Barcelona v Sevilla in Monaco

Like many Welsh people, I have long held FC Barcelona in the highest esteem. To the Welsh supporter, the Catalonian team exist in a World, which can never be ours. Despite the similarities between two ancient countries that fight to cling on to their independence and culture in the face of overwhelming interference from their neighbours, the tribal Wales will never unite behind its Capital side, like the Catlunyans do.

There are differences of course. Catalunya is a wealthier country, its population of 7 million is more than twice that of Wales'. Football is its only serious sport, and its people have been welded together by the atrocities suffered at Franco's hands during the Spanish Civil War. But there are similarities too. Like Wales, it has its own language which has only recently won official recognition, and it has recently battled for political independence. Barca's relationship with Spain mirrors that of Wales' relationship with England.

I am jealous of Barcelona. Not only do they have an amazing stadium, a famous history, and currently the best team in the World, they also wear World football's best kit, gloriously unbesmirched by sponsorship. In my dreams, all Welsh supporters would put their energies into one professional club which could compete at the level of the Catalunyans.

So it was with some excitement that I learnt this week that the European Super Cup Final would be held in Monaco between Barcelona and Sevilla. I was holidaying near Nice, and the chance was too good to miss. I wanted to experience the Barcelona phenomenon at first hand.

I arrived early in the day and equipped Eric Junior with a placard begging for tickets . The capacity was only 18,000 and the match was sold out. It was apparent early on that we would be very lucky to secure a pair and I moved on to the stadium. The Stade Louis II is rightly famed for its stunning setting. You can just about make it out in the centre of the picture above.

I was immediately approached by a tout, offering tickets at 100 Euros each. They didn't seem right. The paper was a bit shiny, and I questioned their authenticity. "Don't worry", he assured me, "I am a white man. You can trust me." I moved on.

I eventually bought a pair of tickets for 160 Euros, or £55 each. Not bad really, when you consider that the same tickets for Barnsley v Cardiff would have cost me nearly £50. Face value tickets were £15-£35 for a European Cup Final, however contrived it might be.

The pre-match atmosphere was initally as I expected. Groups of middle-class families wondering around Monaco in their colours, with Sevilla supporters seemingly outnumbering Barca's following. But as we waited for the gates to open at the Stadium, it was obvious that there are stark divisions in Barcelona's fan base.

I had heard about the Boxois Nois, Barcelona's self-styled Ultras. And I came across them a few times in Monaco. They are a strange lot. Like many so-called Ultra groups across Europe thay are known to have some influence at the club and received free tickets at the Nou Camp until Barca President Laporta decided to end their priveleges. It didn't go down well and there has been some real anomisity between the President and his Ultras.

They look a bit silly to the cynical British supporter - a throwback to the early 1980's when the average British Hooligan still sported skinheads and wore scarves wrapped around their wrists.

When I first saw them, the Boxois Nois were facing up to the chanting Sevilla fans on the Stadium Concourse. It was like a scene from a bad hooligan movie, I.D. maybe.

They linked arms behind a big banner and marched towards that massed Sevilla fans who were themselves as about as threatening as Norwich City in party mood.


As usual, this impending violence featuring 300 of Europe's toughest thugs was stopped when a couple of traffic policemen stood in their way. It's all bluster and pantomime.


The stadium was even more impressive inside. If you need to make a 20,000 capacity stadium, then this should be your blueprint. It has a stunning backdrop of mountainside that is only rivalled by the view from the stand at The Traeth, Porthmadog.





Aesthetically, it is the best stadium that I have seen, though the catering facilities would suffer in comparison to most of those in the Welsh Premier.

Inside, the atmosphere was building, and even the tannoy man did his bit by playing the club songs. Barca had some official fan organisers who had laid out flags on the seats along with complex instructions on when to wave them, and for which chant. These instructions were well intentioned, but ignored as always.


When the Boxois Nois entered, things began hotting up a little and they started putting up their flags. I couldn't believe my eyes.
About a quarter of the flags featured the St George's Cross.


I'm well aware that St George is the patron saint of Catalunya and that it features on their badge, but this was different. The English flag was undoubtedly being used as some badge of commitment to the team, reflecting their ideas about its identity with hooliganism.

They were hilariously captioned with terms like "Youth Firm", and "No Surrender - True Always". I can only think that the latter was poorly translated from a Loyalist flag that they saw on telly.

For obvious reasons, these banners upset me a little. I had naiively thought that there was some bond between small nations. I even persuaded Eric Junior to wear his Wales shirt to the game, as previous meetings with Bretons and Basques had led me to belive that Catalunyans would be similarly friendly. In the event, I have to admit that the shirt had no recognition whatsoever. Are Catalunyans different? Are Barca too big to concern themselves with others ?

Even if this were the case, the English flags are particularly offensive. I hope your fight for independence goes well, Barca, but there's no need to insult your Celtic cousins by flying the opressor's flag.

Towards the end of the game, the Boxois Nois put on a little show. They started throwing flares at the blokes who were getting the platform ready for the presentation. It all threatened to kick off when the police got involved, but what was most interesting was the reaction of the rest of Barca's support.

The English wannabes were roundly booed and loud chanting began, aimed at the Boxois. This is obviously a divided club. There is a huge gap between the few hundred Ultras and the rest of the many thousands of family-based support. The Ultras are being marganalised and attacked from all sides. I'm not sure that this is a battle they can win. The Boxois Nois celebrated their 25th anniversary this year, but as a group, their future seems uncertain, which is fine by me.