Welcome to 'Remontada'

Welcome, bienvenido, to the Remontada blog. I'm Owen and I have started this blog as a way to put into writing my passion for the beautiful game. After mulling over the idea for sometime I've decided to go for it. Even though we live in a culture that is full of football content from magazines and podcasts, to blogging- as Alan Partridge says about the commonality of cop-dramas in 'I'm Alan Partridge' when clutching at straws to get a second series, "people like them, so let's make more."

As a lad growing up in Halifax, West Yorkshire, football has been for me, as for many more, a release. Something to sink your teeth into on a Saturday and to digest on a Sunday. Something that breaks the silence and invites conversation. Something that never stops giving. From culture, to politics, it affects every type of discussion and finds its way into being a reference point for any situation you may find yourself in.

Reflecting on living in Barcelona for a year in my student terraced house in Leeds, football has always given me a chance to connect with people from all walks of life. Joining a weekend league 11-aside team was something I have always dreamed of doing. A no-nonsense centre-back being deployed as a make-shift RWB in a 5-3-2 formation in a team full of local men in their mid-30s was a dream come true. You may laugh, and I hope you do, but when I first wanted to move to the Catalan Capital some 5 years ago, I always wondered what it'd be like to play football frequently in a new country. Having grown up on a junior league diet of long-ball and boggy pitches, I had a chance to play on some beautiful pitches all over the city, under the sun and in some 30 degree heat- pura vida.

After searching on the Barcelona International Football League, I had to fill out a footballing CV for all the clubs in the league to see before inviting me to their team. A few emails and a couple of trials later, I found Tercer Tiempo (the third half). I had a chance to practice my Spanish and get to know local guys who knew one another since their school days, it was personal, it was perfect. They'll be a reference point throughout many of the forecoming articles, so more on 3T soon (I'm 3 in from the left, standing).

So as I'm sure you can imagine, I spent the 2020/21 season quite enthralled in La Liga and Spanish football. Experiencing this as part of the culture was a lot of fun. Learning a lot a bout how people saw the sport in Spain was something that also made me want to share my views in this blog. As a life-long football fan, I have always had an opinion on English football clubs, players and fans. Spending a season away from this was an opportunity to be a sponge and soak up all I could about a completely new football culture. I am more than positive this will seep through in future articles, but as ever I'm looking to be proven wrong, hear new points of view and learn- so feel free to get in touch if I've been caught offside.

To conclude this welcome blog, Remontada will be here to give you frequent pieces on the world of football. From current events unfolding, to deeper dives on players or stories, Remontada will have it all. The first proper article will look at Messi aka the 'GOAT' (La Cabra), aka 'Alien Boy', looks to leave Barcelona and how his departure closes a chapter in the history of Barcelona as a club and a city.

Enjoy and I hope you comeback for the next Remontada.