The Barca Anthem

I do not speak Catalan. Naturally I cannot read in Catalan. It took me some time to figure out the meaning of our Anthem. Here it goes.

Tot el Camp
The whole Stadium
És un Clam
Is chanting
Som la Gent Blaugrana,
We are the "Blaugrana" people
Tant se val d'on venim,
It doesn't matter where we come from
Si del Sud o del Nord,
From the South or from the North
Ara estem d'acord, estem d'acord,
Now we all agree, we all agree
Una bandera ens agermana.
A flag joins us Brotherhood
Blaugrana al vent,
"Blaugrana" in the wind
Un crit valent,
A valient scream
Tenim un nom,
We have a name
El sap tothom:
The whole world knows it
BARÇA !, BARÇA!, BARÇA!,

Jugadors,
Players
Seguidors
Fans
Tots units fem força
All united we have the strength
Són molts anys plens d'afanys,
So many years full of hard work
Són molts gols que hem critdat,
So many goals we have cheered for
I s'ha demostrat, s'ha demostrat,
and we have shown, we have shown
Que mai ningú no ens podrà tòrcer.
that nobody will be able to break us
Blaugrana al vent,
"Blaugrana" in the wind
Un crit valent,
A valient scream
Tenim un nom,
We have a name
El sap tothom:
The whole world knows it
BARÇA !, BARÇA!, BARÇA!,

The Classico

The countdown to the "El Classico" has begun. Some think it’s hyped whereas some say it’s the biggest game in World football. Its unlike the Champion’s League final or the Superbowl. It’s much bigger!!! It is

 one of Life’s classics. There is politics behind it, culture behind it, feelings behind it. It’s the most awaited night in Spain, a day when whole of Espana stops and watches eagerly with anticipation as the players march onto the field, heads held high, proud as hell to be a part of one of the most glorious clashes in football , “The

 El Derby”! If there’s anything that beats the popularity charts in Spain than bull’s and rodeo’s knocking head’s off people in the streets, its this! It’s a passionate night when the age old rivalries between the Catalans and the Castillan’s creep up. With each passing moment of the game you can sense the fans biting their lips, slowly crawling towards the edge of their seat as each player battles his way out on the pitch, giving his best to snatch what might seemingly be just three points. But believe me, it’s worth a hell of a lot more! It’s an immaculate triumph in one of the endless battles towards eternal glory! 

The venue for this 153^rd Derby game is the Camp Nou, the Spiritual home of Spanish Football, the impervious fortress of FC Barcelona. The Camp Nou is not just a massive compilation of bricks put together. It represents the whole of Catalonia. It’s a place where 96,000 Catalans, each one of them passionately Anti-Madrid, come together. Although its always been a very close encounter with Madrid having a better record (68-58) stats, form, extra days rest, missing players, superstitions etc count for nothing more than a tiny rats ass!!!

 

With Ronaldinho offloaded to Milan and Deco sold to Chelsea, Barcelona will rely heavily on their charismatic Argentine, Lionel Messi. Their counterparts, Madrid, on the other hand will rely on their Dutch trio of Ruud, Sneijder and Van Der Vaart. Madrid may have had the better of the Catalans last season, but this time it’s a different Barcelona they will be facing! Pep Guardiola has instilled steel within the team which has seen them fight back on many occasions this season after going a goal down notably against Boca, Espanyol and Shakhtar.

 

The sun will set, the day will end and the curtains will be drawn on another Classico indeed! For us Catalans, anything less that 3 points will be a major disappointment, but it won’t blacken our spirits! Because deep

 inside we know, we have, what it takes, to beat the best, to be the best! Ole!!! Viva La Catalonia!!!

The Rabbit Toothed Assassin

I would like to start my blog by paying my tribute to Ronaldinho.

He lifted us up from the brink of relegation to 2^nd place in La Liga, in the very first season he was signed as a promising 24 year-old. Madrid didn’t want him to be one of their ‘Galacticos’ because they thought he was too ugly! He made them eat their words a couple of seasons later when he single handedly destroyed them at ‘The Bernabau’ and earned a standing ovation from the Castillans; a rare and miraculous display of appreciation for a Professional Footballer dressed in the Blaugrana. His ball control, trickery, pace, shooting skills left every defender in La Liga panting for breath. Surely there wasn’t a competitor for the 2004/2005 World Footballer of the Year award. He also played an vital part in Barca’s Champions League success and the consecutive titles he won under Rijkaard.

Its been two long years since that very moment. Two years of misery, failure and pure bad luck. It all started with rumors of his late night partying style, conflicts within team-mates and unruly behavior on the training camp. None testified to what was written in the Papers, what was being reported in the Media . Yet people wanted to point their fingers at him and laugh. Despite his growing waist line, despite the jeers of the critics he kept on doing what

he does best complemented with a smile on his face. Sadly, he was miles apart from the “R10” everyone had witnessed a couple of seasons ago. Rijkaard would play him whenever he was fit, but unfortunately he didn’t deliver. His time had come.

Rumors of a transfer started flooding in Jan but the club decided to stick with him till the end of the season and give him his last chance to repay the faith shown in him. The injury against Villarreal in March ruled him out for the rest of the season and that was that. There was no coming back for him or Barca who managed to win just 3 out of their last 13 games. Barca finished the season 19 points behind their bitter rivals Real Madrid and had to face the embarrassing deed of giving them a Guard of Honor at the Bernabeu in the return leg. It was

the end of a glorious era for Barca and their charismatic icon, Ronaldinho.

Despite all of the controversies, remember him for the good times. Remember his magical moments which include his very first goal in his very first game against Sevilla, the silky touches, the bicycle against Villarreal, The “Elastico”, The Ronaldinho “No Look Pass”, the two astounding goals against Chelsea, The Smile, The Free Kicks & all the other memories he brought to the club. Despite his departure, he will always have a special place in the heart of every Catalan for many years to come.

Barca continue with their tradition of not treating their former stars well (Rivaldo, Romario, Maradona, Kluivert etc) and this time they might as well have made the biggest blunder in the history of all transfers by selling their charismatic play-maker, Ronnie. What happens from here, no one knows. But one thing’s for sure, that no matter where he goes, he will be back to dazzle the defenders again. Wish you all the luck, Ronnie.