A month ago, after a midweek Barcelona game that kicked off at 10pm, a British journalist asked coach Luis Enrique for his opinion of the late start.
It is not a question usually raised by Spanish journalists in a country where, as recently as last season, kick offs were scheduled as late as six days before the game. Even now, there’s little questioning when games are switched to unsociable hours for the sake of television coverage.
Fan groups have protested, but they are seen as little more than a hindrance. Football powers on and the match going supporters are often taken for granted.
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In England, a similar question was put to Alex Ferguson in 2013 and he said: “When you shake hands with the devil you have to pay the price. Television is god at the moment. It is king.”
Enrique could have chosen to bat the question away. After all, income from TV pays a substantial part of his substantial wages. But the fan inside him hit back as he rolled his eyes and said that he did not agree with kick offs so late, that they did not suit many fans, including families.
His own family, for instance. “Do you think I like being here at 1am?” he said.
Enrique further disapproves of the disruption late starts cause to his team and where fans leaving the stadium find a public transport system that is barely functioning.
Yesterday, following Barcelona’s 6-1 win against Rayo Vallecano, which took the Catalans back to the top of the league and past Real Madrid after Real’s 1-0 defeat at Athletic Bilbao, Enrique enthused not only about the performance of his team, but the noon kick off.
“The atmosphere was very good,” he said. “Lots of kids were there, the weather was good. We could become leaders, that helped, too.”
Rayo are from Madrid but they are not Real, yet the game attracted Barca’s highest crowd of the season, a massive 87,151.
Madrid’s defeat had helped, but the feel-good factor was tangible before kick off raising the question – why do so few Barca games kick off in daylight hours?
Night games are special at Camp Nou, but more early kick offs would boost attendances and introduce younger fans to the joys of watching live football.
If younger fans are not embraced then where are the supporters of the future coming from who will replace the elderly fans that pack the Camp Nou and who have been going to matches for decades?
They were entertained by a Lionel Messi hat-trick, which takes him to 30 goals for the season, the same as Cristiano Ronaldo. It means Messi has scored more than 40 goals for his club in each of the past six seasons.
In scoring six, Barca also went past Madrid’s 75 goals – and this is a Madrid team who were crowned best in the world during the first half of the season.
With 12 games to play, including a home derby against Madrid, and with the meanest defence in the league, Barca are again title favourites.
Their best players are looking ominously good, showing the type of form that sees them go into their Uefa Champions League last-16 second leg against Manchester City with a 2-1 advantage from the away leg.
Luis Suarez was one their best players in Manchester. Less than prolific this season, he has found a sweet spot pairing with Messi and Neymar and scored another two against Rayo.
Gerard Pique, another player who has not escaped criticism in the past year, is also excelling and scored. No defender has bagged more than his four in Spain, while close season transfer Ivan Rakitic was praised by Enrique for his tactical nous.
The midday kick off clearly suits, Barca also won their other noon kick off 6-1.
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