FC Barcelona honours National Day of Catalonia

Like every year, FC Barcelona has laid flowers at the Monument to Rafael Casanova on the occasion of the National Day of Catalonia.

Representing the board this year were:

Joan Laporta (president)
Rafael Yuste (vice-president for sport)
Elena Fort (vice-president for the Social Area and spokeswoman)
Josep Cubells (secretary of the board and member responsible for basketball)
Xavier Barbany (board member responsible for roller hockey)
Miquel Camps (assistant spokesman and member responsible for amateur teams)
Josep I. Macià (board member responsible for the Social Area)
Aureli Mas (board member responsible for futsal)
Àngel Riudalbas (board member)
Joan Solé (board member responsible for handball)
Joan Soler (board member responsible for youth football).

Meanwhile, the different teams were represented by:

Jordi Alba (men’s football player)
Leila Ouahabi (women’s football player)
Albert Benaiges (youth football coordinator)
Joan Marín (handball coordinator)
Aitor Ariño (handball player)
Jordi Torras (futsal manager)
Jesús Velasco (futsal coach)
Sergio Lozano (futsal player)
Gaby Cairo (roller hockey manager)
Edu Castro (roller hockey coach)
Aitor Egurrola (roller hockey player)
NOTE: The basketball team was not represented because they are in Tenerife for the Spanish Super Cup, and neither was Barça B because they had training this morning.

These were joined by a number of members of the different youth football teams and Ramon Alfonseda, president of the Barça Players Group.

What is the 'Diada'?

September 11 is the National Day of Catalonia (La Diada Nacional in Catalan), which commemorates the events of 1714, and one of the turning points in the War of the Spanish Succession. After holding out for fourteen months, the Siege of Barcelona ended when the Catalan troops were defeated by the armies of Philip V of Spain.

The day is noted for being an outpouring of Catalan sentiment, with cities all around Catalonia awash with the senyera, the Catalan flag. 

It is traditional for prominent members of Catalan society to lay flowers beneath the monument to Rafael Casanova, who led the ill-fated defence of the city, and to visit the Fossar de les Moreres, the memorial square where the people who died in the 1714 siege lie buried.