Within the walls of the new – and still incomplete – Spotify Camp Nou, feelings were shared: emotion, nostalgia and excitement. After 894 days since FC Barcelona’s last game at its stadium, on May 28, 2023, against Mallorca, Camp Nou opened its doors to a total of 21,795 people for a training session for the men’s senior team. A dress rehearsal – which ended without incident – for the club, a reunion of fans and players, a first for many of them. With the cranes in the background, and the long return dates announced by the club forgotten, the fans experienced training as if it were a match. The ball rolled again on the grass that belonged to Messi and is now stepping on Lamine Yamal, football is breathing again and the new Camp Nou is back to beating like before.
Before nine-thirty – opening time – the public hurried to queue, impatiently, at the different entrances to the stadium, after paying between five and ten euros for a ticket to be among the 23 thousand seats provided between Gol Sul and the first and second stands, renovated, and with an improved slope to improve the view. Members and non-members, families, groups of young people and the elderly. More familiar profiles, varied on another Friday morning: some asked for a party; others confess to having skipped class. On the doors, photographs with the Camp Nou behind and the cranes in the background of the image erecting the third stands, increasingly covered in concrete between the metal structure. And a lot of intrigue and nervousness.
“When I walked in, my legs started to shake,” says Jaume Esterich in a low voice. A culé member for most of his life – 62 of his 64 years – and with a seat, he was present at the last game at Camp Nou against Mallorca. Meanwhile, he attended every game in exile at Montjuïc. Before arriving at his seat, he becomes emotional, to the point of crying: “We really wanted to go back. The wait was long.”
A speech repeated by the rest of the public, regardless of generations or place of origin. “It has the same look, the same feeling, but it’s more modern,” says Jesús Larios, 42, accompanied by his wife and eight-year-old sons and eleven-year-old daughter. They asked for a party at their respective jobs to accompany the little ones, who smile shyly: “If it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t be here.” Long-time Barça fans also attended a game in Montjuïc, “but it’s not the same thing”: “It’s a training day and there’s more of a game feeling.” They just get emotional about the long wait. “Maybe they rushed to set the return date. But it’s better to wait than to have a critical failure”, he highlights.
Núria Llardés and Ernest Pinós, aged 22 and 23, came from Lleida on a motorbike and wearing t-shirts. “The wait was worth it”, they both share, who hope that this open training will encourage the team at a sporting level. Of course, they have one demand: “The entertainment stalls need to return now.” The future entertainment space, at Gol Sud and with seats rail seats —they can be blocked vertically to see the standing chairs—, it will be called Gol 1957. “We will try to make it a young stand. What we don’t want is violent behavior. This space will be organized by the club”, guaranteed Laporta.
“We are very excited, I had never come to see Barça”, explains Valéria, smiling while holding two posters of Fermín and Lamine. She is 12 years old and today she missed school – also an exam – to fulfill what is a dream for her. She is accompanied by her father, Antonio Jiménez, who remembers that the culé tradition comes from the family, from Jaén’s grandfather. They complain about the price of tickets, which is why they hadn’t visited the stadium before. “I’m waiting for them to fully open it so I can go with it”, confesses Antonio. “This is history: you can tell your grandchildren that you were there the day the new Spotify Camp Nou opened”, says Valéria.
Father and daughter entered Gol Sur, where fans celebrated the saves of their goalkeepers, especially Joan García, in the final stretch of the return. Amid applause and the Barça anthem, the players, including the injured ones, left the dressing room tunnel, turned around and looked at the public, who were cheering for Lamine Yamal. “It’s a tremendous illusion to return to Camp Nou. It’s divine, very beautiful. I was moved, everyone knows what this stadium is, what it imposes. The public doesn’t disappoint. And it’s a motivation for the team”, shared Araújo with the club’s official media.
The training was dressed up as a game, a dress rehearsal, with a light show, public address system, scoreboard and public celebration of goals included. There was also space to connect with the public: at the end of the session, the footballers threw balls into the stands, demanding more and more, and some signed for the fans. “We feel at home. The atmosphere has been incredible. I still have the dream of playing here and I hope it comes true soon”, confessed Marc Casadó.
According to Laporta, who attended Gol Sur after the partial opening, Barcelona will be able to play an official match again on November 22nd against Athletic Club with a capacity for 45 thousand people “if there are no imponderables” and if they receive the first occupancy license for phase 1B, which adds the full-back, next week. With it they could compete in the Champions League, but UEFA regulations do not allow changing stadiums midway. league. “We started efforts to try to participate in the championship phase. There is a good dialogue with UEFA”, shared Laporta. The president imagined a tribute to Messi with 105 thousand people, also a Champions League final at Camp Nou, and guaranteed that the stadium “will generate triple the revenue”.
Another possible reopening date would be November 29th, against Alavés. It would coincide with the 126th anniversary of the Barça club and also one year after the first established deadline. Despite the delay in the works and the noise around them, the fans live with hope: they have left the waiting and doubts behind and embrace a closer future.
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