Confessions of a Barca-holic

For some inexplicable reason, if you support Barcelona, people tend to call you a glory hunter. In fact I was once told that since I don’t support a local club, I am a glory hunter. That was pretty much the last straw, and I just had to write why I support Barcelona, and why most other people do too. Please don’t think I support Barcelona only because they are successful. I have supported them since 1999, and yes I did watch Pep Guardiola play as well. Although, admittedly, I remember him better as a coach. All these years I have supported Barcelona, and only Barcelona, and it is because of what the club means to me. No player means much, but the club is all important to me.

Barcelona has a history which reminds me of our own struggle for independence. They had to fight against the oppression of the Franco regime. They had to ward off the brutality of Francesco Franco, and one of the ways they would do it was through Barcelona. Madrid was the enemy of course, and that is how the rivalry started. But that seems too vain to continue now. Their struggle also reminds me of what my family personally went through. These are not-so-small things I can relate to.

Another thing is that Barcelona creates their talent. I’m not saying other clubs don’t, but Barcelona has produced among the finest players in the world, both then and now. As for then, I remember Guardiola very well, but currently who comes to mind? Mostly Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Puyol, Bojan Krki?, Fabregas, Pique. These are the world famous creations of La Masia.

There is of course the playing style. I love the tiki-taka, the passes are so beautiful and perfectly executed that I tend to enjoy the game behind the goal more than the goal itself. Many people find it boring, but you really need to appreciate the difficulty in a pass to appreciate the game Barcelona play. I don’t blame such people. The game does get boring to most people, but I find it brilliant. And one cannot deny its effectiveness, seeing that this style of play has won a lot of trophies for Spain and Barcelona. The passes of Xavi and Iniesta mainly, but also Fabregas, Pique even, and Messi of course, are almost perfect. One has to appreciate a good pass to appreciate Barcelona. Unfortunately, most fans have a twisted and vain mentality that all there is to football is scoring goals. One doesn’t get the ball to magically appear in the box, my friends! There is a whole game of passing involved, planning and strategy that goes on for several minutes before a goal is scored!

But what do we do when our club loses? I don’t know about others, but I can usually realize and accept that defeat is a part of life. If Barcelona are defeated, they did something wrong. I try to analyse what they did wrong, and try not to do it myself in my local games. But you won’t find me ranting about other clubs, accusing them of strange things. That is how I differ from a certain faction of fans; I don’t consider any club below average. Now last night against Sociedad when we lost, it was quite clearly the direct result of Pique getting sent off. It was a fair decision, and it did cost Barca the match given that Pique is an integral part of the defense. Messi also missed a few chances, which was bad. I guess it was just bad luck. But it was nevertheless a good game, and I enjoyed it. This also highlights the unpredictability. I was rooting for a comeback with just seconds remaining, but that is just how fans are; we never want to lose hope.

And on the internet, I am reading comments from self proclaimed Manchester United and Real Madrid fans saying Barcelona is s**t, they cannot defeat a club like Real Sociedad, they are useless. I have also read jokes of ‘anyone is a better keeper than Valdes’. Now you tell me, why should I not be upset with that faction of Manchester United and Real Madrid fans? I am equally upset when a Barcelona fan says such things about other clubs. Bear in mind this is the first defeat, surely there will be others; nobody is invincible. But Barcelona keep playing good football, and hopefully win all there is to win.

As for the Victor Valdes jokes, well if he is that bad how does he have so many trophies and UCL medals? I don’t know if you have heard about Lev Yashin. He was a Russian goalkeeper, considered the best keeper in the world ever, and the only keeper to win the Ballon d’Or. Yet he too conceded goals. Even the greatest are not invincible. The point being, Victor Valdes is not perfect and has many flaws, but you don’t have the right to call him s**t. You could never save one hundredth of the goals he saves.

In conclusion, there will be fans who have no understanding of football and say they support Barcelona. I am not one of them, and you should not stereotype all Barcelona fans as glory hunters. There will be fans who will say, probably on this very article, that Barcelona are cheaters and divers and actors. Such people are the sore ones who cannot accept defeat gracefully, and they disgrace football. Such people are called fakes, not people like us, who support a club; ANY club; for what it stands for and not its success. Just enjoy football, observe the beautiful game, rant with your friends and just have a lot of fun watching this game.