The Spanish Championship final held on 16 May 1926 meant a lot in the evolution of the supporters’ clubs’ world and in the collective euphoria of FC Barcelona fans in general.
It should be remembered that the Spanish Championship, currently the Copa del Rey (the Spanish Liga would still take three years to appear) was disputed by the first classified of the different regional championships. The official introduction of professionalism, also in 1926, meant the complaint of many clubs that were already demanding to face the best teams in Spain in a global championship, without depending on the previous classification in the domestic championship. The clubs had the obligation to pay important salaries to the players, so they demanded a championship where the income would be higher.
Flawless route to the finale
That Spanish championship was quite competitive: a record number of 24 teams took part, with the top two teams from each League competing. There were eight groups of three teams, of which only one qualified. In the case of FC Barcelona, it was grouped with Zaragoza and Levante. Samitier and his Golden Age teammates won all the matches they played.
In the quarterfinals, Real Madrid awaited them, but when that great Barça of the 1920s got their act together, they were unrivaled: 1-5 in Chamartín and 3-0 in Les Corts. In the semifinals, they overcame the powerful Basque team Real Unión de Irún 2-1 in a single match. The final, to be played in Valencia, was quite evenly matched against Atlético de Madrid, who had just come from a tough semi-final against RCD Espanyol.
That day, at Mestalla, there was a unique event that has lasted until today: a large expedition of supporters and penyes that traveled by train from Barcelona to Valencia. And surely the support of all these hundreds of culers made the Barça players feel at home. Although the 90 minutes ended with a two-goal draw, scored by Samitier and Just, the title would be decided in extra time with the intervention of a veteran who still had a nose for goal: Paulino Alcántara. The final score was 3-2 and the prized trophy was on its way to Barcelona.
A boost for the penyes
Precisely, after that travel, the increase of the penyes activity became higher in the following years. And one of these supporters’ clubs that evolved quite a lot that year was the Penya Ben Fets, which already on February 5 organized at the Hotel Colón in Barcelona a great meal in honor of the figure of the moment, Josep Samitier. “The Lobster Man” or “The ball magician” was an enthusiast of the penyes, and he did not want to miss it.
It is clear that the naturalness with which the players lived this condition of being part of the Club led them to participate in events like these and many others, organized by the many penyes that FC Barcelona already had. The top player and other members of the squad shared meals, dinners and get-togethers with the people who loved them, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. Just like today…
