Barca will wear the Cataluña flag next season...

Absolutely wonderful.


I hope this addition will be made to all replica shirts as well.

 

Didn't Barca try to make Catalan the team language a few years ago? Did that work out?

 

It's no online betting company logo, but I guess it will have to do

 

Supposedly Betanwin still has their offer of 14 million a year on the table, and the board will accept or not in principle in a few weeks or less. But the logo would not go for this season, it would be for next in any case, and as long as the "socios" continue to be open to the idea.

I personally hate this idea, don't like the Catalan flag (it is on the crest after all), don't like the TV3 logo either. Let's keep the shirt as clean as possible.

By the way, does anyone know why there is only the Nike swoosh and not the written name? There is a good reason for this, and it is not aesthetics or money either.

 

Nike doesn't use their name on anything they brand. The 'Swoosh" is enough for people to know who it is.

 

Are you completely sure about that?

 

They haven't put their name on a game jersey in a long time. The last one I remember were either Arsenal's or Dortmund's back in the late 90s. They believe the logo itself is enough for everyone to recognize.

Their name is on other apparel, but not that often.

 

This reminds me of Valancia's efforts to display the Catalan connection...



Although in the Valencia state, they officially call it "Valenciano", not Catalan. Anyways its a nice jersey. You think FCBarcelona might have been inspired by this? And should they go a bit "more out" instead of just a small flag in the back?

And by the way, looking at the title of the thread I'm pretty sure the Catalan region is properly spelled "Catalunya". It doesn't carry the Castillian Spanish "Ñ". Also like the way the team "Espanyol" from Barcelona spells their name. Right?

 

I wouldn't say Valencia did it for the Catalan connection though.

Comunidad Valenciana


Catalonia



Then there's Aragon, as well as the Balearic Islands

 

i'd like to see them base the 3rd jersey or away jersey on the Catalunya flag instead of just putting the flag on as a patch.

i'm trying to paste an image on this, but i'm not sure how, let me see if this works...

 

i guess not, anyways i think it should be like the home jersey but with gold and red stripes continous across both the body and sleeves.

 

I might get some grief, but I'm not really in favor of this. Well, depending on how far they go. If it's just a little flag, then fine, but if they start restructuring their uniform just to propagate cataluna's separist ideology, then I think it's wrong.

Some people who aren't familiar with the flag may not even notice, or may think it's the spanish flag, but to many spaniards and me, it's just another reminder of the division that exists in spain between regions. I was very upset this fall when I found out that the hockey team catalan was allowed to compete internationally (against other COUNTRIES). Cataluna is NOT a country, and is NOT independent in any way, shape, or form of spain.

I believe it is perfectly fine to be proud of where you come from-in this case, Cataluna. It is great to retain the certain culture of one's region and whatever language you may have, AS LONG as you also remember what enabled you to have what you have today, and that would be ALL of Spain. Not just one region.
I never read anything on the team wanting to make catalan the "official" language of the club, but it really wouldn't surprise me. That idea (to me), is just rediculous.

While it may appear as a simple uniform change, to me, and many others it is much more than that. It will be a constant reminder of the constant division that exists in spain between ourselves, and that catalanes are catalanes, and not even spanish.

We already have a team in Spain that exemplifies this racist behavior: Athletic de Bilbao. In the history of this team, there has never been a player signed, that does not have "basque blood" in him. If this behavior isn't racist, and discriminatory, I don't know what is. For those of you who think otherwise, then I'd like to hear your logic.

Although Barcelona's new attempt at a uniform isn't nearly as severe as Bilbao's current policy, it is just one step closer in the wrong direction.

Remember, before anybody is Gallego, Vasco, Catalan, Andaluz, or Leones, they are Spanish. So if you want a flag to put on your uniform, why not the spanish one?

 

I agree that making the shirt look like the flag itself would be going too far. This is not the Catalan team, it is Barca.

 

I can't say I agree on your Athletic viewpoint. People say football's a business these days, and if you look at it that way, they are hiring local talent and promoting from within. Most of us would kill to work for a local company with that type of hiring practice. It's not because they hate "foreigners" either. They'd rather be a "local" side that doesn't feel the need to look outside their region for talent. There's no mandate anywhere that says they need to hire non-Basques is there?

I don't see the need for the Catalan flag to be on all Barça kits for aesthetic reasons. I say keeep it simple. I think that the flag on the captain's armband gets the point across just fine, thank you.

 

Just imagine with flag on our club shirt right.We play RM home ,Puyol scores winner from a corner pull of he's shirt and turn it around and show the Catalan flag to the Madrid crowd.
I get goosebumps just thinking about it.

El Mundo and Sport will have the picture on their front pages.Proudly.

Marca and AS will moan about the 'separatist Catalans'

 

I see where you are coming from.
The basque people have more separatists among them then catalans.why ?
Just this week the leader of the Basque country addressed the Spanish parlement to ask for more autonomy.Madrid rejected the idea.

Catalans don't want to break away from Spain ,majority of Basque people also don't want to break away from Spain.Nationalist feelings will always be strong among a people that have suffered greatly under a regime.

I think the reasoning of Laporta is that FC Barcelona should show the world how much the team mean to Catalan people.

 

haha...if that happened i would get goosebumps with/out the flag

 

I understand what you're trying to say, and the way you explained it, sounds pretty good. The problem is, the logic doesn't hold up. Athletic Bilbao is a business, like ANY business, you strive for the BEST. In this case, the best (for Bilbao) is winning la liga (since they're not in champions and la copa del rey isn't as important). By winning la liga, or coming in at the very top, you get more money, champions next year, advertisements, etc. If you're a socio, or a fan of Bilbao, you KNOW, that as long as you don't contract foreigners or at LEAST non-Basques, you will not win the league. This isn't the same league it was 20, 30, or 40 years ago, when Bilbao was somewhat dominating. In today's market, if you want to compete, you have to keep pace with barca, madrid, and the valencia's of la liga.
This doesn't mean you have to waste millions on foreigners, but even the smallest teams in la liga have players from outside of spain, and Bilbao is one of the richest clubs in Spain. So it's not a matter of money.
If your deadset on not getting players from outside of spain, then why not get within spain then? It will vastly increase the player pool from which you can pick, so you have a better chance of improving your team. But we know, that this won't happen.

So, what does that leave us with? Sure, Bilbao is competitive, and they have a remarkable cantera in order to keep up every year with the super teams of la liga. But imagine HOW GOOD they would be if they just signed a few foreign players ("superstars" if you will), or at the very least, the best from spain, instead of just basques. If you KNOW that you have the potential to be even better than you are now, and possibly win la liga (which is the main goal), and A LOT more , but you still refuse to do it, how can you call that anything other than what it is?...Racist.

If as a club, you would rather come in 4, 5, 6, or even worse, rather than signing one freakin foreign-born player, or at the very worst, un gallego, or catalan, then you have issues.

 

It's interesting to see that this whole flags question has come up again........

As a valencia fan, I have seen the Senyera away shirt (pic posted earlier) come into the market and be a best seller with the crowds --> almost as popular as the home kit!

There was no outcry that 'Valencianos' are wanting to break away and be seperatists. \this is generally because there is not as much of an anti-centralist feeling between Valencia and Madrid as there is between Barcelona and madrid. you wouln't have a car with a madrid numberplate stoned in Valencia, would you? (unless it is the Real Madrid Team Coach )

Take the Valencia kit as a practice run --> the kit comes out with a revamped design (valencia had one something like this in the 70's:

the crowd love it, and it sells like crazy. this provides more of a feeling of togetherness and sense of identity between the supporters.

so what is the problem??

as usual, it's double standards that come into play:
people say because it's barcelona, it shouldn't be allowed.
that it's seperatist, that it undermines the people, that it is offensive blah blah blah.........

this, ladies and gentlemen, is complete b0ll0cks. If it's ok for Valencia, it's ok for Barcelona. If it's ok for Mallorca to put the names of the balearic islands on their shorts, then it's ok for Barcelona to put la quatribarra on their shirt. someone made a point that the senyera is already on the badge --> then re-using part of the already existing badge shouldn't be a problem???

and finally, to finish off, they'll have some help from above --> Zapatero is a barca fan too!!!!!!


Guillermo

 

this will probably be my last post in this thread, b/c this is an issue that hasn't been resolved within spain itself and certainly won't be resolved in an internet thread...i also don't want people to start thinking that i have anything against any region in spain, ESPECIALLY cataluna...

With respect to valencia's or mallorca's uniform...i completely understand your point that it would be hypocritical to let one team do it and not another...and to me, that is the problem in itself...not with just soccer, but with spain as a whole...some regions in spain are just too independent (or aspire to be too independent) from the whole...you call it "togetherness" (which in a way it is), but that "toghetherness" is the very thing that makes them isolated...

i mean for crying out loud, in this site, has anybody been to the basque forum? it's RIDICULOUS..they have an entire thread on Euskadi v. Honduras...if someone not familiar with spain visits that forum, they would think bilbao was part of an entirely different country...and that is exactly what i DON'T want to happen to barcelona and cataluna...and yes, i am a little harder on cataluna than i am on valencia or mallorca...because cataluna does have a tendency to want to isolate itself from the rest of spain more than valencia does...for the most part, if somebody (foreigner) asks a catalan where they are from, 95% of the time, they'll say cataluna before they think of saying spain...it's just a mindset...it's like if i were in india, and somebody asked me where i was from, i wouldn't think to say, "ya, i'm from jersey"...that's because i consider myself an american first...some might find nothing wrong with that, but i do, that's all.

love barca!..love the city of barcelona and the places i've been to in cataluna...but my love for barcelona will never supersede my love for spain

red and yellow is NOT azulgrana

 

i am no expert in the politics of spain, or catalunya, but from my understanding, spain has never willingly been a whole. it's always been a culmination of the various regions/kingdoms within spain as is reflected in the spanish crest:



spain is, in effect, a political jigsaw puzzle with each piece fitting, but with friction between certain pieces being more than others.

during franco's mandate, catalunya was an especially oppressed region, as was the basque country. the catalan language was banned, as was any flag, symbol or expression of anything non-spanish.

since the 70's when franco died, the regions which were deniied their identities have now taken these iidentities up with more vigour than before.

is there such a fuss about the flag of st. george being used as opposed to the union jack??

the cross of saint george in itself as a flag has not caused problems, it is the groups associated with it and what it stands for that makes it a controversial flag eg. racism, hooligans etc. but the flag is just as legitimate as the union jack.

so why not the same for catalunya?

just before you ask, i am not catalan, i'm not a huge fan of politics. i am 18, of spanish parentage, spanish nationality, half gallego, half valenciano, born and raised in London.

Guillermo

 

[/QOUTE]

And by the way, looking at the title of the thread I'm pretty sure the Catalan region is properly spelled "Catalunya". It doesn't carry the Castillian Spanish "Ñ". Also like the way the team "Espanyol" from Barcelona spells their name. Right?[/QUOTE]

I had always thought that as Espanyol was historically a pro spanish club, that the re-spelling of the name (Espanol to Espanyol) was, rather than a nod to the catalan language, to make it easier to pronounce for a world wide audience in the same way Feijenoord became Feyenoord in the early 70's.
I'm probably wrong, i usually am!!!! lol

 

Hey, Guillermo. Every country in the world has different regions, and some have more tension than others. In this case, there is tension. So does that mean you try and ease it? Or make it worse?