- Just 800 fans in the Grada d’Animació Animation Stand made all the difference in FC Barcelona managing to lead Sevilla 3-1 at the Spotify Camp Nou by half time and 5-1 by the hour mark
- Allowing 14,000 season ticket holders to sit behind the Gol Nord played its part too.
- Hansi Flick gave starts to Xavi Espart and Roony Bardghji ahead of Newcastle.
- But while Lamine Yamal was wisely rested, Raphinha, Pedri and Marc Bernal all started.
The roar returned to the Spotify Camp Nou on Sunday, and played a huge part in FC Barcelona leading Sevilla 3-1 by half time and 5-1 by the hour mark.
Gavi’s return was always going to be the main headline, but a comeback just as important for the matchday experience was that of the Grada d’Animació, or Animation Stand, which had been a none-starter in the new ground since a dispute with Joan Laporta.
Whether Laporta has won a second term at the polls should be known later on Sunday evening. But during his first, he had a dispute with the group which had long been a fixture behind one of the goals when the club still played at Montjuic or the previous version of this ground.
Barça closed the stand in November 2024, after the fans there refused to pay a €21,000 fine for offensive chants. Raphinha offered to square up the bill on their behalf as reported by Cadena SER and other outlets, which was seen as a sign that the players had noticed the drop in atmosphere.
Ever since, chants of “Volem la Grada d’Animació!” (“We want the Animation Stand!) have been heard at matches and continued through to the new Camp Nou.
Laporta and his sister Elena Fort, the then-Institutional Vice President who takes care of fan matters, had always promised that there would be an Animation Stand, but its make up seemed to be more of young people and influencers than the rowdy sort of flag-waving, chanting types many might call “ultras”.
The Spotify Camp Nou is now a different place with its voice back
To say that the ambience at the Spotify Camp Nou has been library-esque since the return to the half-finished ground would be an understatement. An empty space directly behind the South Goal where the motivational types should be proved difficult to fathom as the silence deafened.
The board realised that the team needed a push for the Copa del Rey semifinal second leg against Atletico Madrid and its failed remontada by sticking some of them in one of the lateral stands.
On election day, though, 800 of them returned to where they should be – this time in the opposite goal as opposed to the Gol Nord where they used to be in the old Camp Nou – and immediately brought back the roar that any iconinc European stadium should have.
In a similar fashion, Barça receiving permission to go ahead with Phase 1C of their return to a full capacity of 105,000, and allowing 14,000 ticket holders to fill what they can in the Gol Nord to boost the capacity to 62,000, definitely played its part.
Together, with fresh lead vocals, the crowd pushed the team to lead Sevilla by 3-1 at half time thanks to two penalties from Raphinha and a Dani Olmo strike. By the hour mark, and the time of publishing, it was 5-1 as the Brazilian completed his hat trick and Joao Cancelo got in on the action too.
Tom’s Take
We’ve all, including myself, been visitors in stadiums around the world which don’t belong to our usual clubs – so this isn’t meant as a slight on anyone. Long may we continue to enjoy doing so.
But for too long since the return, the Spotify Camp Nou has often felt more like a high-end tourist attraction – beautiful but hollow – than the spiritual home of such a unique club.
With the re-welcoming of the Grada d’Animació and the capacity boosted to 62,000, however, the ground got its voice back as Culers and guests of one of Europe’s most striking cities enjoyed watching the La Liga leaders together on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Catalonia.
