THE CURIOUS CASE OF 'LA FURIA ROJA'

Ignore the fancy title, this isn’t a sequel to ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’, this piece is about the enigma of the FIFA World Champions. As we all know Spain is the newly crowned champions of the World--after defeating Holland in the final of the just ended FIFA World Cup (in case you just arrived from outer space). And on last Saturday’s BBC ‘Sportsworld Have Your Say’, there was a debate on

1) The players that fans would like their coaches to buy
2) Whether or not Spanish football will dominate for sometime to come.

With regards to the two topics on last Saturday’s show, I got the opportunity to air my views on the first part of the discussion but couldn’t do so for the second part. Tellingly, I had a lot to say about the ‘Spanish’ part but due to time constraints and a ‘bundle of nerves’ I couldn’t voice my submissions on the second part. That prompted me to come up with this piece. So if you care to know more then read on.

I did mention in a previous article that the Spanish National team is actually not as Spanish as many would like to believe. It’s true that the Spaniards have won the World Cup but if the Spanish team will go on to dominate World football for years to come then it’ll depend on the “Catalonia factor”. A couple of Spanish players notably Barcelona players are from the Catalonia (or Catalunya) region, players like Valdes, Puyol, Pique, Capdevila, Busquet, Xavi, Iniesta, Pedro, among others.

Okay but aren’t these players Spanish? The answer is yes and no, hence the title of my piece. If this were a relationship status, it’ll definitely come under the ‘it’s complicated’ category. Let me explain further, for beginners, I’d wish to point out to you that Catalonia (or Catalunya) is an autonomous region in northeastern Spain, comprising of four provinces namely Barcelona, Gerona, Lérida, and Tarragona (of course I had to research).

The history of the Catalonia state is a checkered one however one significant period that is worth mentioning is the Spanish wars of the nineteen thirties. After the overthrow of King Alfonso XIII in the Spanish revolution of 1930 and 1931, Catalonia was granted the right to have its own president and parliament, within the context of the Spanish republic. During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), Catalans supported the Republican cause against the counter-revolution led by the infamous General Francisco Franco. Unfortunately for Catalans, Franco was victorious, and under his regime (1939-1975) the autonomy of Catalonia was abrogated. That was when their woes started.

General Franco would die in 1975 and the people of Catalonia would regain some of the freedom they once enjoyed. Significantly, in 1977, the Spanish government granted the Catalan provinces limited autonomy and permitted the reestablishment of the Generalitat, which is the governing body of the province of Catalonia.

Also, not so long ago (2006), the Spanish government passed another statute of autonomy which was subsequently approved by 74% of Catalan voters in a referendum. The Preamble of the 2006 Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia states that the Parliament of Catalonia has defined Catalonia as a nation, but that "the Spanish Constitution recognizes Catalonia's national reality as a nationality". That is to say the Spanish government sees Catalonia as a state within a state but not fully independent of Spanish influence. For lack of a better explanation let’s just say Catalonia is more like a ‘free slave’ or something close to that.

A common theme that runs through both the 1979 Statute of Autonomy and the one approved in 2006, is that "Catalonia, as a nationality, exercises its self-government constituted as an Autonomous Community in accordance with the Constitution (Spanish) and with the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia, which is its basic institutional law." Don’t bother your head; I’m as confused as you are.

Catalonia is a state with a population of about 7.5 million people. Spanish, Catalan (native) and Aranese Occitan are the three main official languages spoken in Catalonia. The flag of Catalonia consists of four red stripes on a yellow background, the one often seen on the badge of FC Barcelona and it usually consists the colours of the captain’s band worn by Puyol. The anthem of Catalonia is Els Segador and 11th September is celebrated as the National Day of Catalonia.

With her own distinct culture, language, security force, parliament, president, flag and anthem, Catalonia is indeed a separate state from mainland Spain. In football context, there’s the Catalonia Football Federation that oversees activities of the Catalonia National Football team popularly known as La Selecio. The main problem with the Catalonia Football Federation is that it’s not affiliated to UEFA or FIFA hence they are unable to participate in European or international competitions like the European Championships or the World Cup.

However the Catalan Football Federation usually organizes friendly matches against teams from South America, Asia and Africa. The team has played over 200 international matches since it’s inception in 1904. Their recent match was against Argentina on December 22, 2009. The Catalans won that game by 4 goals to 2. The coach of the Catalan football team is the legendary Barcelona and Holland coach/player Johan Cruyff. Cruyff is also an honorary citizen of Catalonia.

Most Catalans are very nationalistic and the desire to become a fully autonomous nation capable of ‘being on her own’ has been their motivation since the days of General Franco. Take FC Barcelona for example, the club has become a Catalan institution, hence the motto "Més que un club" which translates as more than a club. For many fans who don’t really understand left alone appreciate the history of this Catalan club, Barcelona is just another football team they support but for the people of Catalonia who know that FC Barcelona is indeed “more than a club”, it’s a channel for them to promote their nationalistic agenda. During the time of Franco, Catalans were banned from joining any political party and they weren’t even permitted to speak their own language. Joining Barca was the only way to identify with one’s ‘Catalonia’ roots because Barca was the only symbol of Catalonia that was left untouched.

In Spain, Real Madrid fans are widely regarded as a symbol of ‘the oppressor’s rule’. Madrid is like an embodiment of oppressive centralism and a representation of a fascist regime (that doesn’t change the fact that I’m still a Madrid fan).Barca fans regard Madrid as ‘the enemy’. So you see, a game between Real Madrid and Barcelona is more than just a game. “El Classico” is arguably the most keenly contested football match in club football because it goes beyond just 22 players and one round ball. It’s a political game and you need to understand it to appreciate it.

Supporting FC Barcelona is equivalent to making a bold political statement to the rest of the world. FC Barcelona = Freedom for Catalonia. Oh and by the way, the former president of FC Barcelona Joan Laporta is running for president in the state of Catalonia. You see what I mean?

On the international front, the general consensus among Catalans is that, FIFA and UEFA should permit their national team to participate in international competitions just like countries like Ireland, Wales, and Scotland are allowed to. Catalans want their players to be identified with the region and not just Spain per se because strictly speaking those players (Xavi, Iniesta et al) are Catalans rather than Spaniards. The fact is, quite a good number of key players in the current Spanish set up are from the region of Catalonia.

Just to reiterate a point I made earlier, players like Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, Pique, Capdevilla, Busquets, Llorente, Fabregas and Pedro are Catalans. Take Xavi for example he made over 669 passes during the World Cup and about 81% of those passes found their targets, again Iniesta scored the winning goal in the World Cup final. The contribution of these players can’t be overemphasized. It’ll be naïve of me to suggest that without the ‘Catalan boys’ the Spanish wouldn’t have won the World Cup but from what we know of the Catalans in the Spanish team, it wouldn’t be far fetched if I propound such a theory.

The fight for ‘total’ independence continues and likewise, the clamor for the Catalan team to be given the right to participate in international competitions is becoming louder. It remains to be seen whether the Catalan team would be dissociated from La Furia Roja. It’s hard to say but by my reckoning, the separation will happen in the ‘sweet by and by’. As for Catalans, that would definitely be a blessing. It’ll be a victory for their nationalistic agenda and a freedom for democracy. Football and politics should never be mixed but in the curious case of La Furia Roja, it is inevitable. After all who doesn’t want be independent?

If it so happens that FIFA approves Catalonia’s request to be permitted to play in international competition then your guess is as good as mine: it’ll be a big blow to the Spanish national team. If Spanish football would dominate world football for years to come then it’ll depend on whether or not the ‘two’ teams would continue to play together. As for Catalans, I doubt if they’d mind exchanging trophies for the right to compete in FIFA and UEFA sanctioned tournaments as “Catalans”. In fact they’ll probably have a good chance of winning laurels because they can parade a decent team consisting of the players I mentioned earlier plus others like Victor Valdes-the captain of the Catalan national team, Bojan Krkic, Albert Luque, Fran Merida, Marc Crosas, Jordi Cordina, Sergio Garcia, Gabri, Oleguer Presas and Fernando Navarro with Pep Guardiola on the technical team alongside Johan Cruyff.

Personally I support the idea that Catalans should be allowed to parade their own team at football tournaments and sporting events more generally. I won’t pretend that I relate to the struggles of the people of Catalonia, however from where I come from (Ghana) I can understand why the people of Catalonia would want to have their own national identity and that I can relate to. From the plenty I’ve read, I’ve come to the realisation that the rebirth of the state of Catalonia has been nothing short of remarkable, the right to compete in football tournaments would be a delightful addition. That is something I think the whole world should know about and fight towards.

“A man is either free or he is not. There cannot be any apprenticeship for freedom” by Imamu Amiri Baraka.