The combination of football with politics, I have to admit, is something I find very interesting. Mostly because I think that it is difficult to separate the two, even more because I think that you really shouldn't. But being in Barcelona for only three months and a half, I have come to find this over-identification of the city's pride with a football team all a little disturbing. I mean, it could have happened to anybody if he were to watch just a couple of Barca games on the catalan TV! It doesn't take you that much to notice that players with an amazing lack of skill tend to win the admiration of the funs through their catalan origins and their even more catalan statements in the local press. And you would curiously osberve the way you very rarely have a chance to see a replay of a goal scored by the opposing team (unless of course it a totally unimportant last minute consolation).
In general you would soon get the feeling that, when it comes to FC Barcelona, objectivity as a notion becomes a little evanescent!
But honestly, not being a sterilized-romantic fun, I would not have cared a bit about all these things, if only I could share the people's feelings about Barca. I just can't. Because deep inside and although I love this city and its people, I would like to feel that I am living in Spain and not in another country somewhere between Spain and France, whose inhabitants use the words "Iberian Peninsula" with ever decreasing frequency. And although I love to connect football with politics when I like the politics behind it, I hate it when it happens with politics I disagree with.
So, no, for those who are still wondering, I did not enjoy yesterday's triumph, although from the fun's point of view Barca deserved to win this cup more than anyone.
I like the catalan people and I also like their "pride", FC Barcelona with its galaxy of stars and their fascinating football. I also feel I owe something to the country that has welcomed me so warmly since last January and I consider that country to be Spain. So I would really, really love it if the Spanish national team's performances in the upcoming World Cup would make us all, foreigners living here, catalan-spanish and non-catalan-spanish meet at Canaletas and celebrate together, with no hard feelings whatsoever.
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