Barcelona is a city of culture; home of Antonio Gaudí, the Sagrada Família and to a lesser extent, for those that have been, those annoying whistles that are sold down Las Ramblas! Yet as a football fan, no visit to Barcelona could be complete without visiting the imperial Camp Nou, home of possibly the greatest team ever! So when I arranged to meet my football-loving dad for a weekend in Barcelona, I couldn’t help but get excited … after all my first ever football shirt was a Barcelona one!
Given the size of the city and our limited time there, we decided that the best option to see the essentials was via the tourist buses. All in all, Barcelona is a beautiful city, with much to see and do. With the beach, the museums and parks there is something for everyone…although after seeing some of the queues, you may think that literally everyone really is in Barcelona! On the Saturday, the bus route passed by the Camp Nou and we decided to do the stadium tour. For only fifteen euros it was well worth it. Not only did we get to see the changing rooms, the player’s seats and the views from the commentator’s box, but we also learnt a lot through the interactive museum. On leaving the tour we saw the queue to buy tickets for Sundays match. This however, was something we didn’t mind queuing for. Whilst we waited, I took the opportunity to send Andrés Iniesta a tweet, asking if he fancied a coffee before the match …
We spent the Sunday morning visiting the Olympic stadium and that side of the city, but the conversation was dominated by one theme… the forthcoming match. Who would play? How many hat tricks would Messi score? Would Iniesta recognise me from my Twitter account photo? We decided to make our way to the stadium with plenty of time to spare, and were rewarded with seeing some of the players arrive in their rather expensive cars. We then took our seats behind the goal and watched as the stadium began to fill as each minute passed. The stadium must have been near capacity, and given that the capacity is close to 100,000, I doubt that I will ever go to a better attended match. The match itself was wonderful. The analogy of watching a PlayStation game is often used to describe Barcelona’s style and I could see why. The ‘tiki-taka’ passing and movement is a joy to behold. Iniesta scored the opener and I can only presume that he was motivated by my tweet. Then of course Messi scored … when does Messi not score? With each Barcelona goal the hymn sounded through the speakers …the thousands of flags and scarves danced to the music. The match may have ended 2-0, but the buzz and excitement didn’t until weeks later.
If I ever return to Barcelona I will gladly pay to watch another match … although one thing is still bothering me…Iniesta still hasn’t replied to that tweet …
Who's your favourite football team? Have you ever sent a 'tweet' to a famous person?
