mens cotton tank tops la basque Playing For Pride And Passion - Catalunya Vs Euskal Herria

mens cotton tank tops la basque Playing For Pride And Passion - Catalunya Vs Euskal Herria
On the 29th December, 2007, a political game of football was contested in front of 40,000 plus spectators at Bilbaos San Mames, between Catalunya and Euskal Herria (which literally means Country of the Basques in Basque). The match finished in a stalemate, as it ended 1-1, but the score was irrelevant, and it was more the political nature of the match which was important.Spanish football is never short of passion - if you look at El Classico (Real Madrid-Barcelona) you will see it divides friends, families, communities, and entire towns when they both clash twice a year in La Liga. The Sevilla-Real Betis derby is one of the most violent and hostile in Spain, and it literally divides the city (likewise with the Barcelona-Espanyol and Levante-Valencia matches).The passion of the fans is also carried over into a unique scenario when the various autonomous regions within Spain contest football matches. This happens during the holiday period in Spain when national teams from Catalunya, Euskal Herria, Galicia and other autonomous regions contest matches against each other or against other nations.To help explain this imagine a match contested between Merseyside and Greater Manchester, with Jamie Carragher captaining a side containing Steven Gerrard, Joey Barton, Kevin Nolan, Wayne Rooney etc, and Gary Neville captaining a side containing Phil Neville, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt etc.Now imagine Merseyside and Greater Manchester both running out at Anfield in their own jerseys, with their own anthems, their supporters waving their regions flags and also burning the Cross of St. George, whilst demanding political independence!How these matches have come about and why they are contested is a very difficult subject to describe, but it can be traced back to Spain being divided into 17 autonomous regions and two autonomous cities (with these autonomous regions being self-governing with their own political court, police system, capital city etc).The autonomous regions were created to give regions in Spain their own identity, but also to keep Spain whole as a nation. But some of these regions are vying for independence, and contain strong nationalistic movements. Catalunya existed as a country before Spain came into existence, and certain people in the Basque region do not consider themselves Spanish (in fact both regions have their own distinct language). It is no wonder that these two regions were given autonomy rather quickly after the Spanish Constitution in 1978.In the Basque region the historical language spoken is Basque (which is unique and not like any other language in Europe), and in Catalunya the historical language is Catalan (which is a cross between Spanish and French). As an example of the strong nationalistic feeling in Barcelona, the signs are written first in Catalan, and then second in either Spanish or English!Now why is language important? Well during the the time of Franco, the Basque and Catalunya culture and language were suppressed. The Dictator said: If you are Spanish, you will speak Spanish, and he outlawed any other languages besides Spanish to be spoken in the country. People were literally shot and killed for speaking Catalan or Basque!Athletic Bilbao, a club from the Basque region, have a policy of never buying a non - Basque player. The pro-Basque policy known as cantera is upheld because of their patriotic fans and stems from the time of Franco (as mentioned earlier).The development of cantera as a policy resulted from both a revival in Basque nationalism and the emergence of the Basque Country. Supporting the club became a legitimate way of expressing Basque nationalism, especially during the Franco years after the Spanish Civil War.The majority of Athletic Bilbaos passionate fans at the San Mames stadium would prefer their club to be relegated than end their policy of Cantera. This was evident in an El Mundo in the 1990s, with 76% of Athletic fans stating they would rather see the club relegated than give up the cantera policy.Both regions would like nothing more than to separate from Spain and form their own country, and this brings us back to the start of the article and the match at Bilbaos San Mames, between Catalunya and Euskal Herria, on the 29th December, 2007.The desire for independence from both regions is now stretching out onto the football pitch. As well as having their own culture and language, both have their own football federations, cup competition and regional leagues.Both the Catalunya and Basque football federations have been appealing to UEFA and FIFA for a number of years now in the hope of gaining official status for their teams. Both want to play competitive international matches against other countries, and want those matches officially recognised by the worlds governing bodies.UEFA has delayed a controversial decision to grant membership to Gibraltar despite being ordered to do so by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), and this decision could be very worrying for Federacion Espanola de Futbol (RFEF) - the Spanish FA. This is because Catalunya and The Basque Country have made it clear they will push even harder to be recognised by UEFA if Gibraltar is granted membership.In reality UEFA and FIFA would deny membership to both Catalunya and The Basque Country, as granting them both membership would open up a whole can of worms (meaning the Flemish question and the Russian Republics like Chechnya, Dagestan and North Ossetia).For the time being both Catalunya and The Basque Country will have to be content in playing unofficial matches against one another, and use this as a political tool to further strengthen their nationalistic ambitions.Note: Both teams do not bring amateur sides to these games. The recent Catalunya squad contained the following players:Albert Jorquera, Carles Puyol, Xavi Hernandez, Bojan Krkic, Marc Crosas (Barcelona), Ferran Corominas, Angel Martinez, David García, Francisco Chica (Espanyol), Antoni Pinilla, Dani Tortolero (Gimnastic), Sergio García (Zaragoza), Sergio Gonzalez, Joan Verdu (Deportivo), David Berenguer (Getafe), Bruno Saltor, Carlos Garcia (Almeria), Josep Maria Soler (Manresa), and Jose Miguel Morales (Terrassa).The recent Euskal Herria squad contained the following players (most of whom play for Athletic Bilbao):Aitor Lopez Rekarte (Almeria), Aduriz, Etxeberria, Gabilondo, Iraola, Yeste, Fernando Llorente, Amorebieta, Orbaiz Del Horno (Athletic de Bilbao), Inaki Lafuente (Espanyol), Gaizka Mendieta (Middlesbrough), Punal (Osasuna), Aramburu, Riesgo, Labaka, Mikel Gonzalez, Xabi Prieto (Real Sociedad), and Joseba Llorente (Valladolid).It is a safe assumption that if Xabi Alonso, Cesc Fabregas, and Mikel Arteta were not involved with their respective Premier League club, then they would most likely have been involved.The unofficial matches involving Catalunya and Euskal Herria are likely to continue, remain controversial, and remain a concept of playing for pride and passion for the players which participate and also the fans which turn up.





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