The era when Maradona, Kubala, or Urruti went to Andorra to train

Football is the best way to unite territories. Barça, in particular, is more than just a club; it's a bridge between Catalan nations. The book Principality of BlaugranaThe book by Andorran journalist Àlex Terés presents, through anecdotes, an investigation that confirms myths surrounding the Barcelona club and the Principality, from the players' stays there to the largest fan clubs abroad. The National Archives of Andorra confirm that the first documented presence of Barça players in the Pyrenean country dates back to 1949, when four footballers—Joan and Mariano Gonzalvo Falcón, Josep Seguer, and Josep Canal—reinforced FC Andorra in a friendly match during the Escaldes-Engordany festival. An unthinkable image today, where Barça players proudly wore the tricolor kit.

"They came here to train, but also to unwind, to live a life," explains Terés. "They played matches against local teams, against French teams, against Argelès, and they did so wearing the national team jersey without any problem." In an era without contractual obligations or branding strategies, changing jerseys had nothing symbolic about it, and yet, at the same time, it said it all.

The photographs, until now practically unknown, document an Andorra that was beginning to open up to the world and a Barça that was looking for spaces to train in optimal conditions. Without top-level professional teams, the country found a sporting icon in the Catalan club. "That material was enough for an article," admits the author. "But every time I spoke with someone, the story expanded." From that initial discovery, Terés spoke with more than 108 people, and each one contributed anecdotes and testimonies that, in his opinion, "deserved to be recorded."

The Andorran preseason

In the mid-1950s, Kubala would come to Andorra to train at altitude and enjoy the country's tranquility. Casimir Arajol recalls in his book that, when August arrived, a 25-year-old Kubala would stay at the Hotel Valira in Escaldes-Engordany, and after training with other players like the Gonzalvo brothers, Hanke, and Bosch, he would meet with Andorran families for afternoon tea. Arajol explains that the friendly matches were played without any formality and that the players mingled very closely with the locals. Children had the opportunity to meet them and play with them. Casimir remembers that these stays were exceptional and that everyone wanted to talk to and take pictures with the players without intermediaries or any fanfare.

Kubala maintained a close friendship with József Pepe Csóka, also Hungarian, who later played for FC Andorra (1964-1970), settled permanently in the country, married a local woman, and ran a business for forty years. His friendship with Csóka ensured that Kubala frequently returned to the Principality, partly motivated by his escape from communist Hungary with Csóka. During the 1980s, Andorra became a regular venue for Barça's preseason training. In 1983, thanks to the initiative of the Consul General in the capital, Joan Samarra, the Estadi Comunal was built so that the first team could train there. The preseason featured stars such as Maradona, Schuster, Urruti, Quini, and Migueli, under the management of César Luis Menotti. Beyond training, they also enjoyed outings and meals with local businessmen and prominent figures, such as Denis Garcia Abella, who became a great collector of photographs and memorabilia signed by the Barcelona players.

A stadium without lights

In 1935, industrial engineer Joaquim Agulló i Marly presented a project to FC Barcelona to install a lighting system at the Les Corts stadium. However, the club discovered it lacked sufficient lighting equipment to illuminate the entire pitch. The outbreak of the Spanish Civil War brought everything to a halt, and the project was shelved. Les Corts wasn't fully illuminated until almost twenty years later, on September 2, 1954.

During times of scarcity, Andorra served not only as a gateway for the smuggling of sugar, tobacco, and alcohol, but also as a source of electricity for Barcelona. The black market for lights. According to Terés, some spotlights arrived in Barcelona via the Principality, imported from elsewhere in Europe. This solution allowed Les Corts to have nighttime lighting, enabling matches to be played in the afternoon and evening. And the Francoist authorities turned a blind eye. For years, this story had circulated as an urban legend, but Terés was able to verify it by speaking with witnesses from that time, who confirmed that it really happened that way.

Supporters' clubs and organized Barcelona fandom in Andorra

The first Andorran supporters' club, the Peña Blaugrana del Principado de Andorra, was founded in 1961 after the 1960 Champions League final in Bern, with founders such as Antoni Santacre and Vicenç Pantebre. This group allowed fans to meet, travel to see matches and European finals, and foster a sense of community around the club. In the mid-1990s, with the arrival of the internet, the Ciberpenya Blaugrana emerged, an initiative of Eduard Colobrans, which created a virtual community of Barça fans, officially recognized by the club. This supporters' club organized meetups, published its own magazine, and promoted participation in sporting events such as the Blaugrana International Cup – BIC Futsal, becoming a benchmark for the Barça digital community. Fans could watch training sessions, participate in games, and interact with club legends like Maradona, Cruyff, and Migueli, who even gave away all the equipment he used in a match.

In 1986, Andorra la Vella hosted the tenth Meeting of FC Barcelona Supporters' Clubs, with more than 2,000 attendees. Josep Lluís Núñez, Barça's president at the time, declared that in Andorra they felt "right at home." The Pyrenean embers nurtured the Barça spirit and filled Terés's book with hundreds of stories, anecdotes, and experiences. "All feelings reside in the most everyday things; that's how legends are made," says Terés. Barça, in the Principality, had always felt "right at home." "I'm sure there are many more anecdotes," he admits. "It's not that they've been forgotten, it's that no one had told them." Hence the desire to leave the book open, not as a final point, but as a first major inventory of a relationship that has been unfolding for more than 125 years.