On a recent trip to Seville, Blue Stamp Travel’s Managing Director, Steve, got to experience the thrill of a city swept up in El Clasico fever.
El Clasico – a celebration of football
El Clasico is a football match of titans, a clash between Barcelona and Real Madrid. On 26th April 2025, there was an El Clasico match-up with a difference. It was the Copa del Rey final (the equivalent domestic competition to the UK FA Cup). The match was hosted in the specially adapted Estadio Ramon in order to fit the huge number of travelling fans. The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, home of Los Blancos, has a capacity of 78,297 whilst the Camp Nou, in Barcelona, holds a whopping 99,354 spectators. Seville’s home ground, by comparison, holds a meagre 43,883. It was clear that the fans would be spread across the city for this event, not just on the ground. Many had travelled for hours from the west of Spain just to be near the final and take in the atmosphere.
The day before the game the city was brimming with fans. Some had gone early with football shirts but, if you didn’t know better, it would be easy to think this was just a typical buzzing Friday night in Seville. Restaurants were busy and the bars, quite typically, were spilling onto the pavements and the narrow streets. Game day was something quite different. The two sets of fans were now quite markedly different in their replica shirts and donning scarves, despite the 27º temperature.
One Nottingham Forest fan sported his red shirt with pride, drawing attention from the locals and greeted with periodic shouts of “¡Vamos!” and “Champions’ League” (Forest are pushing to compete with the Spanish giants next season.) The atmosphere was really friendly!
As kick-off approached at the cooler time of 10 pm, the fans funnelled towards the ground. Barcelona’s maroon and blue started in the south of the city. Madrid’s wave of white shirts started to the west. The slow procession of chants and anthems built and built as the fans moved towards the stadium. It was quite a spectacle!
(It is worth noting that despite the mildly intimidating presence of the Guardia, complete with side arms and vans, there were also elderly people and families in the streets with no hint of any trouble associated with football elsewhere. The city was brimming with excitement which was well-contained).
After an exhilarating game—ideal for the neutral—Barcelona ran out winners in the last minutes of extra time saving both teams from a penalty shoot-out in the early hours of the morning. As a side note, there were 3 red cards (2 after the full-time whistle had been blown) as the players let their emotions get the better of them.
Top tip for travellers: Check out what events are in the city during your stay in advance of travelling.
Whether you are a football fan or not, Seville is a beautiful city, steeped in history. Why not add it to your list of destinations to visit and learn or improve your Spanish while you are there with an Intensive Course in Seville?
