A bit of sickness this week put delay to this upload, but we have finally sifted through the photos of our latest trip to pick out the best for this blog post. Last weekend we got on the train to the Autonomous Community of Valencia for some La Liga groundhopping action.
The Estadio Pinilla hosted another partido amistoso the day immediately following CD Teruel’s pre-season friendly against Atlético Levante. The boys from CD Castellón on the Valencian coast travelled all the way up to the medieval provincial capital a full kilometre into the clouds where they took on SD Huesca, the club recently relegated from La Primera and who are used to playing at altitude.
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.
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.
For most people, 2020 has offered little cheer. But the year does mark a noteworthy anniversary for Football fans from one nation that has contributed extensively to the global game. This year citizens from Seville to Santander can celebrate the 100 year anniversary of Spanish international Football.
This weekend represents the beginning of the express play-offs of the regional La Tercera divisions. Intriguingly, the extraordinary circumstances of this season have simplified the highly complex structure of Spain’s lower leagues.
Spain’s enthusiasm for Football is a surprise to absolutely nobody, but probably what a lot of outsiders often underestimate about the Kingdom is its sheer size. It is often far easier to get to Spain than to get across it. Apart from being 700 kilometres apart, travel between Seville and Santander for example is
It is safe to say that Málaga CF is a big club that has fallen out of the company to which it belongs. A deserved La Liga stalwart if there ever was one, a dismal 2017/2018 campaign saw Málaga finish in last place and suffer relegation to La Segunda. Champions’ League quarter finals away at the Westfalenstadion now look like a distant memory, and Continue reading
“Spain is Different” is an English-language phrase that our Iberian cousins commonly use among themselves whenever they idly summarise their country’s foibles and idiosyncrasies over an late afternoon drink. Take half an hour to sit and chat to your Spanish host about their customs and traditions over a crisp caña or smooth sherry and you will inevitably be told those exact three words eventually.
As ever at FBTG, we like to look at world cultures through the lens of Football fandom. Is Spain Different when it comes to the way in which their fans behave at games? Oh yes, and we have decided to comprise a small list of the little things you will pick up on at a game in Galicia, an away-day in Andalusia, a cup-tie in Catalonia or Continue reading
From Boothferry To Germany 