So here we are. Unless things go on for much more than 90 minutes tomorrow evening, in 24 hours we'll know the outcome of the Champions League final. F.C. Barcelona face Manchester United in what should be a mega-clasico of a match. We're going to watch the game at the Penya Barcelonista de Cerdanyola del Vallès, the same bar where we saw Barça win three years ago, and where we saw them knock Chelsea out just three weeks ago.
If you've never been to an official penya (they exist for most football clubs but around here they're predominantly F.C. Barcelona-affiliated), these official supporters' clubs are often the finest places to watch a good football match, provided you back the penya's team. You need to make sure you get there early, though. For the second semi-final, I got there over an hour before kick-off and barely managed to snag a couple of stools in the non-smoking area (shock, horror!). For tomorrow's game, I've booked a table in the smoking area - three years ago, I did the same thing, and when I offered my name, the owner simply shook her head and said 'Els estrangers', 'the foreigners'. This time, she at least admitted she knew me and allowed 'Tom' to go on her bit of paper. We'll see how well this works out around 8 tomorrow evening.
I'll avoid predicting the outcome of the game because my hope that Barça will win is far greater than any knowledge I'd ever profess to having of the game. Suffice to say: I reckon it'll be hard for both clubs, and while Man U may be favourites, I do think that Barça can win it.
And if they do, it'll set off a great long weekend of celebrations. Because while I'll be in the office the next day, whatever happens, Thursday night sees the start of Primavera Sound - Barcelona's pop festival and officially the first party of the summer (well, that's what I always say). The lineup is pretty good, and this year I'll probably be aiming to take in a few newer bands I don't know so much about (any recommendations are welcomed). The festival runs until Saturday, but even better news is that Monday is 'second Easter', meaning we get another day off! Skill!
So it could be a brilliant few days or just a very good few days. And you can't say fairer than that.
Força Barça!
tombcn.com - my blog posts about travel, books, food and music
...a blog by Tom Clarke in Barcelona, Catalonia, covering politics, culture and society
May 27th, 2009 - 10:35
This is the big irony I find about the Valencian Community. They have two very good teams in contention for the title and CL places in Valencia CF and Vila-Real (Villarreal) but many still err for Barca, even though there's the whole "Soms Valenciens, mai Catalans" (We're Valencians, never Catalans) thing going on. Why is this?
This is my take on tonight http://tinyurl.com/r67cd3
Rate this comment:
0 
0
May 27th, 2009 - 10:38
Sorry, I should have added that I live very close to a local Penya Barcelonista in Valencia region
Rate this comment:
0 
0
May 27th, 2009 - 10:53
Hi Chris, thanks for the comment.
Out of interest, just how widespread is this 'som Valencians, mai Catalans' movement. I had the distinct impression that it was mainly confined to a small group of extreme right pro-Spain parties who have now decided to start 'celebrating' Valencian culture as something inherently apart from the Greater Catalonia dreams of the bloc and ERC.
Rate this comment:
0 
0