When Barcelona thrashed Levante 5-0 with a sparkling display of attacking football on Sunday evening, gaining their 11th consecutive victory, roughly 25,000 seats inside the Nou Camp were empty.
– PLAY: Sport360's World Cup Stick Cricket game
– READ: Sport360's World Cup 2015 magazine
The officially recorded gate of 74,963 was the latest in a long line of (relatively) low attendances at Europe’s largest stadium, with the previous league game against Villarreal only attracting just over 60,000.
At first glance, those figures seem to be strange. With Lionel Messi back to his best as part of an exciting strike force also containing Neymar and Luis Suarez, the team in free-scoring form, and the La Liga title race alive and kicking with just one point separating Barca from Real Madrid, all the ingredients appear to be in place for regular full houses.
So why the apathy?
The answer is that attending habits in Spain are very different to many other countries. Whereas being a fan in England, for example, means making every effort to attend as many games as possible, being a supporter in Spain entails a far greater degree of choice.
Do I go to the game or not? It depends on how I feel on the day, the weather, the kick-off time, ticket prices, whatever other plans my family might have…and whether or not the opposition is Real Madrid.
Even season ticket holders have no qualms about missing games, with cheap prices meaning there is less compunction to get value for money by turning up every week.
Barca’s current La Liga average of 72,630 is actually a small increase on last season’s 71,958 – even though the Clasico with Real Madrid has not yet taken place.
And those figures are not unusual. Even during the peak of Pep Guardiola’s trophy-laden reign, the magnificent 2010/11 season which saw Barca win La Liga, the Champions League, the FIFA Club World Cup, the Spanish Super Cup and the UEFA Super Cup, the average league gate was still only 79,191 – meaning there were 20,000 empty seats every game.
The last home league game of that campaign, for example, should have been a triumphant, ceremonial occasion.
Coming just after a Champions League semi-final victory over Real Madrid and just before the final against Manchester United, you would think it was a perfect opportunity for overjoyed Barca fans to salute their all-conquering heroes and send them on their way to Wembley with the emotional backing of an enthusiastic packed house.
Only 70,044 turned up for the meeting with Deportivo La Coruna, leaving nearly 30,000 seats unfilled during the one of the most glorious months of the club’s history.
So empty seats at the Nou Camp might look strange, but they are nothing new.
Relief as Rayo climb from danger
The most warmly-received result of the La Liga weekend was Rayo Vallecano’s 2-0 victory over Villarreal.
That’s no offence to the visitors, who are widely respected as an attacking and entertaining team.
Rather, the happiness felt by many neutrals at witnessing the result derives from the knowledge that it took Rayo away from the per-ils of a relegation battle.
Rayo are the ‘second’ team for many fans in Spain, who admire the club’s traditional values and their attacking style of play under coach Paco Jemez. Based in the working-class Vallecas suburb of Madrid, Rayo are followed by the noisiest and most loyal fans in the country, and the club has a genuine connec-tion to its community.
Earlier this season the club moved to financially support a local 85-year-old woman, Carmen Martinez Ayuso, when she was threatened with eviction from her apart-ment. “We aren’t going to stand idle – we are going to help this woman,” said Jemez.
Stories like that are almost unheard-of in modern-day football – even in modern-day society, in fact. And they explain why so many neutrals were concerned by the team’s run of three straight losses ahead of last Sunday’s game.
But the victory over Villarreal leaves them seven points clear of the drop, suggesting Jemez’s low-earning bunch of loanees and free signings will maintain top-flight status for another season.