Barcelona (0) 2 Neymar 79,84
Athletic Bilbao (0) 0
Att. 80,161
Entrance: 170 Euros
Programme: None
Mileage: 100/1,734 (to Gatwick)
New Ground: 263 (37th abroad)
Match Report
A five-day break in the Catalan city had offered up the opportunity to watch Barcelona’s home La Liga game against Athletic Bilbao, so it would be foolish to turn it down, despite the hideous price of the tickets.
We left the purchase of our tickets to the hotel, which use an agency, and consequently we paid a bit more than we needed to have done if I had been brave enough to trust the Barcelona website and bought the tickets direct. But even that route would have seen the price of the seats we had exceed the 120 Euros mark.
Our hotel was nicely positioned to hop on to the Metro at Diagonal and just five stops later we are stepping off the train at Badal. Armed with directions from our helpful hotel receptionist, who was a Barcelona member, it was a short walk before the stadium came into sight.
The Camp Nou was opened in 1957 and its stark exterior has none of the shiny finish of the newly-built stadiums of today, in fact if I was to be harsh, I would say that from the outside it actually looks quite ugly. But, the heart of the stadium is not outside and once inside the cavernous bowl comes to life.
Our seats were on the wrong side of the stadium to avoid the beating sunshine and the heat did make it uncomfortable at times during the first half, but thankfully a large cloud offered some respite during the second period.
Barcelona attracts visitors from all over the world and alongside me was a Polish girl who lived in Barcelona and had brought her Dad over from Warsaw to celebrate his 66th birthday with a Nou Camp visit.
As kick-off approached the few empty seats around us were filled with older people who, I would guess, had occupied those same seats for 40 years or more with each greeting the other like a family member.
Both teams had been given a special dispensation to wear shirts that reflected the independence campaigns of their respective regions. Two days earlier the streets of Barcelona had heaved with people creating a carnival atmosphere has they demonstrated for their right to a referendum vote in much the same way as Scotland was about to vote. But, unlike the United Kingdom government, the Spanish equivalent is not listening.
For the Catalans, this was the 300th anniversary of their absorption into Spain in 1714.
As the teams took to the field prior to kick-off a large flag of red and yellow was unfurled with the dates 1714-2014 to mark the occasion. Bilbao wore the green of the Basque region to highlight their own cause.
The welcome to the field of play also brought the first realisation of the noise that is generated by 80,000-plus people despite the openness of the bowl. Although there were a few Bilbao supporters dotted around the lower reaches of the stadium, the main bulk of just a couple of a hundred, were situated at the stadium’s highest point.
Bilbao opened the game well, but once Barcelona got on top they were restricted to breakaways and their lone striker, Aritz Aduriz, had a thankless task.
It was quite surprising to see Javier Mascherano deployed in a central defensive position but he was forced to make way for Gerard Pique at half time.
I’ve little doubt that I will see better halves at my usual destinations, but hey, this is Barcelona, who am I to complain!
The second half was principally one-way traffic with Athletic Bilbao locked in their own half. Munir had a goal disallowed before making way for Neymar, returning from the back injury sustained in the World Cup and with his appearance the resilience of the Basques was finally broken.
As soon as Neymar was alongside him, Messi became a different player and his defence splitting pass set up the Brazilian to slide the ball past Iraizoz to delight the “Ultras” behind that goal.
The stadium quickly emptied whilst we bided our time and took in the surroundings on what may be the only time we are to visit the Nou Camp. A bar on a corner wasn’t particularly busy, so a cool beer en route to the Metro was in order.
In Barcelona it seems there is only one club. This is not true, there is actually another La Liga club, Espanyol and a couple of lower league clubs, CE Jupiter and Europa CF, but when you walk around the shops there are only Barcelona shirts and merchandise on display. It must be really hard being an Espanyol supporter in such surroundings.
This was a wonderful experience, I wonder what the Barca faithful might have made of Oldham?
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