Barcelona supporters warmly greet the trickle of Girona fans going into the away section at the Camp Nou. It's a nondescript Monday in April 2023, and among the travelling few are couples like Xavi Bautista and wife Monica, wearing the scarves of each club.
Xavi is a lifelong Girona fan from the days when they had three-figure crowds for home games, while Monica supports Barça. They're simply happy to be there, for Xavi to see Girona, whom he once watched play fifthtier football, in the same league as Barcelona. It's the only game of the season classed as so low risk that away fans are allowed to wear their club shirts in home sections.
The two clubs have never been rivals, since they've barely played each other. Girona, 62 miles north of the Catalan capital, are no threat. Els Blanquivermells hadn't played in La Liga until 2017 and, when they did, Barça fans were pleased for them. They have more fans in Girona than Girona, with coaches from the various supporters' clubs hitting the A7 motorway for every game at the Camp Nou.
Barcelona, on target to win the title, are 12 points clear of Real Madrid, with Cule fans relaxed and happy enough to applaud the visitors, who become only the third team to take a point at the Camp Nou all season. They want La Liga survival for little Girona, who have recovered from a poor start in their first season back in the top flight since relegation in 2019. There is applause, too, for the chants for Catalan independence, a sentiment both sets of fans share. It is a warm evening of mutual backslapping and appreciation. Girona have never beaten Barcelona. Both clubs know their place in the pecking order.
THE SPANISH LEICESTER?
この記事は FourFourTwo UK の April 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は FourFourTwo UK の April 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Sean Longstaff – Local Hero
Like Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold, Sean Longstaff has shone for his boyhood club this season. The midfielder tells FFT all about his Newcastle revival under Eddie Howe, a £50m move to Manchester United that never was, and why he hasn't been herding sheep...
"We won 3-0 at Spurs.Two games later. I was sacked"
Two-and-a-half years since his Manchester United reign came to an end, Ole Gunnar Solskjder sits down with FFT for a rare interview, opening up on the club’s post-Fergie struggles, Cristiano Ronaldo and the challenges of managing modern superstars
Trent Alexander-Arnold – Calm down! Calm down! Calm down!
There's been plenty of noise around Trent Alexander-Arnold's performances for club and country over the past 12 months, but the man himself has maintained a cool head. Donning a retro shellsuit for FFT, the Merseyside maestro insists he's still got lofty ambitions - none more so than becoming the best footballer on the planet...
WHAT WOULD WOODWARD DO?
Sir Dave Brailsford isn't football's first interloping innovator from another sport, as Southampton fans will recall
THE ARQUND GROUNDS EFL-NON-LEAGUE-SCOTLAND
The Wigan gaffer on why he could have taken up tennis, seeking Sir Alex's advice and memories of cup glory with the Latics
HOW LUTON TOWN BECAME A PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM
The Hatters were tipped to finish bottom of the table at the start of the campaign, but have adapted their game to give themselves a chance of avoiding the dreaded drop
NOISY NEIGHBOURS
Part-owned by the City Football Group, minnows Girona emulated Manchester City by surging past Barcelona to gain Catalan supremacy and even topped La Liga this season. FFT speaks to those in the know to find out how
THE DEBATE
Are the Financial Fair Play rules really working?
ENGLISHMEN ABROAD
Qualification for the 2026 World Cup resumes in various parts of the globe this month meet five English managers hoping to steer their adopted nations to unlikely success
MY FOOTBALL
The Barking-born singer-songwriter and activist recalls meeting Bobby Moore, making Stuart Pearce roar, and playing a gig during a Euros final