RCD Espanyol’s new casa
Posted on | August 2, 2009 | No Comments
Have you ever taken so long to unpack some boxes in a new house after a move that it never really felt like home?
This was the relationship Spanish La Liga side Espanyol had with the Olympic Stadium, Montjuic, in Barcelona.
What remains Catalonia’s second club behind FC Barcelona can start to feel there’s less of a gap between the two sides from this week after they ditched the grey, concrete bowl that hosted the 1992 Games in favour of a high-tech new pad – the 40,000-seat stadium at Cornellà-El Prat. The club took to their new field for the first time on Sunday night in a pre-season friendly against Liverpool.
The move brings to an end a relatively unhappy 11-year relationship the club had with Montjuic – which itself came into being after the initial stadium of Sarria was sold to developers to pay off debts.
Moving up the property ladder
I had the dubious pleasure of seeing Espanyol play host to Zaragoza in the 2007 – 2008 season and was struck by how hard the Olympic Stadium was to get to – stuck high up on a wooded hill, baking in the sun and surrounded by, well, very little.
You still sensed the ghost of the Olympics- right down to the empty bowl for the flame high on a plinth in one corner. The pitch felt a million miles away and behind the stands it was a bit like spending half time in a cavernous wartime bunker.
Unloved: The Olympic Stadium
The new venue is everything the old stadium wasn’t – sensibly-sized, welcoming for home fans and potentially intimidating for visitors. It even has flashing blue lights on the outside.
Down the road at the 98,000-seat Camp Nou there will be plenty of nervous glances. FC Barcelona still have by far the bigger and more impressive ground but the Blaugrana’s own plans to modernise and spruce up their 1950s-built stadium are on a kind of silent hold for the moment. Meanwhile, RCD Espanyol can enjoy a debut season in football’s equivalent of a barrister’s weekend penthouse.
New era beckons
It very nearly became more of a granny flat conversion – the side spent much of a the 2008 – 2009 season in the relegation zone before a late rally saw them pull well clear. A new era for the club was inevitable – but no-one could be sure what it would involve.
Now they can look forward to a fresh start with former defender Mauricio Pochettino still in charge after leading the team to safety last season.
And Montjuic? Happily it’s back doing what it was originally built to do. Next year it plays host to the European Athletics Championships.
Chris Breese
[Photo: pepe_lafloresta]
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