me why they wanted Xerez to win. Did they want someone else to go down instead? Perhaps a rival they don’t like? No, the answer was that it would be nice to see Xerez survive. Spanish football fans never cease to amaze me.

The match itself was a typical end of season game with the majority of the crowd listening to the radio for scores in other matches and random cheers going up around the ground when goals went in elsewhere. To the disappointment of the vast majority of the crowd, Osasuna took the lead, plunging Xerez closer to the drop. Hope was restored when the away team equalized but despite the home supporters urging their goalkeeper to “let one in”, Xerez couldn’t find a second and when the final whistle went, they were relegated. There then followed a pitch invasion by the home supporters which ended with the riot police coming out and chasing everyone back into the stands. As I stood watching this I reflected on my journey to every stadium in Primera División. I have learned a lot about Spanish football culture but there is still so much that surprises me, so much that is different from what I am used to, so much more I have to learn. El Camino de La Liga may be finished but my Spanish football education has just begun. Viva el Fútbol!!!

Sun, Sea and St Andrew's Crosses

2010-05-04T22:45:00.000+02:00

It’s sunny and hot, 28 degrees to be precise. The sea and the beaches, full of sunbathers, are visible from the top of the stadium. It feels like Spain yet, bizarrely, it also feels like home. That’s because everywhere I look I see St Andrew’s crosses. In fact I can see 18,000 of them to be exact. Stop number 19 on el Camino de la Liga, Tenerife.

Scotland and Tenerife don’t have much in common but one thing we do share is the same flag and today the local football team is giving everyone in the stadium a St Andrew’s cross as they battle to stay in La Liga. Club Deportivo Tenerife is the only representative from the Canary Islands in Primera División and situated 1,974 km from Madrid, it’s also the longest trip on el Camino de la Liga.

Being located so far away from the rest of Spain has almost certainly had an impact on the people of the Canary Islands. The people here are visibly more laid back than those on the peninsula. You rarely hear anyone tooting their horn in Santa Cruz. The way people speak and the words they use are also different, in fact some say the people are more similar to South Americans than Spaniards. It also appears that this distance has affected the fortunes of the football team. With the closest La Liga side, Xerez, located 1,360 km away, every away match seems very far away and every visiting team has the same sensation when visiting Tenerife. For example Racing Santander, this weekend’s visitors, had to travel 2268 km to get to Tenerife.

Distances like these seem to have led to Tenerife having very contrasting home and away records. On the plus side, at home Tenerife have won 8, drawn 5 and lost 5. However, away from home they have lost 13, drawn 3 and won only 1. That easily makes Tenerife the team with the worst away record in the league. With an away record as bad as that, it’s not surprising that Tenerife find themselves in the relegation zone. The football club is back in Primera División after a 7 season absence but the stay was looking short going into this weekend’s must win match against Racing Santander, a team only 4 points ahead of them.

The importance of the match wasn’t lost on the locals and around 18,000 of them turned out to cheer on the team. Unlike La Liga’s other island team, Real Mallorca, Tenerife appear to be well supported. This probably helped by reasonable ticket prices, 20 euros, a supporter friendly stadium in the city centre and of course the aforementioned lack of another team for a couple of thousand kilometers.

The good weather, large crowd and the importance of the match came together to create a good atmosphere and the Scottish connection seemed to go further than just the flags. Before the match the Tenerife Ultras belted out a rendition of Auld Langs Syne, completely bizarre but very nice. When the match got under way the singing didn’t let up and the volume increased a few notches as Tenerife grabbed a first half lead. During the break I spent all my time under the stand and out of the unrelenting sun. Like many grounds in Spain, Tenerife’s Heliodoro Rodriguez Lopez Stadium doesn’t have a roof. This is inconvenient on the rare occasions that it rains but much worse during those much more frequent scorching Spanish days. Luckily I had bought a hat before the match, the best 4 Euros spent during el Camino de la Liga.

Into the second half and Tenerife went further ahead after some comical goalkeeping gifted them a penalty. At 2-0 Tenerife looked to be cruising but Racing pulled one back and the nerves set in. Luckily though, Tenerife held on to secure a vital home win which leaves them one point from safety with 3 games to play.

I left the stadium, like the rest of the people, in good spirits all be it very sweaty. Firstly, I was happy for Tenerife who deserved the victory; however, more importantly I was relieved to have completed the furthest el Camino de la Liga trip. Like the Spanish championship and relegation race, it looks like el Camino de la Liga is going to go to the last game of the season. All eyes on Pamplona.

Xerez

2010-04-12T22:53:00.002+02:00

The southern Spanish city of Jerez has been world famous for centuries due its most famous export, sherry. However last year Jerez was on the lips of people for a different reason, its football team’s historic promotion to the Spanish Primera Division.

Jerez is located in the south west of Spain, somewhere between Cadiz and Seville. With its famous sherry and a beautiful historic centre, Jerez is one of Andalucia’s most beautiful cities. Of course Andalucia also has many football teams who have played in Spain’s top flight but until this season, Xerez CD was not one of them. Xerez’s promotion last year was a great boost for the city and also for Andalusia as region lost both Recreativo de Huelva and Real Betis to relegation. The club’s promotion means Andalusia remains the region with the most number of football clubs in Primera Division.

Gaining promotion is of course challenging but staying up is perhaps even tougher. As one of the new boys, Xerez were among the favourites to go down and unfortunately for them they haven’t disappointed, sitting bottom of the league. Xerez are really suffering because of a terrible start which eventually led to the manager getting the sack. The change of manager has led to an improvement in results but they have a lot of ground to make up if they are to pull off a great escape.

This weekend Xerez faced Getafe at home and with the two teams above them playing each other they had a great chance to get themselves off the bottom of the table and closer to safety. In matches of this importance a large crowd helps and Xerez lowered the prices significantly, with the cheapest ticket costing just 5 Euros, in order to attract as many people as possible. It’s a ploy that clearly worked and one Xerez must be applauded for. As one of those sitting in the 5 Euro section I saw many children there and this can only be good for the future of the club.

With the Chapín stadium pretty near capacity and the Ultras in good voice, all that was needed was for Xerez to do the business on the park. On a side note, the Chapín stadium is one of the most bizarre I have come across in Spain. It not only has a running track but a hotel whose rooms look onto the pitch and is the only stadium I have ever come across with trees inside it. The match programme, the best I have come across so far, went with the Obama like headline “Podemos” (We Can). Unfortunately for Xerez they couldn’t and ended up losing 0-1 to the visitors from Madrid. The result probably typified Xerez’s season, some bad luck but mainly a lack of ruthlessness in front of goal and naivety at the back. In the top league these mistakes are punished more severely.

The defeat makes Xerez’s relegation look even more likely. Whether they can come back up will depend on what the club does next. If the ticket prices stay low then there is definitely some potential for building a good fan base and another challenge at the main league. If not then they will have to go back to just being famous for their sherry.

Generation Superdepor

2010-03-22T20:37:00.000+01:00

It’s 12 degrees and raining. On both sides of the road all you can see is green. The grass, trees and moss of the fields, woods and gardens. I’m in a Celtic land on my way to see a football match. However, I’m in neither Scotland nor Ireland. I’m in Galicia and I’m on my way to see the region’s only representative in Primera Division, Deportivo de La Coruña.

Galicia is located in the north west of Spain. If you imagine a map of Spain, it’s the part above Portugal. It’s a region that doesn’t fit the stereotypical image of Spain. It’s generally known for its green landscapes and heavy rainfall. Its roots are Celtic, so instead of Spanish guitar and flamenco there are bagpipes and flutes. Despite the rain, the people are warm and welcoming and, for me at least, are more similar to the Portuguese than to Andalusians or Madrileños. Galicia’s proximity to Portugal has also influenced the region’s language and it is one of three Spanish regions with two official languages. Galician is probably more comprehensible to Portuguese people than to Spanish people. Within Spain the region is very famous but abroad it’s less known. However, to most European football fans, Galicia should be familiar. The region’s two main football teams, Deportivo de La Coruña and Celta Vigo were, until fairly recently, regulars in European competitions. That was perhaps Galicia’s golden period in football terms. Both Deportivo and Celta competed at the top end of La Liga and, helped by a healthy contingent of Brazilians, played attractive, attacking football.

Unfortunately, those days seem to have gone for the moment. Celta Vigo play in the second division and don’t look like getting promoted any time soon. That leaves Deportivo as Galicia’s only representative in the top league.

Deportivo’s stadium, the Riazor, has seen some famous nights. Deportivo’s destruction of AC Milan in the 2004 Champions League quarter final being up there with the best of them. Trailing 4-1 from the first leg in the San Siro, Deportivo came back to beat the Italians 4-0 in the Riazor. In those times, the stadium was known around Europe as a tough venue to visit and it’s not difficult to see why. Despite being modern, the stadium has character to it. Located right next to the beach, the stadium is surrounded by narrow streets, apartments and bars, making the pre match atmosphere more exciting. The stadium itself, a 35,000 seater, is completely enclosed with the crowd very close to the pitch. The atmosphere is cranked up by Deportivo’s Ultras who have decorated their part of the stadium with a series of impressive murals. The Deportivo Ultras are organized, colourful and noisy. They are definitely up there with the likes of Atletico Madrid, Sevilla and Athletic Bilbao. Some of the murals they have painted have a clear political message. These ones are dedicated to the left wing, Galician independence movement. The other murals are related to some of Deportivo’s legends and unsurprisingly they are all players from the modern era, such as Bebeto and Diego Tristan. When you look at the average age of the Ultras the majority of them are in their twenties and are therefore the generation of the Superdepor and Eurodepor. This was the name given to the Deportivo teams of both Bebeto and Tristan, the two most successful teams in the clubs 108 year history. This period lasted from around 1991 until 2005. As well as having international stars such as Rivaldo and Roy Maakay, Deportivo won their first and only league title during this period. They also won the Spanish Cup in the Bernabeu against Real Madrid during the Madrid giant’s centenary year. For the generation who grew up during this time, these memories will never go away. Deportivo challenged the best in Spain and Europe and were a team to be respected if not feared across the continent. Those times have gone for the moment but the legacy lives on and will almost certainly ensure a support base for generations to come.

A Missed Opportunity

2010-03-08T20:40:00.000+01:00

Of all the teams in La Liga the youngest is UD Almeria. Founded in 1989, the club is only 21 years old, younger than me. On Saturday they hosted Barcelona, arguably the best team in Europe. In the end they drew 2-2 but I left the stadium feeling they had missed a big opportunity not only on the park but off it too.

Almeria is a city of around 200,000 located on the south-east coast of Spain. Their football team is one of four Andalusian teams currently playing in La Liga. Almeria is not immediately close to any major Spanish city so the conditions are not bad for creating a half decent Premier League football club. And create a half decent team they have. However, there remains one major problem; a fan base.

Now it has to be said, being a young club isn’t easy. Most clubs in Europe have been around for close to at least 100 years. They have a history, legends and traditions. Fathers have passed the traditions onto their sons who will one day pass it onto theirs. It’s this fan base that has ensured the survival of the club for so long and will continue to do so in the future.

You may have heard the saying, you can change your car, your job or even your wife but you can’t change your football team. This sums up the problem for a young club in attracting supporters. So if you can’t attract those who already have a club, who can you attract? The answer is those who didn’t already have a club before you were created, i.e. those born after your foundation. They are the only group who are truly able to commit to such a club. The rest will always be Real Madrid or Barcelona first and Almeria second.

Your formative years as a football supporter are undoubtedly when you’re young. This is when you get hooked. The excitement of going to the stadium, getting your first scarf, learning the songs, going to your first away match and witnessing one of the unforgettable matches that come along every now and again. All football fans go through this process and it never leaves them, their loyalty is assured. It’s the type of loyalty that can only be assured from those who were there, those who were in the stadium, who felt the atmosphere first hand.

For most generations, the only option was to be there. If you weren’t there you didn’t see it, you couldn’t see it. Nowadays though there is Sky Sports and Canal Plus. Some people love them, think they have revolutionized football, changed it for the better and made it more accessible to everyone. However, the true football fans recognize the dangers. Who remembers Scotland beating France at Hampden more, the guy who was there or the guy who watched it on Sky Sports? I’ll be perfectly honestly, I’d rather sit in row ZZZ behind a pole in a full Hampden than sit in front of a 52 inch plasma TV watching the game of Sky Sports high definition, that’s the simple truth. Unfortunately not all of today’s generation will share my views on that. The reason is simple, they have never been to a match. They don’t have a team, they have Sky Sports or Canal Plus.

Back in Almeria, the results are clear to see. A match against European Champions Barcelona and only 11,000 of the 22,000 available tickets were sold. Of those 11,000, a good 1,000 or so were locals wearing Barcelona shirts. Pretty sad, eh? Well there is something even sadder. Almeria’s stadium has an outer perimeter fence. That means you have to show your ticket twice, once at this fence and then once again at the turnstile. To get through the outer perimeter fence I had to push my way through hundreds of young children who were all trying to sneak in but were being pushed away by security guards. By the way, the cheapest ticket for the match was priced at 90 Euros. So while the stadium sat half empty, hundreds of young children were being kept as far away from the stadium as possible. But it gets even sadder. At another entrance, BMWs, Mercedes and Land Rovers containing men in suits and their blonde girlfriends were being ushered through. Since I didn’t spot any of them in the stand I can only assume they were in the VIP boxes. I wonder how many of them paid for their tickets.

Call me idealistic but shouldn’t it be the other way round? Isn’t the young generation the VIP’s for a club like Almeria? Shouldn’t they be the ones allowed in for free to watch the football? Who is more likely to stick by the club during a rough period? The guys in suits with the blonde girlfriends or the local kids who think of nothing but football?

I’m afraid this story ends on another sad note. The match itself was terrific. Almeria had a real go at Barcelona, fought like hell and pushed them all the way. Almeria twice took the lead and were pretty unlucky to only get a point. In the end it was Barcelona who were the more relieved side. It was one of the biggest results in Almeria’s history. The atmosphere was great and it was a really proud night to be an Almeria fan. Why is that so sad? How many of the suits and blonde girlfriends will remember the match? How many of the kids outside would never have forgotten it?

Pucelanos, Pulmonía and Purple

2010-03-05T20:36:00.001+01:00

Castilla y León is the biggest of the Spanish regions but it only has one team in the Primera Division, Real Valladolid. They are the only one team who are either brave enough or pijo (posh) enough to wear purple. However, if we go on reputations, then it probably has more to do with the second reason.

Valladolid is the capital of Castilla y León, the region between Madrid and the north coast of Spain. It may be the largest region but it has a small population, only 2.5 million people. It’s not a region of big cities and heavy industry but predominately of small villages and traditional pastimes. The capital has earned the nickname of fachadolid due to its conservative, somewhat pro-Franco views. In Spanish the world facha describes someone with a very conservative attitude.

This description of Valladolid came from two fellow Castellanos Leoneses, one from Burgos and the other from Segovia. It’s certainly true that Valladolid is a far cry from Andalusia. The city is calm, clean and quiet and the people speak clearly. In fact, it is from this region that the Spanish language is said to derive and it’s alleged that the best, most correct Spanish is spoken in Salamanca, one of the region’s main cities.

As well as being famous for its linguistical influence, the region is also famous for its good food and wine. Having visited the region several times, I can say that it’s up there with the best Spain can offer. So it may be famous for language, food and wine but one thing it certainly isn’t famous for is football.

As I said earlier, Real Valladolid is the region’s only representative in Primera Division. They are also the region’s most successful team, which to be honest isn’t saying much. Real Valladolid have never won a league title or even the Spanish cup. Their most successful season ever was finishing seventh, under the stewardship of none other than Rafa Benitez. Currently though, their stay in Primera Division is in real threat as they languish in the relegation zone.

Their 26,000 seater stadium, Estadio José Zorrilla, is a unique ground with its moat around the pitch. Incredibly this stadium was built for and played venue to world cup matches during the 1982 tournament. Their stadium has also earned the knick name of El Estadio de la pulmonía, which translates as the stadium of pneumonia, due to the fact that it can get very cold in winter.

Well, it certainly wasn’t cold when I visited, it was one of those nice, dry, sunny but fresh Spanish February days. With some good food and wine in me, I was looking forward to the match. The atmosphere in the ground was decent for a winnable match against Real Mallorca. The Pucelanos, as the Valladolid supporters are known, were getting behind their team and the 16,500 who turned up were rewarded when they took a second half lead. In fact, this season the club got a record number of season ticket holders, with 18,600 people signing up. However the lead only lasted 20 minutes as Real Mallorca hit back to equalize. From then on the nerves set in and Real Mallorca unsurprisingly went on to the score the winner. The second Real Mallorca goal was enough for most of the crowd and the stadium started emptying rapidly. It seems the pucelanos are as fickle as their reputation suggests.

Either way, it’s a shame to say it but Real Valladolid look like a team destined for relegation and both the players and supporters seem to have reached the same conclusion. Perhaps some people won’t miss them but I think it’s a shame for a region to lose its only representative, even if they do wear purple.

An Island Mentality

2010-02-22T23:03:00.000+01:00

For the second week in a row I find myself in a half empty stadium.

This time there are 11,000 people but this is not Villareal, this doesn’t make sense. Palma de Mallorca, the city whose team I’m here to watch, has a population 8 times that of Villareal. If you include the whole Island of Mallorca then that figures doubles again. The low attendances are even stranger when you consider the season Real Mallorca, the club I’m here to see, are having. Going into Saturday’s match, Real Mallorca were sitting fifth in the table and were one of only two teams with a 100% home record. Furthermore, Saturday’s match was against the team directly above them, Sevilla. It was a match for a place in the Champions League. However, this only managed to coax 11,000 along to the Ono Estadi for the match.

So why is a premier league team on an island, with the next nearest premier league team a plane or boat trip away, struggling with attendances? One explanation is that the match was on the TV. I’m not buying that one though. All La Liga matches are on the TV if you’re willing to pay for it. Another reason was the weather, for a Spaniard the weather in February is cold. I’m not having that either, it’s colder in Bilbao, Gijón and Pamplona and they fill their stadiums. Finally you could argue that the football on show isn’t great. Once again, it’s not great in 3 aforementioned cities but the people come along in big numbers. When you consider Real Mallorca’s last few campaigns in La Liga, which involved fighting relegation, then this campaign has been great.

A more probable answer is that Mallorca doesn’t have the football culture of the North or of Seville. I attended the match with several Mallorca socios (season ticket holders). They were all born in Mallorca and attend the matches but they all had a second team from the mainland. They were Mallorca supporters but also Real Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia supporters. As they live on an island, it’s hard to travel to see these teams so to see football they go to see Real Mallorca. In the North you don’t get such supporters. I doubt anybody is an Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid fan. The same seems to be true of Seville. I don’t know any Sevilla and Barcelona fans. In Mallorca, the stadium gets close to full only when Real Madrid or Barcelona visits. The feeling of pride for the local football team just isn’t there. It doesn’t feel like a football town.

When we arrived on the island we were given a tour of Palma by one of the people we were attending the match with, Pedro (Valencia and Real Mallorca). During the tour he showed us Mallorca’s old stadium, Estadio Lluís Sitjar, now abandoned. Later at the new stadium, Nico (Real Madrid and Mallorca) was telling me that the move has been a disaster and the fans haven’t followed the team to the new stadium. The Ono Estadi (now named after a mobile phone company) is a “multi-purpose” stadium with a running track. In other words, it’s not a football stadium. The fans aren’t happy with its location, 3 km from the city centre, and the track which definitely takes away from the atmosphere. When it comes to atmosphere, the closer you can get to the pitch, the better.

Real Mallorca is one of many clubs in Europe to have made the mistake of destroying tradition. Moving 3 km out of the city centre, away from the pubs, to an athletics stadium named after a mobile phone company is not what fans anywhere want. This is even more destructive when you don’t have a big fan base to start with.

It seems the club is trying to undo some of the damage as there are plans to take away the track. However, you still have the problem of filling the stadium. For that there is no easy solution.

Yellow Submarine

2010-02-18T22:46:00.000+01:00

12,000 is a pretty low attendance for a Premier League match between two teams chasing European football. True but when consider the population of the home team’s town is only 50,000 then it’s not so surprising. Of all the towns and cities that have teams in La Liga the smallest is Villareal, home of the yellow submarine.

Most football fans around Europe have heard of Villareal CF. Over the last 5 or 6 years they have been regulars in European competitions, even reaching a Champions League semi-final back in 2006. As well as being known for their bright yellow strips, hence the nickname, they are also known for their attractive football. Top players such as Diego Forlán and Juan Roman Riquelme have played for them in recent years. What most people abroad probably don’t know about Villareal is that it’s a tiny wee place that not even many Spaniards could locate on a map. It’s so small that it only has 10 licensed taxi drivers, not even enough to make a football team. Chick Young once described it as the Wishaw of Spain. I wouldn’t go that far but it’s not exactly picturesque.

Villareal is located in the region of Valencia. To get there, you have to go Castellón, the nearest big place. Castellón is quite similar to Villareal except bigger and with a beach. The region might not be the prettiest but it’s an important one as it’s the centre of the Spanish ceramic industry. It’s this industry that Villareal the city and now the football team owe much of their existence to.

The football club is owned by Fernando Roig, a business man who has made most of his money in the ceramic industry. Roig is more of a Brooks Mileson than a Roman Abramovich, taking a very small town team from the fourth division all the way up to the Premier League and into Europe. The only difference being that Villareal has maintained it while Gretna went bust.

While many people in Scotland resented what Gretna did and how they did it, Villareal are a club to be admired and copied here in Spain. They aren’t a club who simply buy the best players of everyone else, they produce their own. In fact they are the only club in La Liga whose B team play in the second division. Not only are Villareal B surviving in the second division they are currently sixth (above Real Betis) and 7 points off a promotion place which they can never gain due to Villareal already being in La Liga. The biggest recent success story of the Villareal system is Spanish international Santi Cazorla, originally from Asturias but signed as a teenager by Villareal. Cazorla is one of 4 Villareal players who are part of the Spanish squad, very impressive for a team outside the top two. There is no denying that Villareal have also benefited from buying foreign talent but they have bought quality players who have improved the standard of the team.

After losing legendary manager Manuel Pelligrini to Real Madrid, Villareal started this season very poorly by their standards but have recovered sufficiently to make it into the top 10. However, the late revival didn’t save the manager’s job and they recently replaced him with Juan Carlos Garrido, former coach of Villareal B. Last Saturday was his first home match in charge and I was there to see it.

Villareal’s stadium, the Madrigal, holds 25,000 which means they literally need half the town to turn out to fill it. As the game was at 22.00 and live on TV, only 12,000 people bothered. The 50 euro price for the home end might also have had something to do with it. Bizarrely, it was only 25 euros to sit in the away end.

The atmosphere? Well I don’t know how many people you need to officially have a group of Ultras but I don’t think 3 is enough. The three guys in question gave it their best shot, they even had a drum, but they were on their own. It’s not really surprising though, given the size of the town and the only recent history of success. Apparently they only got a few hundred people through the gates when they were in the fourth division. Perhaps the next generation of Villareal supporters will be more vocal. The match itself, against Atheltic Bilbao, was a decent one. In the end the home team did just enough to deserve their 2-1 victory and keep themselves on course for a European place. Due to the late kick-off I left the stadium around midnight and faced the challenge of getting back to my hotel in Castellón. Villareal is not Madrid, there is no public transport after 11.00 at night. No buses. No trains. So in the end there was only thing for it, find one of those 10 taxi drivers.

Més Que Un Club

2010-02-11T22:35:00.000+01:00

More than a club. How many football clubs could get away with that as a slogan? Arsenal? Chelsea? No way. Newcastle? Getting warmer. Rangers or Celtic? Possibly. There are others we could debate about but there is only one who actually claims to be it, FC Barcelona.

FC Barcelona is one of the biggest clubs in the history of football. I could run through their statistics and achievements but there is no point, we all know how successful they have been. Their success on the park is phenomenal but it is not why they are more than a club. What marks Barça out from much of the rest is their significance as an institution, their role in society. When I say society, I don’t mean world society, nor do I mean European society. I don’t even mean Spanish society. I’m talking about Catalan society and to fully understand Barça, you need to understand Catalonia.

Catalonia may officially be part of Spain but many Catalans don’t identify themselves as Spanish. Like most Scots are more likely to say their Scottish rather than British, most Catalans will say their Catalan rather than Spanish when asked. In the United Kingdom, the question of nationality isn’t really a problem (with the exception of Northern Ireland). The English are English, the Welsh are Welsh and the Scots are Scottish. British is what it says on our passports and how we compete in the Olympics but apart from that we don’t really talk about Britain and the British. We are much too absorbed in our own football, rugby and, for some, cricket teams.

However in Spain, it’s a different story. Spain may only have a population of roughly 46 million but it is divided into 17 autonomous regions. Of these 17 regions, 3 have a second official language in addition to Spanish. These 3 communities, known as the historic nations, are the Basque Country, Galicia and Catalonia. Of the 3 historic nations, Catalonia is the biggest, richest and most self-assured. With 580 km of Mediterranean coastline, the Pyrenees in the North and Barcelona as its capital, it’s no wonder the Catalans are self-assured. However what really marks Catalonia out from other parts of Spain and what causes most of the controversy is the issue of language. There are two other regions with another language but the number of Catalan speakers is much higher and the language is in a much stronger position than that of Galician or Basque. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, in comparison to Basque, Catalan is much easier to learn. It’s a Latin language with the same roots as Spanish. Secondly, in comparison to Galician, Catalan doesn’t carry a social stigma. However, probably the most crucial reason is that Catalans simply want to speak Catalan, it’s part of their identity.

So where does Barça fit in? Well for many years the Camp Nou was one of the few places where you could speak Catalan without fear of being arrested. Under Franco’s dictatorship the only language permitted in Spain was Spanish. This meant some football teams, such as Espanyol and Athletic Bilbao had to change their names. It also meant that for a whole generation of Catalans, Basques and Galicians their mother tongue was forbidden and speaking Spanish became an obligation rather than a choice. The idea was that if you speak Spanish, you’ll feel Spanish and Spain will remain united. A bad idea in theory and even worse in practice.

The Franco dictatorship is responsible for much of the current policies of the Catalan parliament. It is also the background to much of the rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona. The ideas of Franco, of a united, Spanish speaking, centralized Spain go down a lot better with those who frequent the Bernabeu than those who go to the Camp Nou. However the rivalry continues to this day, 35 years after Franco died. That is due to the fact that Barça still have a cause despite Franco’s death.

So what is the Barça cause? In words of Barça’s current President, Joan Laporta, Barça is a tool to promote Catalan culture and language. Barça have become the de-facto national team of Catalonia. They speak the language of the Catalan people. They use the Catalan flag, on the strip, in the stadium and on the captain’s armband. What is more, they play beautiful football that makes the Catalans walk taller and feel even more confident. Barça is supposed to serve as an inspiration to the Catalans, a reminder (if they needed it) that they don’t need Madrid, that they can do better than Madrid.

You are always guaranteed good football at the Camp Nou but I consider myself very fortunate to have visited the place during arguably the greatest period in Barça’s history. Barça have enjoyed an unbelievable last year and half. Led by local hero Josep Guardiola and with a team made up mainly of canteros (players from the youth system), Barcelona have won 6 trophies on the bounce. In the process Barça won the league, cup and champion’s league, the only Spanish side to have ever done so. What’s more, on the way to winning the league they humiliated great rivals Real Madrid 2-6 in their own backyard. It doesn’t get much better than that and you can’t miss the feel good factor around the city and stadium.

Despite Real Madrid spending over 250 million on new players, the Barça steamroller has continued unabated. Barça are currently 5 points clear at the top and are still unbeaten. That didn’t change last Saturday against Getafe (2-1), despite Barça finishing the match with 9 men. So can Barça maintain the form from last season? Some say it’s impossible, that it’s difficult to stay motivated when you have won everything.

There are two reasons I think they can. Firstly, the stakes have been raised with Real’s spending spree. The Madrid media grinned and bared it last season but this season they were looking forward to a quick role reversal. It hasn’t happened and they are now getting nasty. There are daily reports emanating from the Madrid press suggesting Barça are winning because of conspiracies in the Spanish football federation. Every refereeing decision has been analysed to find proof of the conspiracy. The accusations have reached such a point that the normally calm Xavi Hernandez of Barcelona has become a vocal critic of the Madrid media. If Barça needed any motivation, they need only read certain newspapers. And the second reason? Well I said that it doesn’t get much better than what happened last season but I can think of one scenario that might top even that. The beauty of it is that it only requires Barça winning one trophy as opposed to three. If Barça retain their champion’s league title the feeling in Barcelona and in Madrid will be just as it was last season. Why? The final is in the Bernabeu. Still think Barça will struggle with motivation?

Mind your language

2010-02-01T20:28:00.001+01:00

In Spain, language is important and no more so than in Catalonia. Any discussion relating to Catalonia will inevitably get round to the topic of language. That is because there are two languages in Catalonia, each fighting for supremacy, each claiming to be in danger if not protected and promoted and each provoking emotional fights which are taken up by not only political parties but also two football clubs.

The most famous club in Catalonia is FC Barcelona, of that there is no doubt. Barça are the team of the people, the Catalan people. Their slogan, more than a club, reflects their role in defending and promoting the Catalan cause throughout their history. Barça are unashamedly Catalan.

There is however another team from Barcelona who are a lot harder to define and whose name sums up the political nature of language in Catalonia. Stop number 11 on El Camino de La Liga, Espanyol.

Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona, to give them their full name, are Barcelona’s second team. Their name is written in Catalan but it translates as Royal Spanish Sporting Club of Barcelona. I can’t sum it up any better than Simon Harris from Spain-Football.org,

“If you can imagine what would happen to a football club in Glasgow made up of Scottish players but called Her Majesty's English FC, then you're some way to understanding why the majority of Catalans will always find it difficult to support RCD Espanyol”

The history of Epanyol’s name is perhaps the most interesting thing about them, having changed four times, each time reflecting the changing nature of politics in Catalonia. The club was the first in Spain to be founded exclusively by Spaniards and not foreigners. The original name, Club Deportivo Español (written in Spanish), was supposed to reflect this. City neighbours Barça had been founded by foreigners and consisted mainly of foreign players. A few years later the club was given royal patronage and became Real Club Deportivo Español. However in 1931 Spain became a republic and royal symbols were banned. At the same time support for Catalonian autonomy was growing and so the name was changed to Club Esportiu Espanyol in order to fit in with the times. That is without the Royal patronage and this time written in Catalan and not Spanish. The Spanish republic didn’t last very long and following Franco’s victory in the civil war the name had to be changed again, this time due to the fact that the Catalan language itself had been banned. So once again they became known as Real Club Deportivo Español. This has been the name that lasted the longest. However in 1995, quite a bit after Franco had died and the ban on Catalan had been lifted, the club changed their name for one final time and invented a word in the process. This time they kept the royal patronage but changed the spelling to Catalan. However in order to keep the initials RCD they invented the word Deportiu a Catalanised version of the Spanish word Deportivo. The final result was the aforementioned Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona. If there is a club who reflects the linguistical history of Catalonia over the last 100 or so years then I have yet to find them.

So that’s the history lesson but what about the people who support Espanyol? It has to be said, anyone who is from Catalonia and supports a team named Espanyol is probably not voting for Esquerra Republicana (the Catalan independence party). I lived in Catalonia for a year and only met one Espanyol fan in that time. He was Catalan born but his parents were from other parts of Spain, what some Catalans call immigrants. During the Franco years many people moved to Catalonia from poorer parts of Spain such as Andalusia and Extremadura in search of work. Like many people of a similar background, he associated much more with his parent’s roots than with the place of his birth. He spoke both Spanish and Catalan but considered Spanish his mother tounge.

On my way to the stadium I was thinking about him, wondering if he was representative of most Espanyol fans. Espanyol have recently moved to a new stadium in Cornellá, a town with a large Spanish speaking population on the outskirts of Barcelona. Walking through the streets to the stadium I passed by several pubs full of fans having a pre-match beer. The language of choice for the conversations was definitely Spanish. The closer I got to the stadium the more police I passed until I eventually passed a group who were clearly the Espanyol hooligans, looking like a cross between Millwall and Ultrasur, kitted up in Burberry hats and Spanish flags.

Once at the stadium I popped into the club shop to buy a pin badge (this has become something of a tradition for me) and while having a look at the scarves I realised they have two versions, one written in Catalan and the other in Spanish. I doubt if FC Barcelona offer such a choice. When I got in the stadium and had a look through the progamme I realised it too was bi-lingual, with some articles written in Spanish and others in Catalan. Inside the stadium I also started to hear a bit more Catalan being spoken, although the dominant language remained Spanish. Looking around the stands I could see quite a few Spanish flags, many of which had the outline of a bull emblazoned on them. The bull is a symbol of Spanishness and particulary controversial at the moment as the Catalan parliament debates banning bull-fighting in Catalonia.

So I had pretty much made up my mind that this was a club for Spanish speakers when suddenly the teams were read out only in Catalan. If I found this a little strange then I was really confused when the teams came out for the start of the match and club anthem was played. All teams in Spain have an anthem, usually played as the teams come out at the start of the match. The Espanyol anthem is written and sung in Catalan. So I’m sitting watching a stadium full of people, many holding Spanish flags, standing to sing their club anthem in Catalan.

The visitors happened to be Athletic Bilbao, who along with Barça are the sworn enemies of Españolistas (Spanish nationalists) everywhere. The presence of a couple of hundred Basques in the stadium seemed to get the hooligan mob I had spotted earlier a bit animated and I could see quite of a few of them aiming facist salutes towards to the travelling support. You could also hear Viva España being sung although many of the home support booed when this happened. I have heard Viva España being sung many times at Real Madrid, perhaps Spain’s most Epañolista club, and I have never heard anyone boo it. So it seems that what we can say is that not all Espanyol supporters are Españolistas. However what is clear is that they are all anti Barça. There was universal approval for the songs insulting their city neighbours. So perhaps that is what unites them, a hatred of Barça and what it stands for. And what exactly does Barça stand for? I’ll tell you next week because stop number 12 on El Camino de La Liga is FC Barcelona.

A Tale of Two Cities

2009-12-08T20:20:00.000+01:00

After several recent trips to the north of Spain it was time to head south to see two cities and two matches in two days. Andalusia is Spain´s second largest and most populous region. It´s a land known for its hot weather, cloudless skies and tourist beaches. It is also the region with the most number of teams in la liga, four in total. I travelled there to see two of these teams and the cities they represent. Two teams who suddenly find themselves as bigger rivals than before.

The first stop on my Andalusian adventure was Seville, Spain´s fourth largest city and the capital of Andalusia. One of Spain´s most important cities and a popular destination with tourists, Seville is associated with everything stereotypically Spanish; flamenco dancers, bullfighting, sun, sangria, gypsy women and la Macarena (the song is named after a neighbourhood in the city). Recently though, the city has also become familiar to football fans around Europe due to the exploits of one its football clubs. Over the last few years Sevilla Fútbol Club has become a household name after winning back to back UEFA cups, as well as a European Super Cup.

Like some of the cities of the north, Seville is a football city. However, despite the recent success, Sevilla doesn´t have the whole city behind it. It´s not very often you will here Glasgow and Seville in the same sentence, but when it comes to football they have something in common. That is because both cities are divided by two football teams who are equally as big. There are other cities, such as Liverpool or even Madrid, who have two teams but one is bigger and more successful than the other. In Seville though, like in Glasgow, there isn´t a big one and smaller one but two big ones. In fact, you could say that it´s impossible for one to ever be bigger than the other. In Seville, the significant other is Real Betis.

The clubs may be equally matched in terms of fan base, stadiums, prestige and history, but the current situation of both on the park couldn´t be more different. Sevilla have carried on the good form of recent seasons, easily qualifying from their Champions League group and challenging Barcelona and Real Madrid. Real Betis, on the other hand, find themselves mid-table in the second division with as many problems off the park as on it. Real Betis´relegation from la liga on the last day of last season was a huge shock similar to that of Newcastle´s relegation in England.

When la liga lost Real Betis, it didn´t only lose a big club, it also lost the Seville derby. The Seville derby is one of the biggest matches in Spain, second only to Real Madrid vs Barcelona. While Sevilla fans reveled in their bitter rival´s relegation it soon dawned on everybody that there would be no Seville derby for at least one season. As much as the two clubs dislike each other, they need each other and deep down, if Sevilla fans are being honest, they probably miss Betis a little. With Betis out of the picture for the moment, a new Andalusian derby has sprung up.

The second stop on the Andalusian trip was Málaga, Andalusia´s second largest city. Unlike Seville, Málaga is located on the coast. Like Seville, it has tourists, although its tourists are the Costa del Sol type. Most importantly though, like Seville, it has a football team in la liga.

In Spain the fighting isn´t just between the regions, but within the regions themselves. In Asturias it´s between Gijón and Oviedo, in Galicia between La Coruña and Vigo and in Andalusia between Seville and Málaga. This has led to Málaga vs Sevilla taking on extra importance and becoming this season´s biggest match in the south. So how real is the rivalry between the two? A quick look at some of the stalls before both matches gave me a clue. I could see several anti-sevillista scarves on sale in Málaga but I didn´t see anything anti-málaga in Seville. This confirmed what I suspected, there is antipathy between the two cities but it seems to flow in one direction more than the other.

The turn out in Málaga´s Rosaleda stadium was surprisingly good, considering their team is in the relegation zone. It was probably helped by the 20 degree temperatures (not bad for December) and a winnable home match against Osasuna. The Rosaleda is perfect representation of the city itself. Like many things in Málaga it is newly built, yet it is located between a gypsy market and a dried out river.

Likewise, at Sevilla´s Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium the turnout was high for the visit of Valladolid. This probably had less to do with the weather, although it was as warm as in Málaga, and more to do with Sevilla´s good form. Like the Rosaleda, the Sanchez Pizjuan represents the city very well. Old and dirty but with a special, hot atmosphere.

With both teams needing wins, the atmosphere was good. In both stadiums the Ultras put on an impressive show. The Málaga ultras in particular were impressive considering the lack of inspiration offered up by their team. In the end, despite the best efforts of both sets of fans, neither side could fashion out the victory they needed, both drawing 1-1. In Sevilla´s case, the football was good but the finishing wasn´t. In Malaga´s case, the football was worryingly bad and only a lucky equaliser rescued a point for them. With Barcelona and Real Madrid both winning, Sevilla lost some ground on the top two. Results at the other end of the table moved Malaga further into the relegation zone and unless things improve very soon they are facing relegation to the second division and Andalusia is facing the prospect of looking for a new derby to get excited about.

Back to the North

2009-11-30T17:58:00.002+01:00

Snow top on the mountains, rivers rushing through valleys, cows and sheep grazing on the green hills. It could easily be a scene from the Alps, but we aren´t in Switzerland, we are in Spain, in the northern region of Asturias to be more precise. Asturias is famous among Spaniards for its unspoiled nature, its friendly people, its milk, its cider and its stomach filling fabada. In sporting terms, Asturias is perhaps more famous for its racing driver Fernando Alonso than for its football teams but to those who follow Spanish football more carefully the name Sporting Gijón conjures up images of a northern club known for its loyal and dedicated support.

The train journey up to the northern coast is a memorable experience. After several hours travelling through the deserted plains of Castilla y Leon you are suddenly thrown into the mountain valleys of Asturias. Some may believe the boundaries between the Spanish regions are artificial but here they couldn’t be clearer.

If you only have one day in Asturias, as I did, then you have to try the local food and drink. Spanish regions are known as much for their food as for anything else and each region has its specialty. In Asturias it’s fabada, a type of stew with beans. To wash the fabada down, you need some strong Asturian cider which is poured in its own special way. With a stomach full of fabada and cider you are both full and drunk enough to enjoy the Asturian winter weather.

The game I was in town to see was between Sporting Gijón and Villareal. After avoiding relegation on the last day of last season, Sporting have started this season quite well and went into the match sitting just outside the European places. Whether Sporting can maintain this good form is questionable but what isn’t in doubt is the joy of the town at being back in La Liga.

Gijón, like Bilbao, has the feeling of a football town. The Asturians, like the Basques, are proud people and you can’t help get the impression that the whole city is behind their football team. Wearing a Sporting top is not just about what football team you support but it’s about who you are and where you come from. Compare this with someone wearing an Arsenal or a Chelsea top and you might see what I mean.

The Sporting supporters, known as Sportinguistas, are considered among the most loyal in Spain and there is hard evidence to back this up. Despite spending the whole of last season fighting relegation, Sporting had the 5th highest occupancy rate in their stadium with an average of 85% of seats occupied. This figure puts them below Athletic Bilbao but above Barcelona. For that reason, attending a Sporting match guarantees atmosphere.

The atmosphere inside the 25,000 El Molinon stadium was similar to that of San Mamés or Vicente Calderón which led me to think that it might have something to do with teams who play in red and white. The Sporting Ultras were in good voice and kept the singing going for almost the entire 90 minutes. This was an impressive feat as the game itself created little entertainment to get excited about. In the end it was decided by a penalty, awarded to home side and converted at the second attempt by Sporting‘s Croatian forward Billic. The result was enough to keep Sporting’s good start going and give the supporters something to cheer about.

After the match there was a nice walk, past the beach, back to the city centre. The Sporting fans weren’t getting carried away and the conversations focused mainly on how many points were needed to stay up. The Sporting fans are realistic. For them, football is more than fancy signings and winning trophies. They know they can’t win the league but they support their team with a pride and passion not found at every football club. Again, compare this with a Chelsea or an Arsenal fan and you might see what I mean.

The Rain in Spain

2009-11-09T22:33:00.001+01:00

The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain. Whoever first coined this expression clearly didn´t have the north of Spain in mind. This weekend I travelled to Santander to see a northern derby between Racing Santander from the Cantabria region of Spain and Athletic Bilbao from the Basque Country. It was a trip that demonstrated quite clearly the differences between the north of Spain and the south, the regional politics of Spain and how the weather can affect everything from the character of the people to the job prospects of a football manager.
The weather on the Spanish north coast is notoriously stormy and I got to sample it first hand as I experienced the pleasure of landing at Santander airport in early morning gale force winds. Once on the ground we headed to a friend´s flat for breakfast and ended up staying there for the next several hours due to a downpour of Scottish proportions. Welcome to the north of Spain in November. In Madrid temperatures drop but it remains sunny and dry. On the north coast, the end of the summer means rain, wind, more rain and little more wind.
Being Scottish, I know all too well the influence of the weather on your mood and on the character of people in general. Rain and wind don´t make you feel energetic, enthusiastic, cheerful or relaxed. They get in your way, you have to fight against them; both mentally and physically. In Spain, northerners are considered to be serious, cold, tough and reserved people.
So is it true? Are northerners a different kind of Spaniard from southerners? I was thinking about this as I observed people in the local bars. For me, bars are the best places to observe Spanish people as you tend to get a wide spectrum of people; workers, families, students and the elderly. So the one thing that struck me about the people in the bars in Santander was the lack of noise. My image of Spanish bars is that they are smoky, noisy places. Perhaps they are quieter because many of the people in the bar are only there to escape the rain. When you are caught in a sudden downpour, the easiest place to go is a bar as there is more or less one on every corner. When you have just escaped the rain, you´re main thoughts are how you are going to get to where you were going, when you´re going to get there or even if you´re going to get there. Southern Spaniards don´t have that problem, if they are in a bar it´s because they want to be there, they are happy to be there and they express this by making a lot of noise.
The next day the weather wasn´t looking any better. The whole morning, like much of the day before, was spent looking out of the window at the rain and I seriously started thinking that the game might not go ahead. Luckily the rain let up enough to make venturing outside a realistic possibility and playing a game of football just about manageable.
Racing´s stadium, El Sardinero, is named after the local beach which is literally a stones throw away. El Sardinero is a small, tight stadium with only 22,000 seats. In fact, it´s fittingly named as the word sardinero also means sardine and if Boca Juniors stadium is nicknamed the chocolate box I suggest Racing´s be nicknamed the sardine can.
I travelled to this game with none of the naivety I had had in Valencia. This was a local derby that I knew wouldn´t be a friendly affair. On this occasion the lines were not blurred, one team was Spanish while the other was Basque, mucho morbo. Racing´s full name is Real Racing Club Santander. There are several clubs in Spain with Real (Royal) at the start of their name, most notably Real Madrid but also Real Zaragoza, Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña and Real Club Deportivo Espanyol. Clubs such as these have all been granted royal patronage and as such have a crown on their badge. Their supporters also tend to wave Spanish flags at matches and don´t sympathise very much with Athletic Bilbao´s Basque only policy.
Bilbao is only a one hour drive from Santander and this led to a decent away support, considering the conditions. The same, unfortunately, could not be said for the home side who could only manage to fill 14,412 seats.
So, why the poor attendance for a local derby? Well the first thing that comes to mind is the weather but on this occasion it wasn´t the main reason. The poor attendance was almost certainly because of Racing´s poor form this season. Football fans will always turn up when their team is winning, not even the weather can change that. Racing have started the season poorly and it´s quite clear to everyone that this season is going to be about fighting for survival. It´s a fight for survival that Racing must win if Cantabria are to remain represented in La Liga. Cantabria is the second smallest of Spain´s 17 autonomous regions and Racing Santander is the regions only representative in La Liga. In fact, Racing Santander are the only Cantabrian club to have ever played in La Liga. For the Spanish regions, in particular the smaller ones, it´s important to have some sort of representation in the main league. Cantabria doesn´t want to join the select club of regions such as Extremadura, Castilla y La Mancha, Murcia and La Rioja who are without a team in La Liga.
The Racing fans that were brave enough to turn up started the match in a high spirits. There were the customary insults aimed at the opposition with a heavy focus on the fact the opposition were Basque. Unfortunately for the Racing fans, the Basques had the last laugh on this occasion as they adapted to the conditions better and in the end ran out comfortable 0-2 winners. The result, as well as the performance, left the home support far from impressed and the final whistle was met with a chorus of boos and the waving of white handkerchiefs, a sign that the home support want the manager sacked. It certainly did the trick as the manager was sacked the following day. A bad performance and a defeat by local rivals is bad enough but it´s even worse when you have got soaked in the process. Perhaps the Racing manager is just another victim of the weather.

Not so black and white

2009-10-19T22:59:00.001+02:00

I am no stranger to Valencia or to Valencian people. I have visited the city on several occasions and I knew a lot of Valencian people from my time spent working in Catalonia. Therefore I travelled to Valencia this weekend with some pretty well founded ideas of what to expect from the city. However, it once again took football to show me a side of Valencia and Spanish politics I hadn´t yet seen.
I arrived in Valencia early on Saturday morning after taking the 35 minute flight from Madrid. There is something special about walking around a city very early in the morning so I took advantage of the chance to appreciate some of the views you don´t have time to notice when you are dodging traffic and pedestrians during the day. After the obligatory Spanish coffee (the one thing that never changes throughout Spain is the quality of the coffee); I managed to catch a midmorning football match between two local boys´ clubs. For a while it brought me back to my football playing days as a child in Scotland albeit with far superior facilities and ball control. Anyone who is in any doubt about why Spain is so good and Scotland so poor at football only needs to attend a boys´ club match in both countries and everything will become clear.
After sampling more of the sites of Valencia I headed back to the hostel where I was staying and that is where I ran into Pedro. In terms of profile, Pedro doesn´t fit what you would imagine a typical Valencia fan to be like. Pedro isn´t from Valencia, he is from Mallorca. Nor are his parents from Valencia. His father is from Albacete and his mother is English. In fact, Pedro isn´t really sure himself how he came to be a Valencia fan but one thing is clear, he is a Valencia fan. As a matter of fact you would be hard pressed to find a bigger one. As he lives in Mallorca, he must attend every home match by either plane or ferry. It reminds of the Shetland Tartan Army whose motto is “every game is an away game”. Pedro has been a Valencia fan for as long as he can remember and will happily speak about Valencia past and present all day. As he goes to most matches alone, we agreed to go to the game together and a better guide I couldn´t have asked for.
I have to admit that I arrived in Valencia with some rather naïve ideas of what a Valencia vs Barcelona fixture might look like. Valencia and Catalonia are neighbours on the Mediterranean coast and both communities speak the same language. When I lived in Catalonia I knew just as many Valencians as Catalans; many people from Valencia come to work in Catalonia due to their knowledge of Catalan. So although I knew it was a derby of sorts I expected a derby between likeminded cousins, maybe something similar to a Scotland vs Ireland match. However, once again, Spanish politics and football proved much more complicated than I had anticipated.
The first hint that my rosy picture was far from the truth was when Pedro got ready for the match. Pedro wore two scarves to this match, one with Valencia CF and the other with España written on it. When I asked him why he was wearing the second scarf he told me straight that it was to wind up the Catalans. When I asked him if there was some morbo, an almost untranslatable Spanish football term which means bitter rivalry, between Valencia and Barcelona, he told me there was a lot and not only between the football clubs but also between the communities. The problem, as always, is political. There are some in Catalonia who speak of the Països Catalans which can be literally translated as the Catalan Countries but might be better translated as Greater Catalonia. This is a political idea of an independent Catalonia which encompasses all the areas where Catalan is spoken and for the adherents of the Països Catalans this includes the community of Valencia, The Balearic Islands, Andorra, part of Aragon, part of Murcia part of Northern France and even part of Sardinia. The idea of Greater Catalonia, while appealing to some in Catalonia, has very little support in Valencia and is in fact actively opposed by many. Valencians may speak a language almost identical to Catalan but for them it´s not Catalan, it´s Valencian. What is more, many Valencians while proud of their community are also supportive of Spain and in fact the community of Valencia is governed by the Popular Party, the conservative party who also govern the community of Madrid. In Valencia you are just as likely if not more likely to hear Spanish being spoken in the street than hear Valencian. Therefore, you might describe the feelings of many Valencians towards Catalonia as similar to those of many Catalans towards Madrid, i.e. resentment and opposition towards a political and linguistic idea they feel is being imposed on them.
Pedro is one of those football fans who like to get to the stadium early, to soak up the pre match atmosphere. The closer we got to the stadium, the more apparent the antipathy towards Barcelona became. Even two hours before kick-off the area around the stadium was buzzing and the atmosphere was cranked up a few more notches when the Barcelona team bus arrived. I have seen opposition team buses arrive at stadiums in Spain before and there is always someone on hand to hurl a few insults but the scene which greeted Barcelona was something new to me. The team bus, escorted by several police vans and riot police was met by perhaps 1000 Valencia supporters chanting “puta Barça y puta Cataluña!” which is difficult to translate but is along the lines of “f**king Barça and f**king Catalonia”. The atmosphere inside the stadium was equally as hostile with the Valencia ultras making frequent remarks to Joan Laporta, the President of Barcelona, who is an open supporter of the Països Catalans. The Valencia ultras also engaged in some singing of Viva España and carried on with “puta Barça y puta Cataluña” chant throughout the match.
The game itself, in terms of action, didn´t live up to the pre-match hype and ended goalless but this match was all about the atmosphere. After the game I met with Pedro who was quite satisfied with the result and happy not be facing the trip back to Mallorca on a downer.
The next day Valencia was enjoying a calm Sunday afternoon with none of the chaos of the previous night. I headed down to the beach to have some paella, Valencia´s most famous dish. As I sat eating my paella, I reflected on a lesson learned in Spanish football. Nothing in Valencia, except the colours of the football team, is black and white.

Football City

2009-09-28T11:03:00.000+02:00

When I decided to do this project there was one club that I was looking forward to more than any other. The club was Athletic Bilbao, one of the most famous clubs in Spain and one of undoubted uniqueness. Bilbao is situated in the Basque Country, perhaps the most controversial part of Spain. For some, the Basque Country is just another part of Spain, all be it with a different climate and a second language. For others, the Basque Country is a separate nation with its own traditions and a unique language. Well it´s certainly different, that´s for sure.
On the train up from Madrid you start to feel like you are entering a different country. First there is the change of landscapes as you leave the dry, arid landscape of Castilla y Leon and enter the green, mountainous lands of the Basque Country. With the change of land, comes a change in the houses. The Basque houses that start to spring up in the hills and valleys look more like Austrian or Swiss houses than Spanish ones. You could even get the impression you are in the Balkans or the Caucuses and this becomes more realistic when you start to read the names of the stations and hear the train announcements in Basque. The final sign you are not in just another part of Spain is a sudden ID check on the train by plain clothed police officers, perhaps from the anti-terrorist division.
Arriving in Bilbao on match day is also a unique experience. Bilbao is the Newcastle of Spain, in the sense that almost everyone from Bilbao supports Athletic. In my two days in Bilbao I can´t remember seeing one man, woman or child wearing a Real Madrid or Barça top. That is the equivalent of visiting an English city and not seeing a Manchester Utd top or a Scottish city and not seeing a Rangers or Celtic top. On match day in Bilbao, everyone knows there is a match on. Even the woman who worked in the hostel where we were staying, someone who didn´t seem that interested in football and was in fact a Real Sociedad fan (Athletics Basque rivals) knew there was a match and that it was against Sevilla. To be fair, knowing there is a match on isn´t difficult as so many of the bars have red and white Athletic flags set up on match day and every second person you pass in the street is wearing something red and white. Nevertheless, the city has the feeling of a football city where every man, boy, woman and girl is behind Athletic and is praying for a victory.
So why are Athletic so special? Well, like many things in Spanish football, it has a political edge. Athletic are best known for only playing Basque players, a policy they have stuck to throughout their entire 111 year existence. In the past, in the days before TV money and Bosman transfers, it was quite normal for teams to be made up of local players. Nowadays, it is unheard of for a team playing in one of Europe’s top leagues to be made up of entirely local players. Now, when I say local, I don´t mean entirely from Bilbao but rather from the Basque Country. This is what gives Athleitc an extra edge because as well as being the local team for people from Bilbao they are the de-facto national team of the Basque people who feel Basque and not Spanish. Unlike Scotland, the Basque Country doesn´t have an officially recognized national team. Basque players who want to play in World Cups and European Championships have to do so under the flag of Spain. For many Basques it´s not a problem but for others it is and it is those people who can look upon Athletic as their national team. This was the first ground so far where I haven´t seen anyone selling Spanish flags or the rather provocative scarf saying “Esto es España y el que no le guste que se vaya” which roughly translates as “This is Spain and he who doesn´t like it can leave”. Instead, you only see Basque flags and scarves saying “Euskadiko Selekzioa” which I think is Basque for “Basque national team”.
Whatever your political views on the Basque situation, it is admirable that Athletic continue to survive at the top level with only Basque players while others spend millions buying the best talent from around the world. In fact Athletic have never been relegated from La Primera División.
Another thing that makes Athletic special is their famous stadium, San Mamés; better known as the Cathedral. San Mamés is the oldest football stadium in Spain and you can feel it as soon as you enter. For the football traditionalist like myself, it trumps the Emirates any day of the week. It is one of those stadiums that still has pillars blocking some poor guy´s view and stands that come from different eras. The atmosphere of San Mamés on match day is also unique. If being at a Getafe match is like attending a Clyde match then being at an Athletic match is like attending a Scotland match. Unlike other teams in Spain, there are no easily identifiable Ultras but when a song starts everyone gets involved and the noise is incredible. Likewise, when the referee makes an unpopular decision, everyone joins in with the insults, whistles and boos. Unfortunately for Athletic there was much more of the latter in the match with Sevilla. Athletic had started this season very well with three straight wins but a midweek loss to Tenerife was followed by a 0-4 home loss to an unforgiving Sevilla. The loss was made worse by the fact it came from a combination of Athletic mistakes and bad refereeing. However, what made Athletic´s loss different was that the crowd didn´t turn on the team, manager or the board. There were no insults hurled at their own players. There was no one demanding they scrap their Basque only policy and go out and buy the type of foreign talent that Sevilla had. They crowd were visibly hurt at the defeat but you knew they would be back in numbers for the next match. In fact the next day the city’s main square was full of men, boys, women and girls wearing Athletic tops. Some had gathered to trade football stickers as they raced to complete their album. Others, the younger boys, were playing football, no doubt dreaming of playing for Athletic when they are older. The Athletic fans seem to have more patience and loyalty than average Spanish football fan. They seem to accept that their club´s uniqueness will prevent it from winning the Spanish league but that seems ok. Perhaps that is because here, more than anywhere else, the club is more than just a football team.

Un equipo del barrio

2009-09-24T11:04:00.002+02:00

Second time lucky but last night I finally got to see Getafe play at home. I had actually planned to see them a few weeks ago but tickets were hard to come by. That wasn´t the case last night in the 10pm kick-off against Valencia. Yes, they have 10pm kick-offs in Spain, even on a Wednesday night. The fact that the match was live on the tele probably also contributed to the lower than average crowd inside the fabulously named Coliseum Alfonso Perez stadium. Football fans will remember Alfonso Perez simply as Alfonso, the player who scored a dramatic winner for Spain vs Yugoslavia in Euro 2000.
Well, one man who wasn´t put off by either the kick-off time or the fact that the match was televised was Daniel, the man sitting next to me. I was too polite to ask but Daniel must be around 75 years old but he has been following Getafe his whole life and hasn´t lost any of his passion. As he put it, Getafe are “un equipo del barrio” or a small team from a small neighbourhood. He explained to me that for most of his life Getafe had languished in the lower divisions of Spanish football before finally gaining promotion to La Liga in 2005. Since then, they have reached 2 Spanish cup finals and one UEFA cup quarter final, narrowly losing out to Bayern Munich in stoppage time. As well as this, they have changed manager every year since being promoted and only have one player left from their 2005 promotion team.
As I listened to this I couldn´t help making a comparison with my team in Scotland, Clyde, who like Getafe live in the shadow of bigger neighbours, have a stadium they can never fill, change managers on a yearly basis and until very recently were punching above their weight. And the parallels didn´t stop there. As the game went on I began to realise that attending a Getafe match is much like attending a Clyde match.
Firstly, when you are in a smaller crowd you can hear every insult and everyone can hear your insults. This leads to a much more creative way of swearing that you don´t hear in the bigger stadiums. As Daniel told me, “this is a great vocabulary lesson for you”. Secondly, the atmosphere among the supporters is much more familiar than at a big club. This is due to the fact that more or less the same group of people come every week and very soon you get to know everyone who sits within earshot of you. Smaller clubs definitely have a more family atmosphere in terms of everyone knowing everyone else. Daniel actually thought I was the son of the man who normally sits next to him and was a little confused when I told him my dad was in Scotland.
The match itself also reminded me of some good nights at Broadwood. Getafe were up against the much fancied Valencia, with Villa, Silva and Mata all in the starting line up. Valencia went in front through Villa but Getafe fought back and were 2-1 up by half time. Like some of the older Clyde teams I remember, Getafe played as a team and won despite the opposition having more money or technically superior players. Getafe also suffered from some bad refereeing which led Daniel to tell me that 89% of violence at football matches is caused by referees. Quite how he came to this figure I don´t know but I certainly wasn´t going to challenge it. In the second half Getafe continued to press Valencia into making mistakes and got their reward with a third goal and in the end ran out comfortable 3-1 winners.
I said my goodbyes to Daniel, wishing Getafe all the best this season, and left to catch the metro home. To be honest I didn´t expect Getafe to have much character but I forgot that that is exactly the charm and strength of smaller clubs. They don´t have money, stars or a huge support but they got character and for Daniel´s sake I hope they survive for many more seasons.

Zaragoza

2009-09-21T19:59:00.002+02:00

After a four hour bus journey we finally pulled into the bus station in Zaragoza around midday. Zaragoza is Spain´s fifth largest city and was host of the Expo last year but I wasn´t heading to the Expo park. The first stop in Zaragoza was La Romareda Stadium, home of Real Zaragoza. Zaragoza may be Spain´s fifth largest city but Real Zaragoza are not Spain´s fifth largest football club. That being said, most people with an interest in football outside of Zaragoza probably know about them due to their dramatic 1995 UEFA cup final victory against Arsenal, the one in which the Real Zaragoza winner was scored from their own half as Seaman fell into the net.
When I arrived at the stadium, the scene was pretty deserted. There were a few guys setting up stalls selling scarves, hats and flags but that was about it. The ticket office, however, was open. The price for today´s match against Valladolid, 45 Euros; which by my reckoning makes them more expensive than Real Madrid. Unsurprisingly it wasn´t much trouble getting hold of a ticket for what in reality is a bottom of the table clash.
So, ticket purchased, it was time to go and see a little of Zaragoza and maybe pick up a football souvenir along the way. A nice walk, coffee and Real Zaragoza pin badge later and it was time to head back to the stadium for the match.
For my 45 Euros I got a seat in the sun, behind the goals and very close to the pitch. Ten minutes before kick-off it seemed the prices had put many people off coming however in typically Spanish fashion many people turned up late and in the end the official attendance was given as 22,000. The stadium itself, which apparently hosted a Michael Jackson concert once upon a time, is a nice wee venue and once the game got going and the Ultras started making some noise the atmosphere was actually quite good. On the subject of Ultras the Real Zaragoza ones seem to be split into two groups, one suspiciously far right looking group calling themselves Ligallo Fondo Norte and another called Colectivo 1932. The two groups sit at opposite ends of the stadium and sing different songs which led me to think there was some sort of conflict between them however the man sitting next to me assured me there was no such problem. In terms of making noise, Colectivo 1932 won.
The match itself was a decent enough affair but despite the presence of Roberto Ayala, Jermaine Pennant and Pavon, Real Zaragoza slipped to disappointing 1-2 defeat. Real Zaragoza are back in La Liga after being promoted last season but if they want to remain there they need to win these sort of matches. The supporters know this very well and so the match ended with the customary sack the board chant which seems to be sung whenever the home side loses in Spain.
So after the match it was a mad rush through rush hour traffic in Zaragoza in order to get to the bus station and back to Madrid in time for work on Monday. Luckily we made it to the station with some time to spare. Zaragoza is a nice city but you need more than one day to see it. No doubt I´ll be back in the future to visit the more cultural sides of the city, I just wonder if the football club will still be in La Liga when I do.

Red and White Enigma

2009-09-13T14:59:00.001+02:00

There is more to Madrid than Real you know. Second stop on el Camino de La Liga was the Vicente Calderon stadium, 14 kilometres across the city and home to Atlético de Madrid. This was my first trip to see Atlético, so I wasn´t sure what to expect in the stadium although I was pretty sure that it would be very different to a day out at the Bernabéu. While the Bernabéu stands proudly on the plush Castellana street, surrounded by expensive apartments, bars and restaurants, the Vicente Calderon is hidden among cheaper looking buildings on the banks of the Manzanares river. While the Bernabéu can boast 80,000 seats all covered by a roof which includes central heating for those chilly December and January matches, the Vicente Calderon has to settle for 54,000 seats, three quarters of which have no roof covering whatsoever. So, when it comes to style, comfort and beauty, the Bernabéu wins hands down. However, we are football fans and those things don´t matter to us. Only one thing matters to the hardcore football fan, atmosphere, and when it comes to atmosphere, Atlético can confidently say they are number one in Madrid.
While Ultrasur, the Madrid Ultras, make up a tiny proportion of the Real match day crowd, the Atlético Ultras, known as Frente Atlético, make up a significant portion of Vicente Calderon on match day. While Ultrasur make a wee bit of noise every now and again, the Atlético Ultras carry on singing and make a lot of noise for the full 90 minutes. Now don´t get me wrong, the atmosphere in the Bernabéu can be fantastic but the supporters need to be motivated to bring it about. In the Vicente Calderon the supporters need no such motivation, even in a match like yesterday´s with less than glamorous opponents Racing de Santander.
So why are the two sets of supporters so different? One possible reason is that Real supporters are predominately middle class while Atlético supporters are working class. It´s an argument I have heard banded around several times and I´m sure there is more than a little bit of truth to it. However, another equally plausible reason is that Atlético supporters have suffered more disappointment and heartache than their city rivals. The life of a Real Madrid fan is characterized by seeing their team win. The life of an Atlético fan is characterized by seeing their team underachieve. While the supporter of let’s say Huelva can accept that their team has neither the means nor the potential of ever winning the league or challenging the big clubs, the Atlético Madrid supporter has good reasons to believe that his club has both the means and potential to win the league but is almost always left disappointed. In most cities, a club with a 54,000 seater stadium and a support that can fill it and can boast players such as Kun Aguero, Maxi Rodriguez, Diego Forlán and Simao would be considered the number one team. However in Madrid this means nothing when your rivals are Real Madrid. This feeling of being considered small despite feeling big must have an effect of the psyche of the Atlético supporter. This makes them more and more determined and desperate to win and more upset and heartbroken when they lose. If only they could win the league, perhaps the attention and money might start moving in their direction and they could rise up and knock Real Madrid of their perch. But they never manage it and yesterday´s match was another reminder of their short comings.
After losing 3-0 in Malaga on day one, yesterday´s home match against bottom club Racing de Santander seemed the perfect match to kick-start their season. However, Atlético proved once again to be a complete enigma. Fair enough, Racing defended well and are pretty decent going forward but Atlético´s inability to motivate themselves to win the more winnable matches was obvious. Despite Racing being reduced to 10 men for the entire second half, Atlético couldn´t find the performance needed to win the match and ultimately challenge the big teams point for point over a whole season. The match finished 1-1, a result which will please Racing much more than it will please Atlético.
Next up for Atlético is the daunting trip to the Camp Nou to face Barcelona. Knowing Atlético Madrid they might well win that match but it is matches like yesterday´s that they need to address if they are to live up to their big club feeling.

First stop, Santiago Bernabeu

2009-08-30T15:44:00.001+02:00

One down, nineteen to go! I started my journey close to home by making the short (1.4 kms according to googlemap) trip round the corner (literally) to see Real Madrid vs Deportivo La Coruña. The reason for starting here was not so much the close location but the significance of the match. This was Real Madrid´s first official match since big spending Florentino Perez returned. That meant a debut for Cristino Ronaldo, Kaká, Karim Benzema, Xabi Alonso, Albiol and Arbeloa. After being well and truly humilated by Guardiola´s Barcelona last season, Real Madrid are desperate to reassert themselves as the biggest and best in Spain. Florentino Perez has returned promising success and good football and has put his money where his mouth is. So this match took on special significance as everyone in Spain and Europe waited to see how this new team would gel and whether they could handle to pressure heaped on them.

To understand the excitement around Madrid at the moment you have to understand the sheer depression of last season as their arch rivals Barcelona won a historic treble (the first Spanish club to ever do so) playing some wonderful football which culminated in a historic 2-6 victory in the Bernabeu. This domestic humiliation was made worse when Real were thumped 5-0 on aggregate by Liverpool in the Champions League. At the end of last season there wasn´t one player in the Real Madrid team, with the possible exception of Casillas, who could get into the Barcelona starting eleven.

Furthermore, you have to understand the mentality of the club. Real Madrid have a firm belief that they are god´s chosen club, that it is their destiny to win everything and dominate football globally. Real Madrid love drama, they love creating myths and legends. This season could be one of their legendry years as the Champions League final will be held in their stadium. Nothing would be more Real Madridish than to win their tenth Champions League final in their own stadium. Then again, there is another possibility. Don´t say this too loud around here but there exists the very real possibility of Barcelona winning the Champions League in Real´s stadium. The thought of the Catalans celebrating on Real´s sacred surface and on the streets of the capital is too much for many Madridistas to bear. But that is the drama that is Real Madrid, that is why this season is so important and that is why yesterday´s match was a real test.

As part of Real´s constant fight to prove they are number one, Usain Bolt was paraded before kick-off. The fastest man in the world is now a Real Madrid fan, another great piece of theatre from Florentino Perez. The weather was perfect, the pitch as immaculate as Real´s all white strip. The scene was set for Real to lay down a challenge and send shivers down Guardiola´s spine.

It all got off to a good start with semi-God Raul opening the scoring for Real however Deportivo showed they weren´t there just to make up the numbers and hit back with an excellently worked equaliser. Real went back in front from the penalty spot and guess who scored? The most expensive player in the history of football, Cristiano Ronaldo. Surely Deportivo wouldn´t have the gaul to come back again, well they did. Seconds into the second half and veteran Valeron was given far too much time to pick his spot and fire home. So we were back level again. Then we had one of those match changing moments. Deportivo hit Real on the counter attack, the ball was squared to Valeron and although it looked harder to miss he somehow contrived to knock the ball wide from a couple of yards out. With this miss the capacity crowd inside the stadium started to get restless however there was still time for one more twist and it was Lass Diarra of all people who popped up with the winner to settle the home crowd´s nerves and break Deportivo´s resistance. There were no more goals and so the match finished 3-2. For the neutral it was a good match but for Real Madrid it was a bit of a letdown. As the Real manager rightly pointed out, a win is the most important thing and it will take a while for the team to gel but he also knows that Real supporters are famously impatient, as is Florentino Perez. Real will come up against much better teams than Deportivo this season and they know they need to do more. For the time being at least, Guardiolas spine is relaxed.