Man United vs Barca: a clash of ideas

New Delhi: In a few hours from now, Manchester United lock horns with Barcelona in a soccer war to decide this year's champions of Europe.

While both clubs have their loyal support base of die-hard fans, a neutral like me is faced with a dilemma. On one hand, I want to stay neutral and watch a good game. On the other, I know my involvement with the great game will be incomplete without supporting one of them.

Which club do I support…the richest and most valuable football club on earth which is run more as a corporate firm or the other which till 2010 had not believed in the concept of shirt sponsorship and has been instead paying money to Unicef, the name it sports on the jerseys of its players?

The two clubs have dissimilar playing styles. The frenzied pace of a headbangers' ball at a heavy metal night is often interspersed with melodious guitar interludes. Similarly, a slow-moving, hip-swaying Flamenco number can suddenly break into frantic rhythm. It is pointless to debate which is better and more effective.

In 1902, four British businessmen invested 500 pounds each in a football club called Newton Heath Football Club for a direct interest in running the club. Manchester United was thus born not as as a football club as but as a company with stake-holders. Originally funded by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company, the Newton Heath LYT Football Club had already become a limited company in 1892 and sold shares to local supporters for £1 via an application form.The four British gentlemen held the majority shares in the Manchester United FC (MUFC) from 1902.

The company's controlling interest would have several changes of hands till it reached American tycoon Malcolm Glazer.

Contrast this with the birth of FC Barcelona the idea of which which was spawned by a Swiss named Hans Kamper in 1899 who would later choose to adopt the Catalan name of Joan Gamper. It was then financed by donations from supporters. Today, more than 1,70,000 socios or members jointly run the club by paying an annual fee of around 150 Euros each. It is a club and not a company. Unlike MUFC stocks which trade on the London Stock Exchange, Barcelona has no stocks or controlling interest up for sale.

While Manchester United had a rather uneventful first half of the 20th century till Matt Busby arrived in the 1950s and took the club to the heights of glory with assistance from George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton, Barca had already established itself as a symbol of Catalan identity, a forum where Catalans would gather to give vent to their aspirations of political independence.

In 1925, supporters at the Barcelona stadium jeered the Spanish national anthem as a mark of protest against Miguel Primo de Rivera’s dictatorship. The ground was closed and Gamper forced to resign.

The Spanish Civil War which started in July, 1936, saw many Barca and Atletico Bilbao footballers pick up rifles and head towards the front to confront the fascist Nationalist forces of General Franco. Quite a few of them did not make it back.

Josep Sunyol, Barca president and representative of a pro-independence Catalan political party, was murdered by the fascist forces in 1936. By 1937, almost all Barca footballers were seeking asylum in France, Mexico and England. On March 16, 1938, the last citadel of the Republicans, the city of Barcelona, came in for intense aerial bombardment. The Barca office was hit and more than 3,000 people killed. Catalonia fell to fascist troops in a few months.

Barcelona FC was severely penalised for displaying unbridled Catalan nationalism. Its name was changed to Club de Futbol Barcelona, the Catalan flag was removed from the flag shield. From a support base of over 10,000, it came down to under 3,500. Most supporters were put in jails, many were killed.

In 1943, Barcelona defeated Real Madrid, symbol of the Castilian power centre of General Franco, 3-0 in the first leg of the semi-finals of Copa del Generalisimo (now known as Copa del Ray). Before the second leg, the director of Franco’s state security paid a visit to the Barca changing room. Barca threw the second leg match, losing 11-1.

Barça would exact revenge many years later when they beat Real Madrid 1–0 in the 1968 Copa del Generalísimo final at the Santiago Bernabeu, in front of Franco, with former Republican pilot Salvador Artigas as manager. Finally in 1974, when Franco's dictatorship ended, Barca changed back to its original name and reverted back to its original crest with the Catalan flag well enshrined on the shield.

While MUFC quite have not had to weather such rough weather, the club has become a benchmark for those who regard sports as business. It is a brand which brings in more revenues than any other football club, it is a model which works with ruthless efficiency.

Barcelona, on the other hand, is a symbol of freedom and identity, of war and peace. Even today, after they have entered into a 125 million pound five year deal with Qatar Foundation, the club is owned by supporters and run by elected representatives.

Unlike cricket, football is not a gentleman's game. And there will be no quarters spared when FC Barcelona and Manchester United FC come out of their dugouts later this evening. This clash is not just about playing styles and formations but rather about the ideas that the two clubs stand for.