SPANISH FOOTBALL – A WAY OF LIFE IN SPAIN!

In Spain, football is an obsession that seems to govern (at least male!) life in Spain.  Rarely can you enter a bar, for example, without a television showing a Spanish football match or endless replays of footballing incidents.  If you think that no football is evident, then listen carefully to the ‘talking heads’ and – you guessed it – they will almost certainly be analysing the triumphs or failures of some Spanish football team.  There is no way of getting away from it!

I mention all of this as someone who has little interest in football, whilst having a a wife who loaths it.  Of course, to admit as much in our local village would be unthinkable!  Indeed, to deny a passion for Spanish football would be like stating publicly that paella was inedible or that French wines were better than Spanish.  To assert publicly either statement is unthinkable!

Of course, if you are considering moving to Spain and you are an ardent football supporter than you will be in paradise.  At least, you will be if you very obviously support your local Spanish football team – whilst remaining serenely unemotional should your favourite British team badly thrash an opposing Spanish one!

Certainly, it would seem that no sport comes close to football in Spain both as a talking point and spectator sport.  Indeed, it is one of the only countries that I have been to where there is a daily paper (the size of the Daily Mail) devoted only, and exclusively, to Spanish football.  It lies on the bar of every cafe and is clearly required reading – in the way that international news is certainly not.

If you are not a great lover of Spanish football or, for that matter of fact, any football then you may ask yourself: how on earth can I survive in Spain?

That is probably a good question!  However, I was most impressed by a friend of mine who moved into a small pueblo not far from where I live.  As an experienced traveller, he actually used Spanish football to his advantage, despite having little real interest in the game.

As the only Briton in his pueblo and with only a few words of Spanish, my friend realised from the start that he would have to make a positive effort to integrate within his little community.  This, he knew, from past experience in other countries, would provide him with support in his new life in Spain and a future social life.

So what did he do?

Well, you guessed it!  The first thing my friend did was to sit quietly at the back of the local bar each evening to watch the football.  This he did repeatedly for about a couple of weeks.  Soon after that, he was approached by some local villagers to sit with them and, through a combination of sign language and a few words of English and Spanish, he found that reasonable communication was possible.  Sensibly, of course, he made sure that he appeared to be particularly full of admiration for the local Spanish football team (Valencia).

Within three months, my friend had integrated within his pueblo more than we had in three years.  Most evenings someone from the pueblo knocks on his door to ask him out (not just to the football!).  Better still, he has found himself the recipient of a natural welcome and generosity from his Spanish neighbours that is rarely seen by those living on foreigner-owned estates.  Returning home he often finds some fresh vegetables on his doorstep, a brace of partridge or a bottle of home made wine.  

All of this was because of Spanish football!  Well, at least partially – as my friend is a naturally open and friendly person.  But the point is that football in Spain opened many ‘doors’ for him and has made his life in Spain fun whilst providing  him with a wonderful, caring and friendly, native Spanish social circle.

Of course, I am not for one moment, suggesting that if you are thinking of moving to Spain that you should suddenly become obsessive about Spanish football.  That would probably leave you (and me!) minus our female partners!  But, if you want to integrate and have something in common with your local Spanish community, you could do a lot worse than join them and watch a few games in your local bar…