Barca’s artistry on pitch surreal

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/04/2010 (5660 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I like to think Salvador Dali was a Barcelona fan. Admittedly, I have very little historical basis for this assumption. Yes, the artist who popularized surrealist painting was born in northeast Catalonia and was a self-described anarchist as a young man. And yes, his art — intricate and emotional — bears an esthetic resemblance to Catalonia’s favourite soccer team.

Yet Dali was the first one to pack his bags and flee the country when the Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936. He also exchanged some curious correspondence with Francisco Franco, a patron of Real Madrid, that seemed to applaud the dictator’s oppression of the Catalans, although he may have been writing insincerely. Nobody knows for sure.

What we do know is that Dali was an artist who went wherever his imagination led him. If it told him to write, he would write. If it told him to sculpt, he would sculpt. If it told him to paint, he would paint. And he did it all with energy and spontaneity, if not eccentricity. It was effortless.

"I am painting pictures which make me die for joy," he once told author Dawn Andes. "I am creating with an absolute naturalness… I am making things that inspire me with a profound emotion and I am trying to paint them honestly."

He might have been talking about FC Barcelona, for "joy," "naturalness" and "emotion" are words that describe the team perfectly.

Never were all three traits more apparent than in Tuesday’s 4-1 win over Arsenal at Camp Nou. Forward Lionel Messi scored each of Barcelona’s goals in a performance Gunners manager Arsene Wenger later likened to a video game, and playmaker Xavi Hernandez completed an incredible 95 of 105 passes.

Both players, as well as the domineering Puyol, menacing Busquets and marauding Pedro, have delivered 16 months of unforgettable soccer in Barcelona. The club has won six pieces of silverware over that span and could add another two trophies to the haul before the end of May.

Sure, the results have been pleasing, but Dali would have been most impressed by the displays of creativity and spontaneity from this Barcelona team. They’ve gone about things the right way — developing players in the academy and augmenting the squad with meaningful signings, playing beautiful soccer all the while.

The artist would have also been fascinated by today’s match against Real Madrid.

Not long after Dali left Catalonia, FC Barcelona president Josep Sunyol was executed by Francoist forces. Faced with mounting suppression from Franco’s nationalists, the Camp Nou stadium became a rare venue for Catalan expression, and the rivalry with Madrid intensified.

Things came to a head in 1953 when Barcelona signed Alfredo di Stéfano, the best player in the world at the time. At the last moment, the Spanish Football Federation intervened and di Stéfano joined Real Madrid instead. The capital side claimed he had not been pressured to change his mind, but Barcelona still insists he was coerced into the decision by Franco.

It’s impossible to say who Salvador Dali would have supported — Barcelona or Real Madrid. But I do believe he would find himself backing the Blaugranes — if not for his Catalan roots, then for the club’s esthetic appeal. He would have known a good work of art when he saw one.

 

 

jerradpeters@gmail.com

 

Spot kicks

 

Europe’s most exciting run-in is being played in France, where six teams are within five points of first place. Bordeaux, the reigning champions, are currently in fifth spot, three points back of leaders Marseille, with a game in hand.

Dwayne De Rosario was installed as Toronto FC captain this week following the retirement of Jim Brennan. Toronto plays New England tonight.

 

 

Matches to watch

 

Chelsea vs. Aston Villa: today, 11 p.m., Setanta.

Real Madrid vs. Barcelona: today, 3 p.m., GolTV.

New England vs. Toronto: today, 6:30 p.m., GolTV.

 

— Peters