In Budapest, 1,200 fans from Barcelona witnessed the first European final for FC Barcelona. After lifting the first Champions League in Göteborg behind closed doors, due to the pandemic, a blaugrana tide invaded Turin. More than 15,000 people traveled last year in one of the largest trips in memory in the history of the competition. This year, it is estimated that some 8,000 fans, according to UEFA estimates, will be in Eindhoven to support Barça in the final on Saturday (4:00 p.m.) against Wolfsburg.
800 of them will do so on the seven buses and two charter flights organized by the club. Many others will complete an authentic odyssey by land and air, made difficult by the few connections in a city of just over 200,000 inhabitants. Nor does the limited capacity of the Philips Stadion (34,100 spectators) help, which has prevented all the records from being broken. 23% of the capacity will be blaugrana, mostly young people and families. A very different audience from what is usually seen in the stands of men’s football.
“It is a less toxic hobby and there are no sides,†explains Laia Gisbert, 19, one of the thousands of young people who will travel to Eindhoven. The fan profile of this Barça is mostly female, but above all young. Alex Matabosch is 23 years old. He, like Gisbert, encouraged the team in Turin and will repeat in Eindhoven. “The staging of the women’s is quite different and I like that. It has a more casual tone, there is not so much toxicity, â€he agrees.
“I have also gone to the men’s finals and the profile that the women’s attracts is completely different. Apart from being very familiar, it is very cosyâ€, explains Meritxell Ros, 35 years old. She is a teacher, and she highlights “the illusion that comes from going to the countryside with the little ones” thanks to the affordable tickets and the friendlier hours that allow it. Something that has helped to expand the social mass: “The club has seen that by promoting the feminine, it also promotes Barcelona.”
Ros is part of the Mollet Barcelona Supporters Club. Alexia Putellas bought croissants as a child at her family’s pastry shop: “Alexia, she has become the icon of women’s sports, not just soccer. She is a reference for many girls who want to be like her, â€she says.
There are many ways to approach the feminine. “We started going for our daughter, now it’s a shared passion,” explains José Manuel Núñez, who after the good experience last year, will repeat this year with his wife and daughter: “In Turin the atmosphere was incredible. A very beautiful, very healthy partyâ€. In the case of Matabosch, his first experience was against Bayern in 2017: “That match brought me closer to a reality that I was unaware of. The female is not given so much ball and it made me see that it was also great â€. Different reasons for a diverse public attracted by the purity of a sport not yet corrupted.
