The challenge of going from "perico" to "culé" is exacerbated by Joan Garcia: "If you leave, they'll tear up 3,000 of your ID cards."
Separated by just two kilometers for most of their history—the distance between Sarrià Stadium and Camp Nou— Espanyol and Barça have been built on opposition and imbalances. “Francoism fostered a false equality,” asserts Barcelona historian Frederic Porta, while former Real Madrid player from the 1960s and 1970s, Jaume Sabaté, disagrees. “President Vila-Reyes (1967-69) stood up to them, but politics and the press closed the gap,” he maintains. "He already said that the name Espanyol would limit him and wanted to name it Atlètic Catalunya," replied Porta, who is certain that the Catalan club shifted its attention to Real Madrid after the Di Stéfano affair in 1953. "The rivalry with Espanyol changed after the 1957 Copa del Rey final... After that, there was condescension," he concluded. "Espanyol hasn't gotten over that, I hate to say it," he concluded.
The various historical theories about the paths taken by both clubs now converge on Joan Garcia , the Espanyol youth player who, a few days after kissing the club's badge and after nine years wearing the blue and white, said yes to Barça. The transfer is expected to be made official next week. A "high treason" for some Espanyol fans, a case repeated many times in history, albeit with the nuances of the times. "In the 1920s, Ricardo Zamora went to the highest-paying club. And he went from Espanyol to Barça and then came back. People understood his motivations," Porta explains. Years later, in a letter, the goalkeeper declared that going to Barça had been "a mistake made by a young man."
The case of Dani Solsona Nuñez wanted to sign him, but Manuel Meler wouldn't let him: "I don't think there was that much of a problem."Even without buyout clauses, players were "at the mercy of whatever the club decided," adds Dani Solsona. And so, in that context, Antonio Camps moved from Espanyol to Barça in 1961, Kubala took the opposite path, and Marcial and Ré played for both clubs. The books list more than 50 players who have played on both sides. "There were some whistles, but little else. There wasn't that much impact," agree Sabaté and Solsona.
“Now, with social media, everything has multiplied,” explains Sabaté. “They're toxic,” believes Porta. Meanwhile, Ricardo Klein, who works in the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology at the University of Valencia , offers the theory: “ Football is now a constant conversation. Reactions are immediate, and that creates more noise, pressure, but not necessarily more reasoning. In the 1970s, controversial signings could be experienced intensely, but without going viral. Today, what lasts for years in the collective memory begins with a tweet.”
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The most famous case in the 1970s was that of Solsona himself. “Josep Lluís Núñez wanted me, but Espanyol said no . Manuel Meler , the president, assured me that if I went to Barça, 3,000 members would tear up their membership cards. That was the argument. My perception was that there wasn't that much of a problem. In the end, Valencia came along and transferred me,” he explains.
“Canito left Espanyol for Barça (1980) and now has a stand in his name (in fact, the transfer was made to compensate for Urruti's departure, who also crossed the Diagonal). Over time, you reflect. But it's true that in Joan's case, as it was in mine, it's different because you're from the club. In the 70s, we were Rexach and Solsona. It's not the same going to a rival in those circumstances,” explains the former player, who empathizes with the goalkeeper, but also with what the fans may feel.
An idol is a symbol, it is part of the emotional identity of the fan” Ricardo Klein, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, UV
Klein also puts himself in the shoes of the fan who idolized the footballer, who just a few days earlier had celebrated salvation like no other. “An idol is a symbol, part of a fan's emotional identity. If they cross over to the other side, it's a huge impact. The person who represents your story now wears the other team's colors. The pain transcends the sporting aspect,” he reasons. “We professionals see everything more calmly. We should be grateful to Joan. Kissing the badge is part of the show,” Sabaté believes. “As a professional, I understand it, but as a parakeet, it doesn't sit well with me,” Solsona admits. “Football is extreme; defection is not tolerated. It's the modern football operetta of kissing the badge,” Porta explains.
Psychologist Ana Merayo, now at The Rize and linked to sports, also notes the emotional impact of his departure. “Joan Garcia shows his desire to progress at an age when he is building his identity. But for Espanyol fans, it's a betrayal and a grief. The bond with the tribe is broken. There's sadness, disappointment, aggression... There should never be a lack of respect. But in the psychology of identity, when this abandonment happens, coherence is broken, and there are no justifications, even if there are,” she argues. Merayo believes it's crucial that Espanyol not provoke an “abrupt” breakup and that the goalkeeper always shows this affection.
"Football, as a social phenomenon, functions as a very powerful emotional and symbolic structure for people, which shapes their lives. It's a way of being in the world," Klein summarizes.
For Espanyol, which "is not the second club in Catalonia in terms of number of fans" - as Porta adds - identity is very strong, which is what publicist Josep Maria Piera compares to Asterix's Gaul ("they can't be distracted for even a second because their survival is at stake") or what Toni Segarra defined thus: "We must be bearers of values, and not disappoint those who share them. We must win, and above all lose, in our own way." And Espanyol feels that with Joan Garcia, it has lost.
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