My trip to Camp Nou (2)

Arriving in Barcelona on Saturday lunchtime, I had just enough time to find my way to the hotel, check-in, dump my bags, have some lunch and jump on the metro to the Nou Camp. I was off to see Barcelona’s La Liga encounter with Real Betis. I love the Spanish metro system – it’s so much cleaner and easier to navigate than the London underground; it’s nowhere near as cramped either, even in peak times and the people seem a lot less intimidating. After getting off at Badal, which ended up being a last minute decision, after seeing a number of fans getting off, it was a five minute walk to the ground.

On arrival, the sheer magnitude of the place was astounding, and while from the outside, it didn’t look the most attractive of structures, once inside I was in awe. Luckily the gate I wanted was at the front of the stadium – I can’t begin to imagine the walk, if you were sitting in the north end. Sitting in ‘Gol Sud’ (the south end behind the goal – and the end with the Nike swoosh in the seats) and on the second tier, the view was incredible. Although I was miles away from the pitch, it didn’t feel as far away and the panoramas were great. On reflection, I had a good seat and would have rather sat behind the goal, than round the sides.

I loved how the away fans weren’t segregated and despite this, there was no trouble at all – although there were a group of 30 or so ‘die hards’ who were positioned in the top tier, sectioned off by mesh. They weren’t doing any harm though, just jumping around for 90 minutes and waving flags erratically.

On the whole, I wasn’t that impressed with Barcelona and it’s clear the team are a shadow of their former selves. While they dominated possession, playing  their typical passing game, so many of the passes were misplaced or mistimed, while they insisted on trying to walk it into the net – had more shots gone in from distance, I’m sure the margin of victory would have been greater. Busquets was the stand-out player for me, while Neymar who in my opinion is overrated, also played well. Most of all I was just pleased to see Messi live and he didn’t disappoint – even if his penalty miss wasn’t great,

I’m not sure what I was expecting atmosphere-wise, but from where I was sitting, it wasn’t that great. With over 80,000 in the stadium, there was a lot of impatience and it was fairly quiet with all the noise coming from the opposite end. At the point where it was 1-0, a number of Mexican waves took place to my right – summing up how dull the game was.

When you’re used to paying £20 for a ticket, close to £70 is very steep but I had a good evening and it was amazing to see world-class players in action.

Saturday 5^th April 2014
Barcelona 3 – 1 Real Betis
Messi ’14
Figueras (og) ’67 
                           Martin ’69
Messi ’86

My trip to Camp Nou

Having gone to the game against Real Betis on the Saturday evening and done the tour of the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid last June, while in Barcelona, I just had to have a look around the Camp Nou. While walking round, I couldn’t help but make comparisons with their rival’s ground – and on reflection, I preferred the museum at the Nou Camp but the stadium tour didn’t live up to my expectations.

In fact, the museums were very similar – from the overall layout: glass cabinets full of trophies, memorabilia and other items to view to the interactive sections. The difference with Barça’s was that there was no mention of them being the best, something I found to be prominent with Real. There was a lot to see and I’d recommend a good hour – 90 minutes to enjoy walking around at your leisure. The little room dedicated to all the charity work the club does was also a nice touch.

There were a lot of displays dedicated to Lionel Messi – with the boots he wore when scoring goal 234 to break the record set by César Rodríguez, an illuminated screen when we won the 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or (with Iniesta and Xavi, second and third, respectively) and the three Golden Boot titles he won (two in successive seasons). Not surprisingly, the queues for these achievements were fairly lengthy, although I eventually pushed my way to the front, so we could move on.

As expected, there were displays dedicated to other sports and the 12 titles display was dedicated to all the trophies won in various sports – it was interesting seeing the variation in shape and design. Above all, it was good to see recognition of other teams and not just the success of the football team over the years.

I enjoyed the stadium tour as well, but I was a bit disappointed at the lack of access we had. Having sat in both dugouts at the Bernabéu and Old Trafford, as well as visiting the home dressing rooms and sitting in the press conference rooms, it was a shame there wasn’t as much to see.

A lot of walking was involved, particularly up and downstairs and at the Bernabéu there were lifts between the floors. It was a really hot day and by the end of it, I just wanted to sit down with a granizado. It was strange seeing the stadium so empty, especially as there 80,000 at the game only 40 hours ago. Being on ground level and so close to the pitch was incredible, particularly given how far back I sat at the match. Although walking down the tunnel was my favourite – the walls either side were covered in a frieze of current squad players while El Cant del Barça blared out from the speakers (I’ve never known an anthem so catchy!).

Sitting in the press box in one of the stands was a bit of a squeeze and I can’t begin to imagine how they manage to all fit with laptops and the like. One of the actual boxes was also open, but at the time I walked by, it was full, with people waiting outside to experience what it’s like. Back down a level was the dressing room and then the press conference area. Neither really impressed me – the away dressing room was so empty and lifeless, with no sign of any facilities. I was expecting towels and treatment tables, but the only thing worth seeing was the screens around the room, depicting opposing players that had graced the area. The room for the press conferences was solely dedicated to a photo opportunity with one of the trophies – the rows of seats were cordoned off and you couldn’t even sit in the manager’s seat.

After making my way to exit, it was time for a quick walk round the club shop, which was on three floors. The vibrancy of the red, blue and yellow was a bit overwhelming after a while – at this point it was time for tapas!

My trip to Parc des Princes

I’ve really struggled with this post as I don’t really have much to say. But when I went to Paris last month for a few days, I took a trip to Parc des Princes, home to Paris Saint-Germain and watched them play Nice in Ligue1.

It had been a while since I’d been to a game with a crowd bigger than 3,000 and it was the first I’d been to in France (although I’ve been to a couple in Spain).

The Metro was certainly an experience – and not a good one. I imagine it was a lot worse than travelling across London on the tube – swarms of people who were generally rude, but nothing in comparison to what followed. The number of police around the stadium and neighbouring streets was astounding – roads blocked off by row of police armed with shields and other weapons. I’m only used to a handful of inept stewards, so it was certainly an experience. This was a lot worse when we left the ground after the game, too.

For the second time ever, I was searched before entering the stadium. After queuing for ages (I was the only female for miles around!) I was ushered straight through. In fact, there were probably no more than five women in the area we sat, I really thought there’d be more.

The one thing that fascinated me the most was the chanting from the PSG fans and how many of those chants I was familiar with – ones that had been translated, or tunes that had been adapted. I must admit I did feel a bit special when someone started the ‘give me a...’ chant and I could join in because I know the French alphabet. For those asking: pé – a – erre – i – esse. When the teams came out, thje fans responded to the man on the tannoy by shouting out the players’ surnames, something that is also done at home; funny how the simple things amused me most.

The crowd were much more intimidating than I was expecting, booing every time a Nice player had the ball, or when their players’ names were called out and on the big screens dotted around. The away section at Parc des Princes is pretty amazing though – the fans are sheltered by Perspex to stop any potential missiles. The only thing I saw thrown was paper, as each seat had a card to hold up before the game – not that anyone did and the majority were turned into paper aeroplanes or confetti. It was also funny seeing how angry the people around us got, while I stood in silence, laughing at them. Although I didn’t understand word-for-word, their abusive tirades, it doesn’t take a genius to work out the chanting of ‘jaune’ and ‘rouge’ when a few rash challenges flew in.

PSG won 3-1, with a hat-trick from Ibrahimovich. Now I’m firmly in the ‘dislike’ camp when it comes to the Swedish striker and despite his goals, he wasn’t that much of a threat. I don’t follow French football at all, so had no idea about the Nice side, but they were dreadful – it was like Barnet trying to play Barcelona! The football played wasn’t all that great, either. There were far too many players bunched up in the middle of the pitch and nobody seemed keen to get wide, and when plan a didn’t work, plan b was to hoof it. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I wasn’t wowed at all – and it was freezing! Definitely not blazer and pumps weather!

Give me Non-League any day!

Saturday 9^th November 2013

PSG                3 – 1              Nice

Ibrahimovic                           Pejcinovic

39’, 57’ (pen), 75’                 70’

My trip to Estadio Santiago Bernabéu (part two)

You can read about part one, here.

Also on the tour, there was an opportunity to visit the trophy rooms, as well as learn more about the history of club. From entering the museum, there was a slight air of self-importance – a board en route displayed the heading “the best track record in the world” with regards to both the football and basketball team. If that wasn’t bad enough, the trophy room itself was titled the “best club ever room”. Best seemed to be a recurring theme and a superlative they often referred to themselves as. 

The room itself was impressive with plenty of things to look at (and the information was printed in English as well as Spanish). Interactive screens were down one side, with options to research former managers and squads; you could also relive goals and moments from La Liga campaigns, Champions League finals and much more. The near side was strictly memorabilia, each presented with a caption – very interesting.

An illuminated screen displayed the history of the club’s crest and from a historic point of view and there were plenty of items from the early 1900s, including old-fashioned balls, boots and shirts. Trophies lined up in chronological order, grouped together based on competition – some of which I had never even heard of and most likely were no longer existent.

 

The “best players of the world” was another display dedicated to former and current Los Blancos’ stars, whom had won a number of awards including the golden ball and golden boot. Ronaldo was a name that featured prominently, with both the Brazilian and his Portuguese namesake dominating the board. While this was interesting to read, it was another example of the club showing off their achievements, which after a while, seemed like arrogance.

The tribute to Alfredo Di Stefano also interested me and his various trophies and personal possessions were donated to the Real Madrid foundation’s heritage centre for the museum. Again, there were HD screens with clips on display, showing some of his greatest achievements. The interactive elements throughout made it a lot more visual and gave you the opportunity to delve more into his life.

I wish I had taken more photos inside the museum, particularly as some of the trophies were odd-looking and clearly archaic. The newer elements appealed to me a lot more, as someone who doesn’t really have an interest in the club. There was a glass cabinet with the current squad’s boots (and in the case of the goalkeepers, their gloves), but my favourite was the hall of fame. Down one of the corridors were lit up screens with snapshots of every player to have donned the famous white kit – it was quite funny spotting some of the more awful players (Thomas Gravesen) along with a few of my favourites (eye candy purposes of course: Beckham, Kaka...), but the room was quite bright.

In all, it was a lovely few hours, particularly as we were allowed to walk around at our own pace. Even though I had been before, I was still looking forward to going and if anything, it was better than my last recollection. Tickets were €19, which is reasonable considering you could spend hours there and there was plenty to see. It’s also really easy to get there, once you’ve mastered the Spanish Metro system (which isn’t exactly difficult), so it’s something I thoroughly recommend visiting if you’re in Madrid!

My trip to Estadio Santiago Bernabéu (part one)

I recently went on a four-day break to Madrid and while there, had to go and visit the Bernabéu. I’d been a couple of times before (including on match day), but my boyfriend hadn’t and was desperate to go! No matter how many times I visit, the sheer magnitude of the stadium always overwhelms me. I think this is largely due to the fact it’s far superior to the grounds I usually visit during the season.

On arrival, we had to collect our tickets and luckily you can buy these on the day and there’s no need to book. The tour begins in tower B, which is the direction you originally come from once at the Santiago Bernabéu metro stop. After ascending a number of escalators, you find yourself in the top tier where you’re presented with a fabulous panoramic view of the while stadium. Because it isn’t a guided tour, you can spend as much time as you like taking photos and standing in awe and admiration. I’d imagine it would feel a lot higher up when full, if you were sitting at the back for a game – to me, it didn’t feel too far from pitch level, but I guess that’s because it was so empty. From here, you go down the stairs, a level at a time, with plenty of view points on the way, before reaching the pitch.

I found being on ground a lot more exciting and you’re within touching distance of the hallowed turf (although it’s obviously cordoned off to prevent it getting spoilt). Walking around the edge, there are plenty more photo opportunities, including pitch side, as well as the coaching area and players’ bench – again a far cry from anything I’d ever seen before! The seats in the dugout were even more comfortable than the ones I sat in when I visited Old Trafford! After soaking up some of the beauty up close, it’s time to walk down the tunnel, which weirdly is separated into two different walkways, divided by railings.

With it being so quiet and empty, with no buzz surrounding a game, I found the interior quite eerie – there was a weird hospital smell, which soon turned to one of strong bleach. Everything was so dark as well. The last time I visited, the home dressing room was close for refurbishment, so it was good to finally look around – even if you couldn’t sit on the benches. Pictures of the current squad and their numbered shirts hung from the walls and it was quite amazing to think we were sharing a room utilised by so many legends and world class players! It was also funny seeing where everyone’s positions were, including the fourth-choice goal keeper who sat on his own! The away dressing room was similar, but you were allowed to take a seat. There was also a couple of hot tubs, the toilets and showers (which weirdly, someone took a photo of) and a massage room. The latter was rather disappointing compared to everything else we had already seen – it was a small cramped room with four massage tables and a couple of cabinets filled with various medical products. It almost seemed out of place and like I say, was underwhelming.

The press room was the final place of note and was clearly one of the more popular areas – there was a queue outside the entrance and groups of people standing around, waiting to have their photos taken. After taking a seat in the press area while the queues died down, I took my place in the manager’s seat in the middle of the podium. Of course it was a little strange, not having an audience, but you were left imagining what it’d be like post match, in full flow.

There were also a couple of professional photo opportunities on the way round and you could have your photo taken holding a trophy, as well as with your favourite player (we both chose Kaka). You were given a ticket and were allowed to view and purchase the photos in the club shop – unfortunately, I couldn’t justify spending €12 or €17 on them, but it was a bit of fun regardless!

Look out for part two with photos and a write-up from the museum.