Essència Barceloneta

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Indoor football

  • #4/2023, Sport

The pitch was the courtyard of the Virgo de la Mar School and the place where spontaneously several games were played at the same time in the afternoons after school and on weekends.

About 1976 a group of boys that coincided at the farm of Mr. Jose “el juegan” played the first matches organized by Mr. Lopez “Chano”, teacher of the Barceloneta Academy. They were “partidillos” when there were still no goals and 2 stones were used as posts. That was the beginning. From this point on, Mr. Lopez himself organized the first competitions between the players. Lopez organized the first competitions between 8 or 10 teams that he gathered. Little by little and thanks to the dedication of, among others, Pepe Vilches, Agarre Tone Soler, Juan Rodriguez “Churri” or Alfonso Cruz “el Perico”, the first leagues were held on Saturdays. These promoters were in charge of requesting the necessary municipal permits, organizing the matches, paying referees, electricity and equipment.

They were passionate people who dedicated many hours without any financial gain because they simply liked soccer and “lived” the neighbourhood.

Futsal “Made in Barceloneta”

Those were years in which futsal was experiencing a “boom” in our country. But, like everything else, the Barceloneta had to have its own peculiarities. Here they played 5+goalkeeper and not 4+goalkeeper, they used a ball that was bigger than the official futsal ball, and the throw-ins were taken by hand.

The league, in which 16 to 18 teams participated, was played on Saturdays from 1 pm to 10 pm, leaving the pitch free in the morning so that the children of the district could play and on Sunday for to the handball.

The arbitration was in charge, among others, of the mythical Antonio Ibáñez “Toto”, Archi or Carrilero, that were seldom influenced by the players or by spectators that “shouted to them anything but nice things”. There was also a disciplinary committee in charge of studying and applying sanctions.

Sometimes it was necessary to suspend matches due to humidity. Half a pitch (the part touching Almirante Churruca) became unplayable and had to be filled with sawdust in order to dry it out and at least to be able to finish the day.

The 24 hours

Around the years 83-84 an event that would become the main futsal tournament in the neighbourhood was born: the 24 hours. The tournament was held at the end of July, where all the teams of the league, others created especially for the tournament, and some invited from outside competed. It began on a Saturday at 8:00 am. The system was a group phase of 4 teams, of which the first 2 teams qualified for the knockout rounds. Then quarterfinals, semi-finals and on Sunday at 8 p.m. the big final. The whole day and night of non-stop matches, with snacks and drinks to keep players and assistants active. There were duels that filled the Repla with spectators in the stands, behind the fences and up to the school stairs and on the balconies.  A “great atmosphere!” Some teams were reinforced with semi-professional soccer players, in this vacation season with – or without – the permission of their clubs.

Finally, the last edition of the 24 hours was held around 93-94. Exactly a decade of soccer in the heart of the district, unforgettable for those who are going to live it. The indoor soccer in the Repla was slowly dying (years 96-97) until the pitch was finally demolished.

The “Mates”

The iconic Matas model that was used so much in the Repla was not a shoe for a futsal purpose!

Created by Francisco Matas in 1968, this model was born as a warm-up version for the athletics track, consolidating itself throughout the 70s and part of the 80s as an outstanding and versatile multisport shoe.

As Marc Pàmies, Mates product manager, confirms, “they were practically only used for indoor soccer in Barceloneta”. Sold at Frajoma, “Mates still remembers this curious relationship with Barceloneta futsal” which in a way helped turn this model into what is now considered a classic and timeless style icon.

As in so many other aspects, the neighbourhood is unique even in this.

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