Friday, March 1, 2013

The tribes of "El Clasico"...in Iraqi Kurdistan

[Photo: Goktay Koraltan]
Every time that Barcelona FC plays Real Madrid it is a big event but (surprsingly) Iraq's Kurdish population are just as divided as the rival capital cities here.

 "Those who support Real are usually richer people, while the poorer people are more likely to support Barca.

Barcelona fans appear to be more numerous, probably because Kurdistan and Catalonia are both regions pressing for greater autonomy...

Last August, a banner was unfurled in the stands during an El Clasico in Barcelona's Nou Camp stadium bearing the words: "Kurdistan is not Iraq / Catalonia is not Spain"

Read more here.

4 comments:

Sackerson said...

And which one for you?

Brett said...

It has to be Barca, of course! They have been the best club team in the world for a few years now, though that might be changing. Messi is probably one of the greatest players ever even though he is still relatively young. They are a very well-run organisation in a country of poorly-run organisations.

And what's your tribal allegiance here, Sackerson?

Sackerson said...

Wales. Though I wish they'd score more points from tries and fewer from penalty kicks.

I was never in one place long enough as a child to develop a football allegiance.

Brett said...

Wales? They used to be a very good attacking team, around 2003-2005ish. Shane Williams, Gavin Henson at his best. Halfpenny is a great athlete and Tipuric looks like a real find but they are lacking it in the halves, though I know they've had a lot injuries. Warburton looked like a world beater but now he seems an ordinary mortal.

In truth, I get annoyed by the blind allegiance to clubs rather than admiration of great play and great players. When I tell people here that I think that the Bernbeu is a better stadium to watch football than the Camp Nou they really don't like it.