"I was the first Catalan to touch the World Cup"

BarcelonaBefore Lamine Yamal, Cubarsí, and Olmo won the World Cup, Piqué, Puyol, Xavi, and Busquets had already lifted the World Cup in 2010 in South Africa. They, however, were not the first Catalans to touch the coveted trophy. It was Jaume Marquet (Sabadell, 1976), popularly known as Jimmy Jump. Minutes before the final between Spain and the Netherlands began, he jumped onto the field to place a 'barretina' on the trophy, but security guards tackled him just as he had it in front of him, and he touched it. 'I was the first Catalan to touch a World Cup,' he emphasizes with pride.

Sixteen years later, Jimmy Jump, who has hung up his 'barretina,' wanted to put the cherry on top of the last World Cup final. 'I would have liked to do the retirement jump in New Jersey, but some sponsors backed out, and I can't do it alone anymore – he laments. I wanted to have a proper send-off, and the final was a historic opportunity because it was the day of the power transfer between Messi and Lamine Yamal.' These two footballers, he reveals, would have been the recipients of his famous 'barretina.' 'Surely I wouldn't have reached Trump, but I would have reached those two – he adds, laughing. If I couldn't do it, it's over,' he admits to close, now indeed, the jumps he started in 2004.

Several sudden intrusions into major events, with supporters and detractors, catapulted him to popularity, but at a very high price. Marquet had to move to Germany in 2013 because he couldn't afford the fines imposed on him, which amounted to over 100,000 euros. 'They fined me 60,000 for jumping into the 'Clásico' in 2005 and grabbing the ball in front of Ronaldo and Ronaldinho,' he recalls, explaining that his salary as a real estate agent was being garnished.

Although he has already settled his debts and some sanctions have expired, Marquet still lives near Hamburg, where he works as a gardener. "I could return, but I've gotten used to German life, and besides, I often come to Catalonia to see Barça, friends, and family." A staunch independentist, he took advantage of being in Germany to go and support former president Carles Puigdemont when he was imprisoned in Neumünster. "Then I could have taken some action because it was a difficult time for Catalonia, but I had enough trouble learning German, integrating, and finding a job," he explains.

Despite the exile and sanctions, he happily recalls his exploits, especially when he threw the Barça jersey at Luis Figo when he moved to Madrid, in the 2004 Eurocopa final or when he sneaked into the Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo in 2010 during the performance of Daniel Diges, Spain's representative, and participated for a few seconds in the choreography wearing a barretina and a t-shirt from his website.

But how did the idea of jumping into mass events arise? "I wanted to create a fun character in the style of Where's Wally?, and sneaking in and jumping was the best way to do it," he explains. These jumps he made with the added handicap of not paying for entry. "It was part of the ritual. Sneaking in and jumping all in the same script." He didn't improvise his actions, which he saw as works of art. "I prepared it consciously and did it a month in advance with great care and training; then on the field everything was very spontaneous and crazy!" he exclaims.

To enter the venues, he became "the shadow man"; he followed another person to go unnoticed. He assures that over the years he has perfected this skill a lot and that, even with the new control systems, he is still capable of entering many venues, as he demonstrated at the celebration of Barça's last league title, when he managed to get down to the pitch and lift the trophy surrounded by the players. And the barretina? "It gave me strength like Superman's cape or Spiderman's webs," he says, and confesses that it was also a "song to Catalan identity," to the love for his land and for the club of his heart, Barça. "Now I see Adeyemi and I think it would be difficult to crown him; handicaps of the profession of jumper."