THW Kiel at FC Barcelona Borges, April 24th 2011

Live Event #5

Palau Blaugrana

If I told you I came to Barcelona and planned to attend a handball match I'd be lying. My father proposed that we walk from our hotel to the Palau Blaugrana (Catalan for palace of blue and deep red), FC Barcelona's handball and basketball arena (capacity 7,550), and try to get tickets to the handball game. Let me make myself clear: my knowledge of handball extends no further than the scrambled 10 v 10 version we play in North American PE class. The general perception is that handball is a non-contact sport, similar to something like ultimate frisbee. I was in for a massive shock.

We purchased two general admission tickets for a combined 26 euros; an affordable price for an hour and a half of entertainment. We arrived just as the rambunctious crowd finished singing their beloved Barca anthem. We sat in the upper corner of the stadium, which provided us with an exceptional view of the court. I soon found out that the handball is played with six "outfield" players and one goalkeeper and that the game is unlike anything I'd ever witnessed. The game is split evenly into two thirty minutes halves and the action is never ending. Substitutions are completed on the fly and are - not unlike basketball in the final minutes of games, determined on an offensive/defensive basis. The object of the game is simple, the team with the most goals wins, not too dissimilar to football (soccer) but with scores occurring at a much higher volume. 

 A diagram of an official handball court (Reference: Government of Western Australia)

The majority of the goals scored come from set play. The six attacking players set up in a shell around the 9 meter line, passing and dribbling around the semi circle, attempting to break through the defence and get a clear shot on goal. Once an attacking players steps over the 9 meter line and enters the defensive zone (a section that stretches 3 meters) he can be forcefully obstructed by the defender. If an attacking player is illegally felled by a defender inside the defensive zone, he is awarded a penalty shot from the 7 meter line. Goals can also come from fast breaks which usually occur following a defensive deflection or steal (like in basketball). The job of goalkeeper is unforgiving, many of the shot attempts are nearly impossible to stop; a save at a crucial moment in the match provokes a massive momentum swing.

The match was important for Barcelona, the first leg of the quarter finals of the European Cup. Led by their captain László Nagy, a 6'10'' Hungarian giant, Barca fought back and forth against their German opponents THW Kiel. Late in the match and up by only one goal, Barca's keeper Danijel Šarić made two incredible saves that preserved Barca's lead and they held on to win 27-25. I'm pleased with our decision to attend the match; it was a thrilling encounter and introduced to me a new sport to appreciate and understand. Monday night we would complete our Barcelona sports trifecta and watch Regal Barcelona face off against DKV Joventut of nearby Baladona in a Spanish league basketball game.

CA Osasuna at FC Barcelona, April 23rd 2011

Live Event #4

Camp Nou

Following over 24 hours in transit, my father and I finally arrived in Barcelona and we had just under 24 hours to recuperate in time for our first football match of our trip in Europe: Club Atlético Osasuna at Futbol Club Barcelona. The match was situated at a difficult juncture for the Catalan giants, the third in a succession of six that included a staggering four against their primary rivals Real Madrid. This would be the second time I would be privileged enough to watch the Blaugrana in person; the club generally recognized as the best team in the world. The first time was in August of 2009, a 3-0 victory against Athletic Bilbao that confirmed Barca as Supercopa de España champions. The squad has undergone minimal change since then, the core group that won the 2009 Champions League remains for the most part intact.

The unmistakable feature of Camp Nou is its sheer size. Europe's largest stadium in terms of capacity has the ability to seat nearly 100,000 spectators for a football match. Once inside the stadium, it is easy to notice the lack of high priced concession options and the absence of the entertainment options that are present in all North American stadiums in an effort to please corporate advertisers and appeal to a larger (non-sports fan) audience. It is refreshing for a sports purist like myself to attend a game where at least 90% of the attending fans' priority is actually watching the game! Shocking! In Barcelona especially, supporting Barca is not so much a choice as a civic duty, a public demonstration of strong Catalan pride. There is nothing quite like a packed stadium singing the Barca anthem in unison before and after the game.

Barca Anthem

With Barca looking ahead to their Champions League semi-final encounter with Real Madrid Pep Guardiola chose to rest many of his key players. Xavi, Andres Iniesta, and Lionel Messi started the match on the substitutes bench and center back duo Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique watched from the stands. Even without half of their regular starting XI Barca were no question the superior team. Twenty-three minutes in, Jeffren whipped in a terrific rolling cross that David Villa expertly slide into the bottom corner for his first goal in 11 matches. Osasuna showed some fight at times and nearly had an equalizer that Barca keeper deflected out for a corner. 20 year old Barca midfielder Thiago Alcantara received a surprise start and left a good impression. He demonstrated exceptional skill and an ability to fit into Barca's dynamic attack. The score at halftime was 1-0 for Barca. As a fan I hoped that Messi, Xavi, and Iniesta would eventually make an appearance in the game; it would have been slightly disappointing if they hadn't. Guardiola didn't wait much longer to introduce one of them, inserting Iniesta for the second half. Not too long after, Messi and Xavi appeared on the touch line for warm up to raucous applause. They both would be subbed on with 30 minutes left to go, Messi for goal scorer David Villa and Xavi for the injured center back Gabriel Milito, an alteration that forced midfielder Sergio to join fellow midfielder Javier Mascherano as Barca's two central defenders.

As soon as he entered the game Lionel Messi didn't take long to thrill the Barca faithful. With his first touch he stopped a rolling ball, flipped it over an oncoming defender and darted down the middle of the park leaving the defender in his wake. Barca continued to probe the Osasuna defence and were finally rewarded when Dani Alves sent Messi clear through on goal and the Argentine phenom finished clinically with his right foot to make the score 2-0 with 3 minutes to go. The goal was historically significant: it was Messi's 50th of the campaign - in 49 matches - and broke Real Madrid legend Ferenc Puskás’s previous Spanish league best of 49 goals in one season.

Match Highlights

The Camp Nou experience is a must for any fan of the game of football. I was able to take many pictures that I will upload when I return home. Sunday night I attended a match between Barca's handball team and their German opponents THW Kiel which was unlike any sporting event I'd ever attended and Monday night we hope to attend a basketball game between crosstown rivals DKV Joventut and Regal Barcelona.