When football fans pack into their local stadium, you expect them to be cheering themselves
hoarse in favour of the home team.
But in Spain recently, David O'Shea heard all that and much more.
At a strategic and deeply historic moment in the game, the massive crowd broke into a
chance for independence. So, what was it all about? Here's David.
In the Catalonian capital, Barcelona, the city's football fanatics are out in force.
Tonight is an important game for their beloved team.
For the Catalonians, Barcelona's football club, known as Barça, is much more than
a sports team. It's a rallying point for the region's unique identity.
At their home ground for the second last league match of 2012, passions are high.
These days, at every match Barça plays, it's as much about the politics as it is about
the sport.
And tonight, they play a team from the Spanish capital, Madrid, in a nod to their Catalonian
ancestors, conquered by the Spanish in 1714. As the clock strikes 17 minutes and 14 seconds,
the core fans lead the cry.
As the call for Catalonian independence grows louder across the region, how the Barcelona
football club is seen to react is crucial.
The club's historian, Carles Santacana, tells me that ever since Barça players started
kicking their first goals over a century ago, they've been involved in a political
revolution. But when the Spanish Civil War broke out, the club's Catalonian identity
was targeted, and in 1936 its president was executed by General Franco's troops. For
36 years under fascist rule, Catalonian nationalism was repressed, and the Catalan language was
outlawed. But the Barcelona football club held strong.
For example, in 1972, when Franco was still alive, the president was taken to the governor's
office. Today, the club continues its role as a social institution, blurring the lines
between politics and football.
The
further Spain plunges into financial crisis, the deeper the austerity cuts and the louder
the
catch. At last count, 190 Catalonian towns have
already symbolically cut ties with Spain.
An hour's drive from Barcelona, you can't miss the giant independence flag as you drive
into Videres.
It's been flying proudly since August, just before the municipality symbolically but illegally
declared Videres independent of Spain.
Local politician Bosco Anton tells me that the flags are here to stay.
Bosco takes me to his office at
the town hall.
His colleague Antonio is a Spaniard and the only elected representative here not to vote
for symbolic self-rule.
His belief that Catalonia will never break away makes for good office banter.
Bosco invites me home to meet his family.
He and his Dutch wife speak Spanish together but use Catalan with their three children.
Margo has been living here for 25 years and feels very much at home.
She views Catalonia's difficult relationship with Spain in family terms.
He is a very eloquent and capable man and allow you to care for the rest of the nation.
and their own personality is a normality for them.
So they don't understand us and we don't feel loved either.
The children in this family are already well-versed on the independence issue.
But for 11-year-old Marcel, it's all about the football.
There's another issue which may have direct and far-reaching consequences for children like Marcel.
Since Franco's death in 1975, Catalan language has been given priority in the region's schools.
But now the national government proposes to make Spanish the main teaching language.
Many Catalonians are outraged and they're accusing the Spanish government of a return to the repressive ways of the Franco dictatorship.
I am Catalan and I speak Catalan and I want my daughter and other children to speak Catalan too in school.
Catalan Regional Education Minister Irene Rigao stormed out of a recent meeting with her National counterpart in Madrid over the dispute.
Even though I ask the questions in Spanish, Rigao makes a political point and answers in Catalan.
Then the breakthrough that many have been waiting for.
The two main political parties coming to an agreement to hold a referendum on independence next year.
I raced to the Catalonian Parliament to witness history in the making.
For the first time in 300 years this country is going to ask the question whether we want to be Spanish or not.
And we are very excited about this possibility. It's huge for us.
Madrid says it's unconstitutional.
Yeah, actually it's unconstitutional for sure. This is why we will have two years very very interesting on a political way I mean, on a journalistic way I mean.
Because things can change, laws can change, but Spain is very clear that this is absolutely illegal.
As the documents are signed, it's clear they'll be entering a difficult period.
This parliament is a coalition of odd bedfellows.
The parliamentary president has the difficult task of bridging the gap between his centrist party and the republican left.
Complicating matters further, even the far left indignance movement have a voice in this parliament.
All new for you, isn't it?
All new for you?
All new.
So what is it?
It's very quiet here. People's strength.
The indignance inspired the street sit-ins that became the Occupy movement, which swept the world by storm two years ago.
It's the first time the movement has won a seat in any parliament.
With a referendum on the horizon, what happens next in this parliament will have profound implications for Barcelona football club.
Anything the players do or say is being watched with great interest.
Team captain Carles Puyol recently created a stir by using Twitter to criticise the proposed clampdown on Catalan language in schools.
With such big money at stake and questions about sponsorship and contracts,
former club president Joan Laporta knows better than anyone how complicated this issue could become.
The Catalan players, they love their country and they love our culture, the Catalan culture,
and they share a lot of feelings to promote and defend our culture and our language.
Do you think the players are pro-independence, the Barcelona players?
I know that most of them are pro-independence, but they cannot say it.
They are professionals and they also have to play and the national team now, the only national team,
and its compulsory for them is the Spanish national team, so they have to go with Spain.
There were seven Barcelona players in the Spanish squad that won the last World Cup in South Africa.
There was a Barcelona player who scored in the final minutes of extra time off a pass from another Barcelona player.
For many Catalonians, Spain could never be described as their national team.
While the rest of the country's celebrations raged through the night,
Barca fan Oscar says that in Barcelona it was muted.
Were you not happy when the Spanish side won the World Cup?
No, for sure. No. Why not?
No, in Barcelona it was just a few people that celebrated.
And if Catalonia does become independent, Barca could be looking way past the country's new borders to find teams it can play.
So maybe we can play in English, in English for one year, or we can play in Italian for a year.
We are sure that Barcelona will be a club that anyone wants in his league.
We can't just pick and choose the league you want to play in, can we?
The most important thing for us is to play with our national team.
David O'Shea and the fiercely independent Catalonians.
David tells us that their last independence rally drew a massive 1.5 million people. That was the police estimate.
