check this out: http://www.marca.com/edicion/noticia/0,2458,511638,00.html Maybe Jeff can fill us in, what's the deal with Boixos Nois? Why are they still on a crusade against Laporta? Were they the main anti-PK9 boo-ers last season?
No, um, they were like involved in death threats and a plot to physically beat Laporta up. Long story, and it is in the courts still. Laporta decided to clamp down on them as they have a history of neo-Nazi tendencies (or at least part of them), as well as intimidating other less violent young supporter groups (Almogavers). One thing Laporta did was ban any one using another's club members card, something always done all over Camp Nou (to be fair in general the club is clamping down on this everywhere, only they started with the Boixos Nois). They decided to retaliate by chanting insults at him in Camp Nou, and then graffitti appeared around Laporta's home suggesting rather nasty things for him and his family (wife and young daughters). After a police investigation it seems that the former head of security under Gaspart had been hired or perhaps instigated to find someone to teach Laporta a lesson. A former director of the club, Ramon Fusté, was implicated at first but is now exonerated, though that did not stop Laporta from having him kicked out of preferential seating at the half of last nights friendly at Figueres. The plot actually was exposed when police broke up an attempted kidnapping as part it seems of a drug ring, finding an Atletico Madrid radical supporter in with the bunch. Through him they somehow got to local Boixos also being used by criminal rings to do certain tasks considered "dirty work" (intimidation, assisting on drug deals, etc.). Kinda complicated, I know; especially when certain players seem to have had quite close contacts with them, for example Luis Enrique (a defect tolerated by the club until last season, when players were encouraged not to visit or defer to them as a supporters group)
I see, thanks for the info. So in general, their stance has nothing to do with footballing matters...
Noi is guy, or boy, plural is nois (female is noia/noies, thus nois i noies, guys and gals) Boig is crazy, but also exuberant or wild. Normal plural is boigs, but boixos is a variant. Thus "Els Boixos Nois", the Wild Boys, or even the Rambunctious Boys. Sit down low at the north end of Camp Nou, tend towards skin-head long side-burn Lonsdale aesthetic though many have cleaned up to avoid police harrassment. Their virtue is that the chant and cheer all game long, as opposed to much of Camp Nou which is silently waiting for sublime moments all game (except in big, important matches). One defect is that they can be violent and have even been involved, in the last decade, in a murder after a fight with Espanyol's radicals.
in 1991-1992 I lived in barcelona aND I stood (no seats then) in this section with the Boixos nois at every game. I was strictly intructed by my catalan friend to speak only in Spanish or Catalan (preferable), so as not to alert our fellow fans to the fact that I was a yankee To this day when I am at a soccer match, I still scream in spanish in a heated moment.
Laporta and Boixos Nois in the Barca video recently uploaded by Greddy I think There's a scene in the documentary about Laporta's (and R11's) first year at the club where Laporta explains that he was surrounded by a bunch of guys and briefly assaulted (before security managed to get him to safety as I recall). He was pretty sure it was the Boixos Nos and he also discussed how past administrations had been intimidated by them, given them tickets and other preferential treatment due to fear, and that he wanted to stop that practice (even though the assault clearly ruffled him). The documentary is great, not sure if it is still available for free upload.
Geez Fuscian, can you believe this nincumpoop?!? He doesn't know what Catalan is! Catalan is the region of Spain that FC Barcelona plays in, biatcho! It was created around the time that William Gamper founded Barça (named so because Barcelona is a coastal city, "Barça" being Spanish for boat).
He's right Fuscian, my good friend Elado told me the whole story once. Old Willy Gamper sure loved 'em boats.
I don't know about you, but all that crazy sign language just tuckered me out so much I thought all the buildings there were melting. Or maybe it was too much of their traditional booze with the worm in it.