As it's the international break this week, I thought I should let my first entry focus on both how I became a fan of Barça, and what I intend to write about in this blog!
My first memories of the club go back to 1996; Ronaldo was the biggest emerging star in the world, scoring for fun with what seemed like incredible ease. My grandparents returned from a holiday in Spain with a Barça strip for my brother (you know the one, Kappa, with the logos running down the arms!) and a Barça scarf. I was fascinated and grilled my brother, he told me Ronaldo was the best player in the world. As a 6 year old, I assumed that having the best player in the world must mean that Barça were the best club in the world, and that was that!
My interest in football was de-railed for a good while, being put off by the kind of bigotry that surrounds the two main clubs here in Scotland. I could never work out why people found matters off the pitch more important than those on the pitch in relation to their club. It didn't make sense, and frankly left me slightly disenchanted with football in general. This begins to explain why I eventually went on to love Barça; I was detached from any less than savory matters off the pitch as I lived in a different country, and I have fond memories of the club from being a very young child.
I was fortunate enough to meet a lifelong friend one year in Spain. A few years ago he invited me to visit him in Barcelona, and of course I complied!
I instantly fell in love with the city. Its culture, heritage, people, and way of life completely enamored me. I'd also began watching more Barça games; viewing all of the Champions League matches when I could, and loved the way the teams philosophy was so well respected and transcended individuals.
All of these elements combined and, in the light of a full moon, morphed me into a Barça obsessive! Since then I've been unfortunate enough to witness Ronaldinho and Deco's fall from grace, the end of the Rijkard era and much of the pain that occurred therein. I've also been fortunate enough to see the rise of the young pretender, Pep Guardiola, and the treble winning team we all love. I don't think many people could argue that Barça aren't the best club in the world in this moment in time, and the scary thing is, they can still improve!
So there you have it, that's how I became a fan of the club. I could go into more detail, but trust me, it would bore you! Now I'll briefly focus on what I intend to write in this blog:
Every week I'll post my buildup to La Liga, Champions League and Copa Del Rey games, and then post-match analysis of the matches too. I'll also comment on the comings and goings behind the scenes, player quotations and thoughts etc, and what I think this mean for us as fans. Perhaps the crux of the blog will be my unique perspective ; I'll try and illustrate how it feels to be a Barça fan in Scotland (some of the reactions are very strange when you tell someone you support Barça and not Rangers or Celtic, for example) and how this probably shapes my perspective on the club too.
International break this week, so everything's quiet until the Valencia game, which I'll post pre-match thoughts on sometime next week! Until then, heres a video of the great man himself, sporting the kit I thought was oh so cool as a young kid!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFhBJIICxi0
Thanks for reading!
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