UE Sant Andreu: how a club broke records and confirmed to be "l'orgull del poble"

The Sant Andreu stadium, under construction due to the change of turf, with the blocks of the neighborhood behind. Albert Garcia

UE Sant Andreu spokesman Gerard Alvarez sighs with a smile when asked to describe the club. It's simple, and complicated. "We are what he says on our shirt: l'orgull del poble". More than 100 years of history of good and bad streaks and a stadium -the Narcís Sala- that draws the landscape of the neighborhood testify to the history of Unió Esportiva Sant Andreu, a club that takes heart when it talks about its fans. This season, the first men's team has managed to climb to the Second Federation after eight years of fighting in Third. They have risen with their eternal rival, CE Europe, and now more than 2,600 members push them to continue growing: thanks to their campaign, they have broken records, and now they are riding a wave of success. The history of Sant Andreu is changing, but there is something immovable in them: their key is, without a doubt, their neighborhood essence.

The promotion has marked this season, although not everything has been easy. In Salamanca the place in Second Federation was played, and it rained. In that match, which was interrupted by rain, nothing was easy, neither for the club, nor for the players, nor for the 500 displaced fans. "It was indescribable. More than three hours of rain. An hour and a half in the locker room during the break. People covered with towels, wet, cold. Everything was uncertainty, and wanting to play, "says Jordi Méndez (26), player and fourth captain of Sant Andreu. "It looked like we had won the Champions League when we celebrated," Alvarez said. The season was irregular, but it had the finishing touch of promotion. "The team had a bump in the first half of the season. We did not achieve the main objective, to be leaders and climb directly, but we face the playoffs with the maximum guarantees, "argues Xavi Molist, coach of the team since January last year. "We play from the back, we like to play beautiful football, but we have to be competitive, rocky in defense," explains the coach.

Gerard Álvarez, spokesman for Sant Andreu, posing for El País in the stands of the Narcís Sala.Albert Garcia stadium

A "first-class" hobby

The fans are the backbone of the club. "We have a first-class hobby," explains Méndez. After arriving at Sant Andreu with 11 years in alevín and leaving to discover other cities such as Córdoba, he returned to the team as part of the quarry. He fell in love with the club in 2003 at the age of 12, sitting on the north goal of the pitch during a match, and became a member at the same time. "For me, Sant Andreu is everything. And for many others, too, "explains the spokesman, who highlights the unconditional support of the animation stand. The Narcís Sala stadium, one of the emblems of the club and with capacity for 7,000 people, is not always full, but it does achieve the absolute full in the derbies. "We are the Tercera team that has displaced the most people throughout the season," says Álvarez.

This season the campaign of partners has gotten out of hand. The club, under the slogan Forjats en l'adversitat, the sponsorship of Meyba, a historic Catalan brand that dressed FC Barcelona in the early 90s, and the collaboration with Open Arms, has broken records. "It's crazy, and blessed madness. We have done more than 1,000 renovations and 1,500 registrations. The important thing is that Sant Andreu grows hand in hand with its fans, otherwise, it would not make sense to grow, "emphasizes the spokesman.

A Sant Andreu fan tries on the club's shirt to buy it. Albert Garcia

100 years of history protecting a shield

The beginnings of the club date back to 1909, when a group from Sant Andreu de Palomar decided to create the "Group Z", embryo of what months later would take the name of Andreuenc Club de Fútbol, the team that has survived more than 100 years despite splits, changes and mergers. His shirt and shield proudly bears the four bars of the senyera, which were eliminated during the Franco dictatorship. They later recovered, and became a symbol of the club's Catalanness. His career takes place between good times and bad. But they were undoubtedly marked by Narcís Sala, who led Sant Andreu for the first time to the Second Division in 1950.

"This club is characterized by sporting disappointments, especially in recent years, such as the so-called "Robo de Lugo", or many other promotions that have not been able to be," recalls Álvarez. But the club has also lived through golden times, such as the 60s and 70s. Between economic crises and momentary promotions, instability and a presidency of the former president of FC Barcelona, Joan Gaspart, Sant Andreu became a Sports Limited Company in the summer of 2008. In its more than 100 years of history they have won two Catalonia Cups, several league titles and an RFEF Cup, among others.

Jordi Méndez, UE Sant Andreu footballer, photographed in front of the stadium. Gianluca Battista

Now, of course, everything is complicated: more distant displacements, higher economic cost and a group with more level. "Next season will be complicated. First you have to settle into the category, and from there fight every year to be higher, "says Molist. They will meet again with their eternal rival, Europa, who achieved promotion this past season as group leader. "Derbies fill stadiums. This shows that modest football is interesting, that the people of the neighborhood produce sensations closer to the First Division. Modest football, despite attempts to minimize and destroy it, remains at a high level," says Álvarez.

The countryside draws the landscape of the neighborhood. The stands, with their characteristic senyera. Even the drums and voices of the cheering stand are heard from the seats, from where you can see the buildings that have grown and changed with the club. That's where Gerard Álvarez confesses to being a faithful follower of Sant Andreu, and in the bar next door, Jordi Méndez smiles when talking about his team. He is not hesitant. "Home. Home." This is how the captain defines his club, his team, his Sant Andreu, and everyone's.

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