Barcelona Football Club News

In the changing room, players are preparing: uniforms, cleats, shin guards, tape, routines, superstitions, prayers. Then begins the walk up to the Camp Nou?s elevated field. They walk through a small passageway lined with Catalan paintings, down a tunnel, past the cathedral then on to the pitch. To the left is the Barca museum, with its paintings by Dali and Miro. Outside the front gate is a modern sculpture, a Donald Judd-like piece of minimalism. The roof of the old grounds, a design by a disciple of Le Corbusier. But this self-conscious sophistication doesn?t matter right now because this game is a derby ? two teams from the same city playing each other ? and current standings be damned, anything is possible when the other team from Barcelona, Espanyol, the Periquitos, come to play in their white and blues.

But, the short-sighted will argue, Espanyol currently has 13 points. Barcelona has 36. Then they?ll point out that Espanyol has scored fewer goals than Barcelona has allowed and they sit a scant 3 points above the relegation zone.

Forget all that. This is a derby. This is a derby with one hundred years of history against La Liga?s sixth most successful team and a team that defeated Barcelona in 2008 and then delighted in watching them subsequently flail and finish third. This is the team that gave Barcelona a similar fright last year when Ivan ?The Little Buddha? de la Pena put two in the back of the net in last year?s derby, one of which nearly unhinged Victor Valdes? goalkeeping mind and made him a question for the rest of the season. Forget the statistics and the league table. Finishing at the bottom would be bitter for a team with Espanyol?s pride but the bitterness would taste like their wine if they defeat Barcelona.

And this challenge to Barcelona has been a part of Espanyol?s DNA since its inception in 1899. In the previous year, 1898, Spain?s colonial power had come to a forceful end when it failed to defend its colonies in the Caribbean. At a time when the rest of Europe was carving up chunks of Asia and Africa, Spain had been sent home, ending an empire that stretched back 400 years.

Internally, the disintegration of the empire echoed in regional challenges to the governing bodies. Catalanist groups such as Lliga Regionalista won parliamentary seats. In a confrontation that would become increasingly efficient in its violence, the Spanish Army attempted to repress Catalan dissidence which in turn stirred its popularity. Football Club Barcelona was born and the idea that politics and sport could be a part of the same collective subconscious was born.

Ten years later, Espanyol came to challenge Barcelona?s assertion as Catalan?s team. Coming on to play in long trousers, a shirt and tie was one way they asserted their idea of being properly Spanish. They were also granted the title of Real and assumed the title Real Club de Futbol, with King Alfonso XIII as its patron. To this day, Espanyol is one of the few teams that is granted patronage by the Spanish crown and is thus able to use the title Real in their names and to have a crown in its badge. At a time when part of the city was declaring its independence and was working for political and cultural independence, Espanyol?s declaration that it was aligning with the monarchy was seen by many as a violent insult. Others, however, saw Espanyol?s dress code and monarchist symbols as a reassurance in a time of change. When these two teams met it was a nexus for these tensions. The fights between players, the verbal warfare between fans and the battles between managements played out in the media all came to reflect the underlying conflicts between fears and assertions.

While the causes have gone, the history resonates in the identity of these two proud teams. And no doubt, Coach Guardiola will have his Barca men ready. He knows the terror of ?The Little Buddha.? After all, de la Pena is a product of Barcelona?s youth system and was the heir apparent to Guardiola before he fell out of favor Cruyff and found himself dropped. For the coach knows that while this game looks like an easy one on paper, this is the kind of a game that champions must win.