Football, the king of sports and a global business, has the professional sporting aspect and the political identity aspect. It moves a lot of money, large masses of fans, and many illusions. The passion for a club has a strong component of emotional adhesion. Support for a national team also does, with the added political layer. Football awakens passions and sublimes wars: better a competition between young people on the field than a life-or-death clash between soldiers. Hopefully, Ukraine and Russia - or Israel and Palestine - would compete in stadiums with a ball instead of doing so from the trenches with deadly weapons.
Today, moreover, following globalization and growing migratory movements, national teams increasingly reflect the identity mix of modern societies. They are an environment for integrating diversity, even though some, like former Spanish president Mariano Rajoy, remain anchored in stale, supremacist, and racist nationalisms. Messi could have played for Spain – he trained at Barça's La Masia and has Spanish nationality – but he chose Argentina. Lamine Yamal's mother is Equatoguinean and his father is Moroccan. He is a Catalan boy from Mataró, perfectly bilingual. But even in the rojigualda (now whitewashed: a less politicized and easier-to-market second kit) there are two players born in France and nine who play for teams outside the State. And Nico Williams' brother, Iñaki, competes for Ghana. This very plural scheme is repeated in most of the national teams in the World Cup: France contributes almost a hundred players born in its territory.
The two stars who will mark this Sunday's New York final perfectly represent the reality of the world in the 21st century: both are the fruit of globalization and migration. If one thing unites them, it is the training project of Barça, a club that, moreover, serves as a substitute for the Catalan national team, hence the validity of the slogan that emerged during Francoism: "more than a club". Before the final is played, and regardless of the outcome, La Masia is already the true winner: Messi is its most brilliant and universal product, and in the Spanish ranks there are eight players who have trained there, including the brand new signing for Madrid, Marc Cucurella, the only footballer in the squad of the Spanish capital's team. In reality, such a "blaugrana" final, with Messi against Lamine Yamal, is the worst nightmare come true for Florentino Pérez's men.
In many aspects, Barça has not been a precisely exemplary club for a long time. However, from a sporting point of view, the success and continuity of its academy are beyond all doubt, a consolidated value that it is only fair to highlight and which is also synonymous with sportsmanship and a clean, beautiful, and effective style of play. A style in which collective work and team solidarity are as important as individual ambition and self-demand. Therefore, without needing to choose between Argentina or Spain, Barça fans can be very comfortable with this Sunday's match: their team has already triumphed.
