“It’s not just about the money, it’s about time and growth”. This is the reflection made by Pau Quesada, technician of Real Madrid, after conceding the 6-0 at Camp Nou. Barça once again demonstrated why it is a benchmark team and one we can be proud of, as Alexia Putellas described after the match. “I feel that we are all moving in the same direction: fans, team, and club”, added the captain. The blaugranes filled Camp Nou with 60,067 people, the best attendance since returning to the stadium. The attendance against Real Madrid surpassed the 56,812 spectators who had gathered ten days earlier to watch Barça - Rayo Vallecano (1-0).

Words are running out to describe this team. The Barça women's team has once again made history, both on and off the field. Pere Romeu's squad has gathered 60,067 people at the Camp Nou – an absolute record since returning to the stadium, for both men's and women's teams –, Alexia Putellas has reached 500 matches with the blaugrana jersey and, on the field, has once again thrashed – and crucified – Real Madrid, for the third time in a week. 6-0 at the end of 90 minutes in Barcelona and 12-2 on aggregate in the tie. Barça advances with a firm step to the semifinals for the eighth consecutive season and will face Bayern Munich.

“Alexia is Barça”. That is how Irene Paredes and Patri Guijarro – two of the captains – summarize Alexia Putellas. Almost 5,000 days after wearing the Barça jersey for the first time, the Mollet native has once again made history at the Camp Nou, where she has reached 500 games in the blaugrana shirt. This is yet another example of what a key player represents in the growth of the Catalan club. When Alexia debuted with Barça on August 24, 2012 – after playing for Espanyol and Levante to grow and establish herself in the First Division –, Barça had not yet played any Champions League matches, had just won their first league title – now they are on their way to their eleventh – and only had two Cups in their trophy cabinet – on May 16th, they could lift their twelfth.

Barça will open Camp Nou on Thursday, April 2nd (6:45 pm) for the Women's Champions League quarter-final. Chelsea will play at Stamford Bridge; Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena; Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium; Manchester United at Old Trafford; Olympique Lyonnais at the Groupama Stadium; Wolfsburg at the Volkswagen Arena... and Real Madrid at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium. This means that Real Madrid is the only team that will not open its main stadium for the Champions League quarter-finals. This is no surprise, as the team managed by Pau Quesada has never played at the Bernabéu since its creation in 2019, when it absorbed the modest Tacón. A year ago, midfielder Melanie Leupolz confessed on the podcast... Kicker FE:maleShe had spoken with Florentino Pérez. The German footballer explained that the Real Madrid president told the players he would open the Santiago Bernabéu stadium to the women's first team "when they win their first title."

More than 55 years ago, a group of pioneering women made history by defying the society of that time. On December 25, 1970—still under Franco's dictatorship—Barça Women played their first match at Camp Nou. Imma Cabecerán was one of those responsible after meeting with the then-president of Barça, Agustí Montal i Costa. "If you bring me 15 girls, go ahead," was the response from the top Barça official. And so it was done. Through an advertisement in the newspaper, many women called to join the project. "They told us to meet at the Barcelona sports complex, where the Miniestadi used to be. After a month of training on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the day arrived to play at Camp Nou," explains Lolita Ortiz (Barcelona, ​​1944), one of the pioneers who is currently part of the Barça Women's Players Association.

Lamine Yamal is in a celebratory mood. Three moments of brilliance from him secured a victory against Villarreal, the third-placed team in La Liga, just before facing their most difficult task: overturning a Copa del Rey tie against Atlético de Madrid that seems lost. A utopian challenge, if you stop to think about it. But when Lamine Yamal smiles like he did against Villarreal, anything can happen. And if you add Pedri's magic, it's perfectly understandable to have a license to dream. Football isn't an exact science, but if you combine Lamine's brilliance with the Canary Islander's delightful play, the result is usually good news for Barça.

Since Barça approved the renovation of Camp Nou and its surroundings in a 2014 referendum, the project's cost has steadily increased. What was initially budgeted at €600 million was revised upwards by Josep Maria Bartomeu's board, a year before his resignation, to €815 million. Once Joan Laporta inherited the project, the total expenditure skyrocketed by 250% compared to the initial estimate, reaching €1.5 billion. It was estimated that the Camp Nou renovations would cost €900 million, while those of the Palau Blaugrana would reach €420 million.

The most painful image of the 2022 Barça-Eintracht Frankfurt match wasn't Barça's elimination from the Europa League quarterfinals. It was the invasion of German fans at the Camp Nou. That April night, more than 30,000 supporters occupied the Barça stadium, which for the first time seemed to welcome away goals more than home ones. A flood of people, dressed in the white shirts of the Eagles, approaching the stadium escorted by the police, and the incidents that left Barça fans feeling outnumbered in their own home, were the subject of criticism for days on end.

Not a very flashy victory, but Barça's victory in the team's second match at the new Camp Nou (3-1). Here are four quick notes from the match.

Barça's return to Camp Nou It was so rushed The workers didn't have time to take anything from the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys. It wasn't until this week that they began the task of removing everything belonging to the Barça club, from access passes to the furniture in the meeting rooms and other spaces. VIPThe club is preparing to live, for at least two years, amidst cranes, construction workers, and temporary access points. And, at the same time, to begin exploiting the economic resources generated by the new facilities, although it won't be until it's finished that it can expect to generate the projected €350 million in revenue. This money, as is well known, will largely go towards repaying the nearly €1.5 billion loan obtained through Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan. The main reason for bringing forward the return, even with a partial capacity of 45,000 seats, was to stop paying rent for Montjuïc and focus solely on generating revenue at Camp Nou. But this has a major drawback: the renovation will take even longer. By 25%, according to Joan Sentelles, the club's head of operations. As an example, Barça played against Athletic Club last Saturday, and therefore the cranes were idle. Sunday was a holiday, and this week work has only been possible with relative normality from Monday to Thursday. This Friday, the workers are dedicating a good part of the day to organizing the equipment and preparing the access points so that the ball can start rolling again on Saturday against Alavés. Since Atlético de Madrid visits the stadium the following Tuesday, little can be done on Monday. And so on.

Joan Garcia was the first player to have the honor of stepping onto the Camp Nou pitch on this historic day. The goalkeeper spent a good while applauding the fans, looking to the right and left, contemplating the stadium's majesty. He had already participated in the open training session, but nothing compared to the butterflies in his stomach on match day. Szczesny followed, and a few minutes later the rest of his teammates appeared to warm up. The stands, still half full, were beginning to buzz. And they buzzed for quite some time, although, such is football—and such is Barça—there was more noise before the match than when the ball started rolling.

Beyond repairing damage and modernizing the facilities, the main reason for the Camp Nou renovation was to exploit business avenues that the old stadium did not offer: VIP fish marketsIt's not a whim exclusive to Barça. The football world is heading in that direction. For years now, most European clubs have renovated their facilities with the aim of making money, especially from those with the deepest pockets. So much so that a decade ago, UEFA even changed its regulations, meaning the Barça stadium couldn't host a hypothetical Champions League final because, among other things, the supply of private venues was insufficient.

The Barcelona City Council has granted the first occupancy license, in phase 1b, for the reopening of Camp Nou. This means the stadium on Aristides Maillol will increase its capacity to 45,401 seats and will be ready to host first-team matches. Barça intended to play again this Saturday, November 22, in the league match against Athletic Club, and that will now take place. At the end of last week, they submitted the required documentation to the Barcelona City Council for the reopening of the side stand, and this Monday they received final approval. There is therefore sufficient time for La Liga to approve the change of venue from Montjuïc to Camp Nou, and for the club to distribute tickets to members who request them, following the established procedures. protocols linked to the season passes announced just a few weeks ago. There's no need to wait until Saturday the 29th, when a Barça-Alabès match is scheduled, for the long-awaited return home.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Barça will receive the first occupancy license this week to open the Camp Nou side stadium. This permit (1b), in addition to what He already obtained the funds to reopen the south stand and goal (1a)This means authorizing 45,000 people to attend matches at the stadium, which will now combine construction work with games. This is less than half of the 105,000 seats the stadium will have once completed, although the board assures that this is already enough to make the numbers work. The club will struggle to prepare all the logistics in time for Athletic Club's visit on Saturday the 22nd, but will be ready for the Barça-Alabès match on the 29th, which will coincide with the club's 126th anniversary. Experience shows that nothing can be guaranteed 100%, but the city council, which already has all the necessary documentation, maintains that things "look good."

On the faces of the 23,000 Barcelona fans who were able to enter Camp Nou yesterday, I saw the same excitement as on Christmas morning. The promised gift that hadn't arrived was now ready to be unwrapped. It was the day to rediscover the treasure trove of lifelong emotions, which had remained unopened for 30 months, and to recapture the feeling of belonging to the group within the walls they consider their home.

More labor irregularities at the Camp Nou renovation project. The CCOO union warned on Tuesday that in recent days, one of the subcontractors for the Turkish construction company Limak has dismissed 14 undocumented Turkish workers who were working on the project. According to the union, the company is getting rid of these employees as the work progresses so they can return to their country "without any guarantees." In other words, they are being forced into deportation. Furthermore, last month the union reported the presence of fifty workers with irregular immigration status to the Labor Inspectorate, and the labor police are currently conducting an investigation, the results of which are not yet known. "These people, some of whom have been working on the project for over a year, now face dismissal by Extreme Works and the construction company Limak, who intend to send them back to their country without any guarantees," they stated at a morning protest to denounce this situation. For months, CCOO has been helping more than 50 workers of Turkish origin, in coordination with the Turkish union DISK, and now they fear that these employees—who also suffer precarious working conditions and long hours—may be dismissed and sent back to their country.

In a vacant lot in Santa Fe del Penedès, between lonely vineyards and the C-15 motorway, some pieces of the new Camp Nou are waiting patiently to begin a second life. Being part of of one of the most important works currently being built in southern Europe to an uncertain future that could lead them to become either a stately door to a block of flats in the Eixample district or the nightstand you'll buy next week at Ikea.

Although Barça had already expected it, receiving the first occupancy license (LPO) for Camp Nou was a cause for joy and celebration in the offices. "The first is always the most complicated," admitted sources close to the board. With Phase 1 confirmed, the south stand and goal area could open, equivalent to a capacity of 27,000 fans. However, as the club explained a few days ago, They prefer to wait until phase 1b is completed. to also be able to open the side and thus increase its capacity to 45,000 seats. For now, the offices say the work is already underway and that some of the documentation has been submitted. However, the bureaucracy is slow. Therefore, the matches against Girona, Olympiakos, and Elche will be held at Montjuïc. Later, we'll see.

"Everyone knows we're not financially strong, and that leaves us in a weak position when it comes to negotiating." This quote comes from a Barça executive in a conversation in which he lamented the difficulty of asserting himself in the offices. "Getting respect." "It's time to strike a balance, it's time to play politics," he added, admitting that President Joan Laporta isn't entirely comfortable because he can't lead the club the way he'd really like.

Just as the pandemic severed many personal, familial, and social ties with the ban on physical contact, a closed Camp Nou has strained the ties between Barça members and the club.