Being a fan is all about feeling a certain way for a certain team and the teams related to them. After all, at the end of the day, it is all about the feels. At the turn of the decade, Barcelona were the team that dominated Europe. They won six trophies in 2009, dismantling teams left, right and centre. Even in 2015, the Catalans won the treble to assert their dominance. So it is only natural that a lot of Barcelona fans could be found during this period.
Obviously, there are certain criteria that must be fulfilled before one can be labelled a Barcelona fan and here are 5 of them…
1 You love Lionel Messi
And the best player on Guardiola’s team was Lionel Messi. While Xavi and Andres Iniesta were the midfield maestros, Messi was the crown jewel that shot Barcelona to glory. Even Real Madrid fans can’t help but agree that the Argentine is special and, deep down, wish that he played for their team. His magical displays on the football pitch not only earned him fans, but also multiplied the number of Cules in the world. So, if you are someone who loves Messi with a passion, chances are that you are already a Barcelona fan, or may be one in the future.
2 You talk about being more than a club
The slogan of Barcelona itself is a display of their belief that they are a club that follows a set of ideals and morals. ‘Mes que un club,’ which means more than just a club, is just an epitome of their ideologies that go beyond the scope of football. What those ideologies truly are is anyone’s guess, but the important thing is that Barcelona have them, or at least they claim to. As a football fan, if you find yourself preaching how important it is to have football righteousness without actually saying what it exactly is, then you might just be leaning towards the Catalan outfit.
3 You boast about La Masia
At one point in time, La Masia was hailed as the best youth academy in football, mainly due to the fact that they produced the likes of Sergio Busquets, Pedro Rodriguez, Xavi, Carles Puyol, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi. Heck, if I didn’t know better, I would say that even Neymar is a product of the academy because of the way he has progressed at the Camp Nou.
La Masia became the holy grail of football, a point of reference for the other clubs to follow. Even the likes of Isaac Cuenca and Christian Tello looked like world beaters whenever they got the chance to play under Pep Guardiola, further fuelling the reputation of the academy. Even though the academy hasn’t produced that kind of talent recently – and they may never again – if you still boast about the fact that it produced some of the best players of all time, you are surely a Barcelona fan.
4 You believe that tiki-taka is the only way to play football
While there are many ways to play the beautiful game, if you believe that tiki-taka – or, in other words, pass and move – is the only way to play football and the rest are just fillers, then you are a Barcelona fan. Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona played some terrific football at their peak. None of the players kept the ball for more than two seconds and more often than not, the passes were aggressive, causing problems for the opponents.
However, ever since the departure of Xavi and the decline of Andres Iniesta, the Catalans haven’t really shown that same brilliance. However, it doesn’t matter. The tiki-taka was, is and shall be, the best form of football…at least according to hardcore Cules.