After a few days of going back and forth about whether to buy a ticket or not for Barça’s season finale, I did it. I have been a fan since I was six and I have been fortunate to see them play big epic games at the Camp Nou. For example, I saw El Clásico when the Brazilian Ronaldo, Zidane, and Beckham were playing for Madrid and Ronaldinho and Eto’o were playing for Barcelona. I also saw the Clásico when Barcelona won 5-0 against Mourinho and Cristiano. Now that was an unforgettable and magical night. It was THE party in town.
It had been over 10 years since the last game I had been to at the Camp Nou so even though this game meant very little or better said, nothing, since Madrid had long won the title and Messi no longer played for Barcelona, I did not know when my next chance would be to see a game so I decided to buy a ticket for €91 and I was located in the lower section by one of the corners.
A few hours after returning to Victor’s house from the F1 race it was time to head out again to the Camp Nou. Victor had already left because he works at Barça’s customer service desk during the games.
I took the metro into town and as I was getting closer more and more people were entering to the point it was getting a little bit uncomfortable. The environment was getting louder and louder and before I knew it it was time to get out and walk the remaining distance to the stadium. First, I stopped at a little store to buy some water and threw away the lid at a nearby trash can so I could bring it to the stadium.
It was an amazing feeling to be back after so many years. The beautiful green grass everyone wished they had in their backyard and just that special feeling in the air. So much history here.
Once I found my seat I decided to head to the stalls and either get a bocadillo de lomo (pork sandwich) or one with bacon. To my surprise they had neither and their options were very basic for some reason. Hot dogs, ham and cheese sandwiches and other stuff that was just sitting there in an unappetizing manner. I walked in both directions, but I quickly realized that there was not much to walk because of the floor to ceiling bars that would not let you go any further. You are basically confined to the specific section where your seat is, which is unlike the basketball and football stadiums in the US where you can walk around the entire stadium.
I was waiting so many years for this and they did not even have my favorite sandwich that I would always get at these games nor did they have the candy I like either. So I settled with melted chocolate covered Oreos I had in my pocket.
Either things have changed or I was just in the wrong section.
The Barça anthem came on and I got goosebumps. Ten years later I got to see the players walk out on the field and sing all the parts that I still remembered. It was show time for the second time in one day.
Unfortunately, the game itself was also kind of a disappointment because Barça decided to continue with the theme of the season which was too many poor performances. They ended up losing the game 2-0. Villarreal scored the first one shortly before half time and the second one not too long after half time.
It is hard to believe with all the talent they have on the roster the season could have gone so wrong while Madrid time again found ways to pull out wins when they had to. Madrid was like the Djokovic of football (soccer). It did not matter how many goals they were behind or how little time was left on the clock to turn things around, they always did. As much as I did not like seeing that as a Barça fan I must admit that they absolutely deserved the great success they had that season. You have to know how to win no matter what and they did.
The Barça – Villarreal game outcome was not the one I hoped for, it was still an unbelievable day. Getting to see the F1 stars meters away and finally seeing a Barça game again a decade later was awesome. I could not have asked for more than that.
With the conclusion of the game the night was settling in to the point that the nearest metro stations were already closed. Eventually I found one open and I hoped onto the last one of the night. As I walked up the stairs at my destination station I noticed the gates were closed, but then I saw the guard open it back up for me.
Bona nit.