Let’s be honest. Some places in the world just speak to us and we don’t know why. It could be entire nations, obscure cities or very specific buildings, corners or points on a street. During this year’s pre-season season, I got the chance to visit one of mine. That place is Teruel, provincial capital of the region of the same name and the most southerly city in semi-autonomous Aragón in Spain’s north-west.
10am on a Friday morning may be an unusual time for a Football match, but it doesn’t make it any less enjoyable – particularly when you’ve been able to go for so long. But with restrictions easing slightly and pre-season friendlies now underway, we did not miss the opportunity to get our groundhopping kicks once again in the home of a semi-professional outfit in Spain.
Needless to say that in the past 15 months it has been tough to find live Football games to attend, enjoy and subsequently write about. Travel has been limited, entry requirements into stadia have been very strict and – let’s be honest – in the grander scheme of things writing about Football fan culture has not been a high priority in the world recently. Since early March we have been to just one live Football match; a heavily regulated Tercera Group X league fixture between Xerez Deportivo and Rota. This weekend however that changes.
One feature common to many cities across Catalonia is their “Rambla” – a surprisingly complex concept to describe when you stop and think about it. It is little more than a straight road (more or less), usually lined with trees either side that is located relatively centrally in the town in question. A suitable English translation could be something like “avenue” or “promenade”, but it’s a little more complicated than that.
The Frente Bokeron of Málaga present us with this simple and tasteful design. This Aufkleber utilises the club colours effectively and all elements are well balanced. However, the slight angle of the text subtly hints at the rebellious quality that ultras identify with. The only thing that could improve its appearance would be a consistent font used in both text blocks.
Two games in eight hours played in cities located in two different Spanish provinces? Not a problem for the FBTG crew, but it made for a tight schedule. We dedicated our recent Sunday to the Beautiful Game as it is played in the lower leagues in the Continue reading
When the sunset is more impressive than the actual game Continue reading
Round 4 in our “A Gobshite’s Ode” series, and we’re going on our holidays….
From Boothferry To Germany 