von McCeltic » Di 4. Dez 2012, 17:11
FC Barcelona’s vice-president Carles Vilarrubí has revealed that Celtic are his second team.
It could be a significant endorsement for the Scottish champions ahead of the final round of Champions League group games on Wednesday evening.
Barca have already qualified for the last-16 as Group G winners. If they beat second-placed Benfica at the Nou Camp, Celtic will only need a draw against Spartak Moscow to join them.
Vilarrubí, who visited the city with Barcelona last month, said he had been won over by the Celtic fans and the welcome at Parkhead.
“I have got a friendly, good perception of Glasgow Celtic, now they are my second team. I have got a sympathetic relation with the club, with the history of that club. I will be very happy if Glasgow Celtic goes to the second round.”
History is a source of pride and inspiration for both clubs, but in Catalonia the politics of the terraces are also helping to shape the future of the area.
Barcelona’s then president, Narcís de Carreras, proclaimed the slogan "Barça, més que un club" in a speech in January 1968. The famous motto asserts that it is more than a football club.
Vilarrubí said: “Barcelona is the flagship, the representation of the whole of Catalonia. “In some way, as well as being a football club, Barca is a way to express the will for freedom and our pride in being Catalans in front of the world.”
Football has been sewn into the fabric of political debate in Spain since the Civil War in the 1930s. Barca’s left-leaning president Josep Sunyol was executed by fascists in the first month of the conflict.
General Francisco Franco’s dictatorship banned Catalonia’s national symbols and suppressed its language and culture. Even the team’s name was changed from “Futbol Club Barcelona” to the Spanish “Club de Fútbol Barcelona”.
Vilarrubí says Barca became a symbol of democracy because the stadium was the only place where people could gather to express their views and speak their own language.
“Barca is not a player in politics on a daily basis, but it is a place in which the people can be free every Sunday during the game. The DNA of Barca is the DNA of the country.”
Like Scotland, Catalonia has a strong nationalist movement and recent elections were dominated by the question of independence from Spain.
During October’s ‘clasico’ against bitter rivals Real Madrid the cry of “In – Inde –Independència” echoed around the Nou Camp before and during the game.
A mosaic of 98,000 red and yellow cardboard posters turned the stadium into a giant Catalan flag and television sent the images around the world to an audience of millions.
Vilarrubí says he personally supports a referendum, even if it means the club has to leave the Spanish league, adding: “Barca is a global phenomenon and we will play on a global basis. I don't know which league we will play in, in the future, but we will be with the top clubs playing in the world.”
He added: “We will be playing for sure with PSG, with Milan, with Bayern Munich, with Real Madrid of course and Manchester City. We will be in the top league, I don't know which one of them.”
Whatever the future holds for Catalonia, the club is looking beyond Spanish football as part of the sport’s global elite.
Celtic hold similar ambitions, but they still have to earn their place at the top table.
Neil Lennon’s talented young team got the whole of Europe talking with their 2-1 victory over Tito Vilanova’s men at Parkhead.
That triumph has given them a fantastic chance of qualifying for the next round of the Champions League. But even if they beat Spartak Moscow they will still need a helping hand from the Nou Camp.
So, on Wednesday night the Parkhead support will be cheering on both Celtic and Barca.
Season 2016/17 Treble Winner
Season 2017/18 Treble Winner
Season 2018/19 Treble Winner
Season 2019/20 SPL Champion, League Cup Winner
Celtic Football Club 1888
Froggies CSC
