Village Idiot

Well those teams have great need of their new stadiums. Valencia have to sell Mestalla and move or they'll fold, Espanyol didn't even have a stadium (our favorite quip against them), and Atlético's stadium is sitting directly over Madrid's most congested road, which the city council wants to expand to avoid the hour plus jams during rush hour (hated those when I lived there). http://futboldeseleccion.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/atletico-de-madrid.jpg Wow, didn't know a massive road went underneath the main stand. I'm sure they were thinking of building a new stadium in the 90's is that correct? Yes. They'll move to what was going to be Madrid's Olympic stadium.

And what's worse, they can't pay for the work of Nou Mestalla to proceed which has been half-built for almost two years and it's starting to decay.

Well those teams have great need of their new stadiums. Valencia have to sell Mestalla and move or they'll fold, Espanyol didn't even have a stadium (our favorite quip against them), and Atlético's stadium is sitting directly over Madrid's most congested road, which the city council wants to expand to avoid the hour plus jams during rush hour (hated those when I lived there). http://futboldeseleccion.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/atletico-de-madrid.jpg

Noticed Athletic have a sponsor these days. Shame. Happened a couple seasons ago I think. A shame indeed, but money calls... Still can't get over San Mamés getting torn down. Great Football Stadium, my Uncle said his favorite time of the 1982 World Cup (he went to the whole tournament) was in Bilbao. Any reason for a new stadium btw. The Bilbao city council wants to rebuild that area of the city extensively (it does need some rebuilding indeed) and San Mamés is sort on the way. That's the official excuse though, if there's some political favors/real state speculation involved I don't dare say. They are going to rebuild it just a few yards away from the current site which is a bit puzzling. San Mamés is old, but it's a piece of history of football in this country and it's a shame that's going to be lost. Most Athletic fans I know abhor the idea.

Noticed Athletic have a sponsor these days. Shame. Happened a couple seasons ago I think. A shame indeed, but money calls... Still can't get over San Mamés getting torn down.

No ManUtd? Used to think Newcastle fans hated them lot. A 1990s thing maybe?

I really dislike Stoke. I see people like Fuller or Tuncay on the bench and Huth/Sidibe strolling around and I want to punch Pulis on the face. Apart from that... some slight dislikes for both Manchesters but no big deal. I'm a neutral afterall.

To be frank, I consider it a blessing in disguise. It was awfully ugly. The Camp Nou does show its age, though. I hope we can keep the non-commercial sponsor thing. Is a silly thing since we sell out to anybody everywhere else, but it still makes me feel proud.

Yeah, he was always very vocal against the dictatorship, but he was a football superstar so the authorities had to grind their teeth. Of course that endeared us to him. The football too I still can't believe you's hadn't won the European Cup until 1992, considering the players you've had in your team etc. Also was interesting to see the amount of Tourists that attended Camp Nou during our game, shows that the football team really is a huge asset for attracting people to the city. Barça museum is the most visited museum in the city... The European Cup drought is mostly due to the fact that we only won the league five times (IIRC) since the trophy was instituted properly until we won in 1992. Since that included most of our trophy drought period of 1963-1989. And we managed two finals. The old format was very hard to qualify for, when you think of it.

Yeah, he was always very vocal against the dictatorship, but he was a football superstar so the authorities had to grind their teeth. Of course that endeared us to him. The football too From that time on we mirrored us on the Oranje (Rinus Michels was our manager), hence our addiction to Dutch football players and our common orange away shirts.

Marañón, one of the surviving players from the "Barça de les 5 Copes" ("Barça of the five cups") of the 1950s, the team that was considered Barça's finest up until the treble season (when we won six). It's the squad that got the Camp Nou built (since people would flood our old stadium to see them play). Interesting, because I thought under the dictatorship Barca struggled to have a period of success. In the 1940s and from the 1960s onward, we did. But in the 1950s we were awesome man. We piped the 6 EC-conquering Madrid often to the domestic title (they defended the EC as holders), plus several Fairs Cups wins and other semi-official continental stuff. It's a foundational moment for our club, the days everybody looked back to until Cruyff came. Dad always was telling me stories of that team. Thing is on those years Spain received an influx of Hungarian players and managers fleeing from Communism, which mostly went to Real and Barça (Puskas, Czibor, Kocsis, Kubala...), they brought the "Magical Hungarians" football with them, which became a HUGE influence in Spanish football from then onwards (both Barça and Madrid were hugely successful home and abroad during these years). And feel free to ask, I love talking about Barcelona and football.

Yeah well aren't regal the current league and cup holders as well. It was an impressive win for them depsite not playing the Lakers 1st team. Are you a fan of all the teams coming under into this sporting club of Barcelona We tried it at Newcastle in the 90's, and it ended up not working although it has worked out for the BB team though. Actually, basketball is the only sport where I don't support FC Barcelona. My great-uncle was one of the founders of Joventut de Badalona (a town next to Barcelona). My mother thus supported them so I took my football tastes from dad, but my basketball tastes from mom. Sometimes it's weird since they are arch-rivals.

Marañón, one of the surviving players from the "Barça de les 5 Copes" ("Barça of the five cups") of the 1950s, the team that was considered Barça's finest up until the treble season (when we won six). It's the squad that got the Camp Nou built (since people would flood our old stadium to see them play).

It's the second sport in Spain. Light years behind football, but still very solid support. My bro works as a basketball journo.

At the beginning, yes. Spanish clubs started employing English players (mostly sailors or businessmen) since they were better, in order to get an edge in the first official tournaments. Bilbao's whole "only basques" comes from when Real Sociedad (arch-rivals) complained that they were using foreigners in one of the first Copa del Rey and forced Bilbao to expel them. Bilbao felt so slighted that they decided that they would never play a non-local again. The bitterness between those two is legendary

No problem. I've only got football questions to ask now apart from this, is their an American connection to Barcelona just so many american tourists there (I now know of the English Connection btw) There isn't a connection, it's just that it's a damn popular destination. Spain is the second most visited country in the world and Barcelona the most popular city in it. Gotta say Madrid is a damn fine place too. The English connection I suppose you mean the cross of Saint George? Aye Madrid is on my hitlist of places to go in the next couple of years. Fancy taking in an Atleti game. Shame my two favourite clubs in Spain (Atleti and Atheltic) play in the devils colours though. They took them from Southampton FC, no Sunderland relation so you can feel fine. Bilbao was founded by Mackem sailors though, or is someone telling me s*** Not exactly, they introduced the sport to the dudes that founded Bilbao. There were also Blackburn and Southampton dudes. But Bilbao was a club for the locals, since they used to play the English sailors that moored in the Bilbao port. See my Edit for what I've just read. So what is with the St George cross in the FCB logo btw? Saint George is the patron saint of Barcelona and by association of Catalonia. April 23rd is one of the biggest days of the year down here. Catalan soldiers used to scream "for Saint George!" before battle, etc... and we still do it at Camp Nou.

No problem. I've only got football questions to ask now apart from this, is their an American connection to Barcelona just so many american tourists there (I now know of the English Connection btw) There isn't a connection, it's just that it's a damn popular destination. Spain is the second most visited country in the world and Barcelona the most popular city in it. Gotta say Madrid is a damn fine place too. The English connection I suppose you mean the cross of Saint George? Aye Madrid is on my hitlist of places to go in the next couple of years. Fancy taking in an Atleti game. Shame my two favourite clubs in Spain (Atleti and Atheltic) play in the devils colours though. They took them from Southampton FC, no Sunderland relation so you can feel fine. Bilbao was founded by Mackem sailors though, or is someone telling me s*** Not exactly, they introduced the sport to the dudes that founded Bilbao. There were also Blackburn and Southampton sailors. But Bilbao was a club for the locals, since they used to play the English sailors that moored in the Bilbao port.

No problem. I've only got football questions to ask now apart from this, is their an American connection to Barcelona just so many american tourists there (I now know of the English Connection btw) There isn't a connection, it's just that it's a damn popular destination. Spain is the second most visited country in the world and Barcelona the most popular city in it. Gotta say Madrid is a damn fine place too. The English connection I suppose you mean the cross of Saint George? Aye Madrid is on my hitlist of places to go in the next couple of years. Fancy taking in an Atleti game. Shame my two favourite clubs in Spain (Atleti and Atheltic) play in the devils colours though. They took them from Southampton FC, no Sunderland relation so you can feel fine. Atlético used to be Athletic's B team so that's why they share name and colors.

Valencia is *fantastic* BUT I was there last week and found out their local government is forcing their bars and discos to close very early, which is a buzzkill unless you know some clandestine places.

No problem. I've only got football questions to ask now apart from this, is their an American connection to Barcelona just so many american tourists there (I now know of the English Connection btw) There isn't a connection, it's just that it's a damn popular destination. Spain is the second most visited country in the world and Barcelona the most popular city in it. Gotta say Madrid is a damn fine place too. The English connection I suppose you mean the cross of Saint George? Yes, but also we helped you fight in a war in 16th century when Catalunya was it's own state Unless someone has passed us the wrong information We were on the same side (enemy of my enemy...), but you hardly helped us. You did more in the War of Spanish Succession (the one where you got Gibraltar), although you ended pulling out. You also helped organize a rebellion against Spain during the Napoleonic wars, but that was stopped when France occupied Spain and the Peninsular War started. Thing is, England and Spain were enemies for centuries and we had a knack for siding with Spain's enemies in most wars

No problem. I've only got football questions to ask now apart from this, is their an American connection to Barcelona just so many american tourists there (I now know of the English Connection btw) There isn't a connection, it's just that it's a damn popular destination. Spain is the second most visited country in the world and Barcelona the most popular city in it. Gotta say Madrid is a damn fine place too. The English connection I suppose you mean the cross of Saint George?

That sucked. But the ball we'll go in eventually. Our treble season started in the same way, actually.

Also, I don't feel comfortable spamming the football board with politics, but I'll gladly talk about the issue on the non-football one.

Nationalism is on the rise due to several factors. The most important of all, though, is that it's one of our shitty politician's favorite scare tactics: "Spain is strangling us!" / "Catalans want to destroy the country". It's populist and it gives votes (sadly), so they just won't let it rest. And that happens for both sides of the argument. Saddest thing is that it clouds the real issues of unemployment, government waste, infrastructures, etc... Take the recent bullfighting ban, for example (which I supported). It was proposed by an Animal Rights Organization, but Catalan nationalists took it as a banner of their fight against "barbaric spanish customs", while Spanish nationalists parties took it as a Catalan affront to Spanish culture and freedoms. Almost every-f***ing-thing that happens down here is used and distorted by the Catalonia/Spain thing. They are even going to take and appeal the ban to the Strasbourg court as if it was a civil rights issue, FFS. It's f***ing tiresome. The depression has exacerbated nationalist sentiment, since nationalists blame Spain for it. Plus the Spanish Constitutional Court cut down our autonomy this summer which has pissed off a lot of people (me included and I'm not a nationalist). Thanks for the kind words about Barcelona. I personally love my city. It isn't perfect, of course (none is).

I'm Catalan but I'm not a nationalist. I consider myself leftist and don't mind transfer of wealth and don't consider myself to be tyrannized by the Spanish state or anything. But I'm Catalan. However, if due to our prosperity Catalans transfer wealth to poorer Spanish regions, I want the transfer to be sensible and I want that money used efficiently so these regions prosper. This is not happening. It's more of an issue of lack of accountability and government efficiency than anything else though (Madrid are badly screwed too, and they are running up higher debt than us). The Spanish administration is well, corrupt and wasteful. Separatist sentiment is on the rise lately, given a variety of factors. Still isn't a majority. And currently there isn't a party that agglutinates it so it's pretty spread amongst parties that can't stand each other.