Mayor Not Impressed By Barça

With international action in full swing and the resumption of La Liga at the weekend, it always seemed unlikely that Barcelona would field too many first team players tonight. That has not stopped Miquel Alonso from voicing his displeasure, though.

Alonso said, “With the expectation that has been raised, seeing no player from the first team means people from here are disappointed.

“We were conscious that a game on Tuesday, with a league day on Saturday, would imply that they would only play a few. However, we expected that at least they would play some minutes so that the children could see their idols.”

Devalued

His strong words come after first team manager Pep Guardiola decided to play the B team, rather than risk any of the A team against lowly Sant Andreu. The mayor confirmed that this move has upset the people so much that some even returned their tickets for the game.

“Many people do not have opportunities to see Barcelona or Espanyol and this has upset the spirits of the people,” he went on. “People have been returning their tickets as this devalues a lot of the competition.”

The nature of the tournament is such that neither Barcelona or Espanyol enter until the semi-final stages and Miquel Alonso said that he cannot understand Guardiola's decision.

“I do not understand nor support the decision of Guardiola,” he seethed. “I do not believe that playing 10 or 15 minutes would risk injury. I assume that if Barcelona charged a million euros then the team would be in Sant Carles de la Ràpita.”

The outburst appears to be a valid assessment of the superstar nature of football today and the mayor said that more than anything he was disappointed for the youngsters.

“The main disappointment is with the youths of the locality, who may go their whole lives without seeing a player from Barcelona,” he concluded.


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