Football matches have always been bigger than the game, especially when the whole world is watching a country’s national team play in a football match. The King’s Cup in Spain is one of the oldest competitions in football, dating back to 1903. In 2018, the president of Barcelona called for jeering and whistling during the King’s Cup final to not only support FC Barcelona but also to protest certain attitudes held by people towards the Catalonians. He was accused of insulting Spain by calling for this, but he cited the long history of political protest being used for big sporting events like the King’s Cup because these events are a large collection of people who might not be viewed very favorably by the Spanish government and by most Spanish people.
The Copa Del Rey, also known as the King’s Cup, has long been known to be an exceptional opportunity for soccer fans, political figures, and the media to help express their vision of the Spanish nation. The Copa Del Rey in football has always run parallel to more than a century that was marked by tumultuous changes in government systems in Spain, including monarchy, republic, civil war, dictatorship, and democracy. The trophy given for this competition is always sponsored by whoever is in control of the Spanish state at the time, and by the government they represent. The tournament represents a story that Spain tells about itself as a nation with a strong national identity. But this can often be argued because of all of the people in the country who relate more with their communities and separate states within the nation of Spain.
During the mid 2000’s into the early 2010’s, the Spanish national team dominated international competition, even being referred to as a “Great Generation of footballers” that were coming out of the country. During this time, the Spanish national team went on to win three successive international competitions, one of which was the infamous World Cup in South Africa in the year 2010. Despite alot of the players on the national team having heritage from different parts of the world and coming from different areas of Spain that usually don’t get along, the players on this national team were able to get past these differences and see themselves as Spanish first, which helped them to play better together as a team and dominate international competitions for many years. This was demonstrated in the video I watched that showed the Spanish national team’s 1-0 victory against the Netherlands in the 2010 World Cup. The Spanish goalkeeper was a brick wall during this final, making multiple difficult saves that helped to keep Spain in the game. The defence for Spain was also playing extremely hard, and they refused to give up on plays, chasing down players on the Netherlands who were streaking and getting ready to be in a good position for an easy goal. The game remained gridlocked at zero to zero until Andrés Iniesta found the back of the net to give Spain the victory over the Netherlands. The whole team ran to the corner to celebrate with Iniesta after his brilliant goal, showing just how close and connected all of these Spanish players were despite their different backgrounds and heritage.
The history of Spain is long and convoluted due to the immense amount of different states in the country and the constant unification and separation of these city-states throughout its history. The country also has had a long-standing history of people claiming their city-states more than they would have claimed the entire country. But through the story of the 2010 Spanish national team, we can see that countries can push past these hindrances by coming together as a group and seeing themselves all as Spanish instead of as individuals with different pasts and struggles.
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