My fellow students and staff had many favorite places in Barcelona: the Gaudi sites, such as the famous Sagrada Familia, the Old Town, and the Gothic Cathedral, or El Born neighborhood. But I always wanted to see Camp Nou, home of my favorite soccer team of all time: Barça! One of the most special things about Barça, as opposed to other European clubs, is that Barcelona has worked so hard and successfully earned its reputation to be one of the best clubs in the world, and this reputation grows with every game they play. Their game during the day of our visit to Camp Nou was Barça vs Granada. They won 1-0, which is not surprising.
Before I even visited, I knew that the FC Barca stadium was home to my favorite team in soccer history. I also knew that it has a capacity of 99,000 people, which if you round it, is 1/10 of a million.
What I saw on the visit was way bigger than a picture can show. I saw the famous stadium, the museum, the video presentation, the hall of fame, the athletic facilities used by Barça players, including the conference room. l knew that Messi practiced so much every day to earn the name as greatest of all time because he was even given his own area in Camp Nou. I also got to see in the actual seats used by the Barça trainers and players.
I was so excited to take my first step into the stadium and this amazing world of my heroes … my heart was jumping out of my chest!
The most impressive thing I saw in the stadium was probably the pitch itself. The moment I walked in and saw the seats, the pitch and all the small details just blew my mind. I’ve watched soccer games and I know what everything is used for and how the game is played.
If I were to run into an FCB player, I hope it would be Lionel Messi. I want to ask him questions like how did he know he wanted to commit his life to soccer and practice everyday and give up a lot of time to be in the position he is.
This was one of the most exciting things I have done so far in my life, and I want to go back as soon as possible to see a real game! Ole, Ole, Ole, Barça!
Henry Veniaminov, AR Student Reporter live from Camp Nou, Barcelona!