Multimedia Report: FC Barcelona – Mes Que Un Club

“If you don’t like football,” said Dr. Chris Tulloch, “you won’t have a very good time in Spain.” Capturing nearly 85 per cent of all media attention in Spain, football is more than a sport; it’s a way of life.

Founded in 1885 by Swiss football pioneer Joan Gamper, Football Club Barcelona has forever been known as “Mes que un club.”

In English, this phrase means, “More than just a football club,” and relates directly to the promotion of other club sports as amateur track and field, rugby union, and cycling. Additionally, Barcelona has professional handball, basketball and roller hockey teams.

Over the years sports have come and go, but one thing remains constant; in Catalonia, Barca is life.

Walking around the streets of Barcelona, it is clearly visible the influence this club has over the nation’s culture. Whether business men show their support with a FCB scarf, or children running through the streets replaying Messi’s best goal, pro-Barca sentiments are felt almost immediately.

To understand the true love behind the club though; one must be versed in the extensive history FC Barcelona has to offer. As the birth of the club coincided with the breaking apart of Spain, “In the 1920s and 1930s,” Tulloch said. “Barca became an indication for the resistance to Spanish centralism; a cultural reference for Catalan nationalism.

It is important to realize that Franco, after winning the Spanish Civil War and becoming the sole monarch, did everything in his power to suppress Catalan nationalism.

FCB became a refuge for the people; the stadium was the only place where Catalans could come and speak their native language. Taking pride in the club became a way out; a way to escape from the horrors of post-war Spain.

Tensions reached a boiling point when Franco’s henchmen gunned down the club president.

People often forget that there are two football clubs in Barcelona, Barca and Espanyol.

Opening one of the many sports dailies printed in Spain, readers see a ratio of nearly three to one of Barca to Espanyol. While many feel that Espanyol is the forgotten of the two, it is merely a combination of Catalan nationalism and the global phenomenon that is FC Barcelona that causes this misconception.

“Traditionally,” Tulloch said. “Aside from having six or seven local players, Barca has always had three or four of the best players in the world. While it may seem that Barca v. Madrid is an uphill battle, it is not always the case.

“Remember that Barcelona had Maradona, Ronaldo, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Rivaldo,” said Tulloch. “It’s not as if it’s 11 Davids against one Goliath.”

Since its inception, the Barca dream has been to have eight local boys combined with 3 foreign stars.

Supporters feel so close to the team for this reason. When Barca wins, it is not only the triumph of the club. It represents the success of a system; a Catalonian way of life.

Below is a video of the celebration that took place after up-and-coming homegrown star Bojan Krkic scored two minutes after coming on the pitch. It is clear that the Camp Nou erupts in song and dance as they show Catalan pride and the triumph of their system.

While this success has been seen in recent history, nearly 10 years ago this was not the case. Barcelona filled the pitch with eight Dutch players, and the stadium was less than half full.

“We do tend to talk about how national identity doesn’t really matter in a globalized world,” Tulloch said. “But you’ve got to be careful in the case of Barcelona because their strength is in accentuating the local character.”

Another reason for why the club is so globalized is the long running rivalry with Real Madrid.

As Franco’s team, Madrid has forever been known for purchasing their talent. While Barca will bring up a majority of their players through the ranks, Madrid constantly buys up some of the greatest players in the world.

For example, just last season Madrid purchased international phenomenon Christiano Ronaldo for 94 million Euro. Just the same, Madrid purchased David Beckham in his prime for nearly 35 million Euro.

“These two clubs are two completely different ways of understanding modern Spain,” Tulloch said.

Real Madrid fans tend to be more conservative and in support of a centralized Spain, while Barca supporters tend to be more democratic and liberal.

“Additionally,” Tulloch said. “The social responsibility of Barca is enormous. They are now taking it to the extreme with their UNICEF campaign, which I think is symbolic of the way the club thinks.”

While the purchasing power of Madrid is a way of saying, “look how strong we are, we can buy anyone in the world.” Barcelona’s model is a way of saying, “look how strong our country is, that we can bring up our own players and we have the academy.”

All these reasons as well as many more play into the fact that FC Barcelona has been and forever will be, “Mes Que Un Club.”

~ by jvuernick on March 25, 2010.