Fix Camp Nou or Build a new one?

To build or renovate? That is the question that Barça president Sandro Rosell brought up last month in the General Assembly was the suggestion of building a new stadium. This sparked a great debate about what should Barça do regarding their home. Should they renovate the Camp Nou or time to build a new stadium?

Last month, the club presented a proposition to the members about the status of the Camp Nou.  Javier Faus, the vice-president of the Economic and Strategic Area of the Club proposed two options regarding the home of Barça; Renovate the Camp Nou or build a new one. The first option would cost close to 300 million euros, and the second option wouldn’t surpass 600 million euros. He also assured that if a new stadium was built, it would not be built outside of the Barcelona city limits. Ultimately, 89% of the socios approved on having a referendum about this topic.

This topic struck a nerve with many passionate Blaugrana fans. Many, including myself, were not in favor of seeing Barça play at a new stadium, but to stay at the Camp Nou and just go ahead and renovate the stadium where it is needed. Others though believe it’s time for a new stadium.

The argument for the new stadium wasn’t just an argument about a new playing surface but it was also more of a sign that the club needs to step forward and become more modern like other teams. A new stadium would mean more VIP seats – reminds me of the Sky Box seats arguments US franchises used to build new arenas/stadiums – and could also generate more income by selling the naming rights of the stadium.  Bottom line, the new stadium would mean a step in a direction of the club becoming more of a professional organization and not just a club.

However, there are many, including myself, who believe that Barça’s only home should be the Camp Nou.  The Poll on the Miami Penya website saw 5 out of 20 in favor of building a new stadium. Most of the responses I got from fellow fans were that the club should stay in the Camp Nou. Why? The stadium is magical with such a vast history. This is stadium that has seen the likes of Kubala, Luis Suarez, Cruyff, Krankl, Simonsen, Maradona, Lineker, Stoichkhov, Laudrup, Romario, Koeman, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Guardiola, Ronaldinho, Eto’o, and the current crop of amazing talent such as Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta and Messi call home. We have also witnessed great games at this pitch with the likes of a few 5-0 wins against Real Madrid, the magical comeback of Barça against Atletico Madrid in 1996-1997 Copa Del Rey encounter, numerous Champions League victories, and many great celebrations.

I think part of the reason why some of the fans said don’t build a new one is because they have yet to experience a match at the magical stadium, including myself.  For those who have been to the Camp Nou on numerous occasions, perhaps the magic aura of the Camp Nou has rubbed off and it is just another stadium to them. So is that selfishness on our part not to have a new stadium built? Probably yes. However, I also have a tough time believing a new stadium is really needed. The current Camp Nou holds 99,000 seats and supposedly the new stadium will have 10,000 additional seats and of course, the ever so important VIP seats. However, the club only averages close to 75,000 fans in attendance so what guarantee is there that the new stadium will have more fans? Will there be more amenities?

If the club is averaging close to 75,000 fans to see one of a kind amazing talent such as Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and company, then I shudder to think what will happen in the new stadium when most of these players will be done with football and working on their golf games or working on their coaching badges.

The Camp Nou is not only the home of the football team, but it also contains the club’s offices, the Botiga – Official Barça shop, and the FC Barcelona Museu, the club’s museum. In the end, money talks, especially under this president who wants to make the club more fiscally responsible. However, I don’t know if spending 600 million euros for a new stadium is the right approach. The New York Yankees decided to leave their own Camp Nou and built a new Yankees stadium and some would say that the move has not been as successful with overpriced seats, empty seats, and a lackluster fan atmosphere that no longer intimidates opposing teams.

In my opinion, you can’t replace a landmark. VIP boxes area a great idea and great source of income but with the current state of the Spanish economy is going, what guarantee is there that those seats will be sold off to corporations since they are the ones who usually buy those types of seats and US teams suffered during the poor economy because companies couldn’t afford those tickets. Also, if the club is not selling out every match now with this great team, then what guarantee that a new stadium with 10,000 additional seats will have a higher attendance? By the time this stadium is built, the great era of this team might be over so fans won’t be paying to watch the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, and perhaps even Messi. If it ain’t broke, then don’t fix it. However, if minor repairs are needed, then renovate.

In the end, the fans will have the final say on what should happen. Part of me wants to have the club remain at the holy grounds of the Camp Nou and part of me thinks that the club should always be proactive and reactive to change such as modern facilities and modern approaches in how a club should be run. So if you’re still waffling on when to go to the Camp Nou, you might want to do it sooner than later because it seems that the Camp Nou days are coming to an end.

 

Time for Barça to slay Madrid.

Barça have had their chances to put a big dagger into the hearts of their arch rivals, Real Madrid, under Mourinho while they were going through internal turmoil. Barça failed to do so on every occasion and allowed Madrid to stay alive and gain momentum. Tomorrow will see Barça face Madrid with an eight point lead over them and a win would only sink the Blancos even further away from the league summit. However, with Barça possibly playing without Puyol and Pique in the heart of the defense, will Barça give Madrid another stay of execution or finally slay them?

El Clásico has been called one of the biggest games in the world. It sure has become more prestigious, and at times infamous, ever since Jose Mourinho joined Real Madrid. Last season saw both teams face each other in the Supercopa, League and the Copa Del Rey before we hit the spring season. Barça got the better of their arch rivals in the Supercopa, the first league encounter and the Copa del Rey. It was the latter that I believe ultimately cost Barça the league title.

That was the first time that Barça had a chance to wreak havoc on Real Madrid. It’s no secret that under Mourinho, Los Blancos have had internal problems in the dressing room. Back in January, Mourinho and Sergio Ramos erupted in a huge row following Barça’s 2-1 victory over Real Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey in Madrid and things looked like they were about to unravel for them. The second leg saw Barça race to a two goal lead before the half for a 4-1 aggregate at the Camp Nou and you could feel that things were about to get more unraveling for Los Blancos if Barça piled it on and ran up the score.

This was their chance to drive a giant wedge between Mourinho and some of his players. Barça’s chance to slay the dragon though failed thanks to their lethargic second half that saw Real Madrid fight back and score two goals and claim a draw. The result meant that Barça eliminated Real Madrid but some, including myself, thought Barça would pay dearly for this result. They had them down and did not go for the kill and gave Madrid a boost of confidence.

Like the old sports saying goes, “Winning is the best deodorant.” Well, Madrid’s come back to draw 2-2 was the deodorant that masked their problems and allowed them to forget about their squabbles and focus on the league and Champions League. Barça could have made their lives more difficult by continuing the ongoing internal strife along with the negative press from the Spanish capital. Instead, Pepe stepping on Messi’s hands or Ramos’s leaked comments were a thing of the past because of their strong half performance and they recouped and moved on.

Barça’s second chance to slay the beast came a few months in April when Barça hosted Madrid in the Camp Nou. Madrid had seen their big lead of 10 points reduced to 4 before their clash at the Camp Nou. A Barça win would have seen them shrink Madrid’s lead to just one point with just a handful of games remaining.  Once again, there were stories of problems going on in Madrid after they dropped six points and Barça were presented with a golden opportunity to chop off the head of the monster and exert more pressure on their arch rivals by making them sweat it out the rest of the season. Instead, Guardiola’s lineup decisions back fired and Madrid and Mourinho finally overcame their lack of success in the Camp Nou with an important victory and raced away with the league.

Barça’s latest opportunity came in the most recent Supercopa. Unlike other editions, this year’s edition was scheduled after the league kicked off. Sandwiched between two league encounters were the two Supercopas ties. Madrid kicked off their season with a fortunate 1-1 draw at home to Valencia and then traveled to Barcelona where they lost 3-2 in the first leg of the Supercopa and then suffered their first league defeat when they lost away to Getafe 2-1.

This presented Barça with a great setting. Inflict more pain and trouble for Mourinho and Madrid in front of the Los Blancos fans. Instead, Madrid raced to a quick two goal lead thanks for some poor defending and withstood a Messi goal to defeat a shorthanded Barça side to capture the Supercopa. Once again, Madrid found the correct deodorant stick and briefly covered up the stench of their poor season start.

Tomorrow, Barça hosts Madrid while enjoying an eight point lead over their arch rivals. With Barça missing the services of Puyol and perhaps Pique, some are hoping for a draw to keep the gap at eight points. The idea of seeing defensive midfielders as centre-backs are not that reassuring.  However this is a must win game for Barça. Also, this is Barça; anything but a win in any game is unacceptable, especially in El Clásico.

Barça are presented once again with a great opportunity to add more misery to Madrid as they once again deal with internal issues between Mourinho and some of the players. A victory stretches Barça’s commanding lead to 11 points and one can only imagine the sort of backlash the Madrid press would unleash on Mourinho and his players.

A loss tomorrow means that another team from Madrid, Atlético, would become league leaders if they defeat Malaga in a game scheduled after the Clásico. So Barça have been presented with another golden opportunity to cause some serious damage to Real Madrid. Will they do it or will they give Real Madrid another reprieve and allow them to regain some confidence along with some mojo which could inspire them the rest of the season again? Opportunity is knocking again and it’s about time Barça answer.