Who Needs the Nou Camp?

Despite the fact that Barcelona were hosting Arsenal in a pre season game at the Nou Camp that same evening, we opted instead for a trip to Europa CE for their Catalan Cup match against Llagostera. The small stadium was tucked into a suburb to the North of the city, towering apartment blocks and distant mountains visible as the sun was setting. 

Europa play in the regional 3rd division of Spanish football, attracting crowds of just a few hundred (compared to the 100,000 that attend the Nou Camp most weekends), but there's a real community and grassroots spirit at the club. The team is literally named ‘Europe’, and the blue + yellow star EU flag was visible around the stadium. 

The club, alongside their noisy city neighbours FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol, were one of the founding members of La Liga, with a long, proud tradition. As recently as 1997-1998, Europa beat Barca (managed by Bobby Robson) in this very same competition two years running, and have a firm place in the history and culture of the game here. 

Closed turnstiles upon arrival… a lap of the stadium needed to find an open gate.

We arrived, in typical Spanish fashion, slightly late, circling the ground to find a shop or turnstile to grant us entry. We joined the small queue outside the club shop, getting ourselves tickets (for just €5) and of course, replica jerseys. The white and blue V design caught our eye from minute one, and it seemed a fitting souvenir of our new adopted Barcelona team. 

One big stand housed the majority of the fans and refreshment outlets, whilst three smaller terraces circled the rest of the pitch. Apartment blocks and office towers loomed over the field, with hundreds of windows offering incredible pitch views. On closer look, however, not many of the residents deemed it a worthwhile watch, with only a handful of faces peeking from their lofty vantage points. 

Great views from the towering flat blocks.

Highlights included beers and homemade sandwiches (bocadillos) served from the pitch side cafe, and a tiny but noisy group of ultras. We joined the flag waving few behind the goal, the sight of beer being sipped and cigarettes smoked punctuating the scrappy, end to end game. 

A first half Llagostera goal gave the away side the impetus for most of the match, but the crowd came to life with a late Europa equaliser. As we bought another beer and settled in for extra time, it became clear this early season midweek cup tie was going straight to penalties. 

As the sun came down, the crowd shuffled down to the far end of the ground to see the spot kicks, which sadly the away team went onto win 4-2, knocking Europa out of the Catalan Cup. Despite the result, it was great to experience the culture of a local, community club in a city so famous for the big stars and pricey tickets. Who needs Messi and the Nou Camp after all...? Give me CE Europa and Nou Sardenya instead.

The visitors slotting the winning penalty.