Loyalties, commodity and fandom: Real Madrid, Barça and Athletic fans versus ‘La Furia Roja’ during the World Cup

This essay is about contemporary identity construction in Spain, using football as one of the most representative aspects of mass and popular culture at the beginning of the twenty-first century. It seeks to explore the multiple contemporary identities in Spain through football, those within Spain, especially Basque and Catalan, and that of Spain as a national entity. After 25 years of established democracy and with a new territorial arrangement introduced in the new Constitution, what is the role of the main football teams in Spain? What relevance do they have for their cities' politics? Do they still play the same role? For example, does Real Madrid still symbolize the Spanish state and government? Is Barça still the main Catalan stronghold? What is the relation between Athletic and its hiring policy and Basque nationalism and identity? If national identity in Spain is weak because of its strong regional identities, is this reflected in its national selection when participating at the World Cup? tant se val d'on venim, si del sud o del nord, ara estem d'acord estem d'acord, una bandera ens agermana, blaugrana al vent un crit valent, tenim un nom que el sap tothom Barça, Barça, Barça!1 De las glorias deportivas, que campean por España, va el Madrid con su bandera, limpia y blanca que no empaña. Club castizo y generoso, todo nervio y corazón.2 Bilbo ta Bizkai guztia goratu bedi munduan Aupa mutillak! Gora beti euskalerria! Athletic gorri-zuria geuria. Bilbo ta Bizkaiko gaztiak gora! Euskaldun zintzoak aurrera!3 Alcohol, alcohol, alcohol, alcohol; hemos venido a emborracharnos, el resultado nos da igual.4