How football eclipsed separatist politics in Spain

MADRID — The last time Spain reached the final of the World Cup it had a team heavy with players from the region of Catalonia, where the all-conquering FC Barcelona had refined a possession-based attacking style that laid the template for the entire country’s soccer identity. Barcelona stars Xavi Hernández, Carles Puyol, Gerard Piqué and Sergio Busquets — Catalans, all — were key players in the side that defeated the Netherlands in the 2010 final in Johannesburg. That historic summer for Spanish soccer was also a seismic moment for the country’s relationship with Catalonia. The day before the final, hundreds of thousands of Catalans took to the streets of Barcelona to voice their anger at a judicial decision which reversed some of the powers devolved to their northeastern region. It was the beginning of several years of territorial tensions which would culminate in a full-blown constitutional crisis, after Catalan political leaders staged a disputed independence referendum. Sixteen years later, the challenge to Spain’s territorial unity from Catalonia and its other restive region, the Basque Country, has faded — now no more than a subplot to more urgent political battles over corruption and immigration. Yet the Catalan and Basque presence in the World Cup squad is stronger than ever, with players from those two regions outnumbering representation from Spain’s other 15 in the squad that will face Argentina in today’s final. With no players from Real Madrid, the historic club from Spain’s capital, in the squad — although one did sign for the team in the off-season — this Spanish side relies particularly heavily on the country’s so-called periphery, those regions far from the capital’s power base. Soccer has eclipsed politics as the vehicle for Spain’s most prominent separatist strongholds to project their identities. “It’s not that pro-independence feeling has disappeared, but nobody sees it as a priority right now,” Lola García, a columnist at Catalonia’s centrist La Vanguardia newspaper, told POLITICO. “This government inherited one of the worst crises Spanish democracy has seen,” added Justice Minister Félix Bolaños, saying that “normalcy and co-existence have returned.” ‘The Premier League speaks Basque’ The Catalan influence on Spain’s soccer psyche began in earnest with the tenure of Dutch coach Johan Cruyff at Barcelona, between the late 80s and the mid-90s. He introduced a model of play that emphasized cool, triangular passing rather than the more physical, passionate style previously been in vogue. A decade later, Pep Guardiola would use Cruyff’s blueprint for his own revolution, which prioritized passing and pressing — and saw his Barcelona side of 2008 between 2012 dominate all it faced. Guardiola went on to win further honors and spread his philosophy during coaching stints in Germany and England. Catalan soccer’s stock has remained high since and his former club, Barcelona, has continued to produce world-class players, many graduating from its La Masia academy, with a style that ESPN describes as “the most pressing- and possession-intensive […] on the continent.” The style is now emulated around the world. While Catalan soccer prowess has become something of a given, expanded Basque influence in the game has been more striking in recent years. Two Basque players — Mikel Oyarzabal and Nico Williams — scored the Spanish goals that defeated England in the 2024 European Championship final. A generation of coaches from the region have made their name both domestically and abroad. Four Basques will lead English teams at the start of this coming season, including Mikel Arteta at reigning champions Arsenal and Andoni Iraola at Liverpool. “The Premier League speaks Basque,” the Crónica Vasca news site wrote of the richest and most powerful soccer league in the world. Catalan separatists split The last two decades may have witnessed the Spanish soccer team’s greatest achievements — four men’s European and world titles and a w