La Liga clubs near Barcelona

Phil

Going to be in Barcelona in early August. Ideally wanted to take in a game at Camp Nou but looks like Barca are away on a tour in the States and only just back before we leave.. Been checking for other clubs and Espanyol looks like the nearest.
Just wanted to get views / suggestions on that or if there are any other clybs nearby.
Thanks.

Leroy Ambrose

Girona

MrLargo

That's the lot. Gymnastic and Reus in the second division the only other alternatives.

CharltonMadrid

Girona is an easy day trip but Espanyol would be the best as it's on the outskirts of Barcelona centre and have a great stadium and fanbase.

Also worth a look in Barcelona are Europa who are in the fourth division and are one of Spain's oldest clubs - they were members of the original Primera Liga. They are in the neighbourhood of Gracia which is a fantastic part of Barcelona to visit.

Leroy Ambrose

My aunt lives in Gracia. What I mainly remember about visiting her in the when I was a kid is the stink of the sewers from Parc Guell in the summer...

smudge7946

Real Madrid

MrOneLung

CharltonMadrid said:

Girona is an easy day trip but Espanyol would be the best as it's on the outskirts of Barcelona centre and have a great stadium and fanbase.

Also worth a look in Barcelona are Europa who are in the fourth division and are one of Spain's oldest clubs - they were members of the original Primera Liga. They are in the neighbourhood of Gracia which is a fantastic part of Barcelona to visit.

unless you manage to get tickets from a tout and end up in with their nationalist ultras, waving Spanish flags, singing viva espana and get threatening looks and abuse for not being Spanish before being led out of their pen by a group of policemen pissing themselves at our predicament

cafc4life

Don't think the season starts until mid-end of the month so there may not be any games on. I know girona are playing in a tournament abroad for pre season. Barca never have any home pre season games

ken_shabby

I think you're going to catch pre seadon friendlies in August. I have a soft spot for Girona but their stadium is pretty basic. Espanyol have a nice stadium and for most games tou can pick where you sit. Avoid the away end, where you will be pointlessly stuck behind a fishing net. If you fancy going further afield, Nastic de Tarragona are in tier 3 with a stadium almost identical to Girona, and Sabadell were in the primera way back when. After that, you are drifting to non league level with L'Hospitalet, Europa or maybe Palamos and Lleida.

Leroy Ambrose

ken_shabby said:

I think you're going to catch pre seadon friendlies in August. I have a soft spot for Girona but their stadium is pretty basic. Espanyol have a nice stadium and for most games tou can pick where you sit. Avoid the away end, where you will be pointlessly stuck behind a fishing net. If you fancy going further afield, Nastic de Tarragona are in tier 3 with a stadium almost identical to Girona, and Sabadell were in the primera way back when. After that, you are drifting to non league level with L'Hospitalet, Europa or maybe Palamos and Lleida.

What sort of nick are Lleida in now? I remember watching them in the segunda when I was a teenager - but thought they went bust?

Addickted

CharltonMadrid said:

Also worth a look in Barcelona are Europa who are in the fourth division and are one of Spain's oldest clubs - they were members of the original Primera Liga. They are in the neighbourhood of Gracia which is a fantastic part of Barcelona to visit.

Seconded. Nou Sardenya is a very friendly place.

Phil

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll look into those. Sounds like a pre-season friendly somewhere is the best hope.

CharltonMadrid

Phil said:

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll look into those. Sounds like a pre-season friendly somewhere is the best hope.

Third and fourth league starts around 18th August so looks like you'll miss the start of the season. Hopefully you can get a pre-season friendly of one of the teams mentioned, and Sant Andreu is another club to look out for in Barcelona.

Phil

Thought I'd feedback following my trip to Barcelon and your suggestions.
I went to watch CE Europa F C in response to one of the suggestions. Saw a pre-season game and entry was free which was good of course. Sat in the stand seen in the picture from an earlier post.
Europa are 4th/5th tier level as far as I can ascertain. They have a rich history that dates back to having beaten Barca many years ago.
They play at Nou Sardenya which to be honest is not the most glamourous of grounds. It is surrounded by flats and the pitch is artificial. However, the team appears to want to play decent football.
I immediately adopted them on the day and predicted a 3-0 home win which they duly delievered. They had played a game the day before and it seemed that they started the game with a majority of their second string players.
The oppo, F C Horta had the better of the opening 20 minutes until Europa went ahead againt the run of play when a cross was poorly defended and turned in by an unmarked player.
It became 2-0 early in the second half and the introduction of nearly a fresh eleven with half an hour to go saw Europa dominate and go onto secure a straight forward 3-0 victory.
An enjoyable game in lovely late evening sunshine. I will be paying close attention to the team now and may update on thier progress (it'll be a nice distraction from The Addicks).
I'm backing them for a promotion season..........watch this space!

CharltonMadrid

Glad you enjoyed your visit to Europa. I keep an eye on them as my brother used to live around the corner from their ground in the Gracia neighbourhood and would definitely be interested in an update on how they are doing if you want to do one. I've had season tickets for a couple of third and fourth division teams here in Madrid since I have lived here and it's a decent level with great fan culture.

Phil

CM, yeah I was quite impressed and with the appreciation towards the fans even though we all got in for free.
It’ll be interesting to see how they get on. My Spanish will improve if nothing else!