Last week, Sean Topping reported on the first few days of the Muhlenberg men’s soccer trip to Barcelona. Internet issues prevented further updates from Spain, but now that the team is back in the United States, here is a summary of the rest of the trip, which included a pair of shutout wins:
Day 4: FC BARCELONA CAMP NOU STADIUM TOUR
Today we visited FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou, which seats 98,000 passionate fans. I can only imagine what this place looks like when they are playing rivals Real Madrid.
We saw the away team’s locker room, media room, press room and the Presidential box. After the stadium tour it was time to contribute to Barca’s success by spending money in their Superstore next to the stadium. The rest of the day the team had free time in Old Barcelona City.
Day 5: TRAINING/MONTSERRAT MONASTERY/GAME 2
Started off the morning training at UE Jupiter in a great little stadium with field turf in the middle of the city. It was a great training facility for the trip.
After a quick shower, we were back on the bus for a trip to Montserrat Monastery, set atop a 4,000-ft. mountain, 7 miles long and 3.5 miles wide. Montserrat is one of the most important pilgrimage spots in Spain. Thousands travel here every year to see and touch the medieval statue of La Moreneta (The Black Virgin), the patron saint of Catalonia – it is especially popular for newly married couples to seek her blessing.
The bus ride up to the monastery was quite interesting with the twisting and tight turns up the side of the mountain, not for those who don’t like heights. Once at the top you could go higher by taking the funicular ride up to the very top of the mountain. On a clear day you can see from the Pyrenees Mountains to the Mediterranean Sea.
After some hiking around the monastery it was off to our second game vs. UE Tarrega of the 3rd Division of Catalonia. Tarrega had a small, very fast turf field, built for the Spanish great first touch.
Tarrega decided to start some of their younger players (similar age to our players), a decision that I’m sure their coach regrets. We jumped all over them with two set piece goals in the middle part of the first half.
Our first goal came off a corner kick with a feed to the feet of Danny Way, who calmly placed the ball in the corner of the net to take a 1-0 lead. Our second goal came minutes later when Bucky Aronoff struck a beautiful direct kick into the box to the onrushing Cody Antonini, who headed the ball into the back of the net.
Jas Chojnowski made some big saves to keep the score 2-0 heading into half.
The second half was a different story as a whole new Tarrega lineup came out. We found out afterwards that these players where their actual starters.
You could tell immediately they were at a higher level and put us under immediate pressure for the first 15-20 minutes of the second half. We weathered the storm and ended up picking up a third goal late in the game off a PK, after Jeff Reinhart was fouled in the box while going to the goal. Antonini slotted home the PK for his second of the game to kill the game off.
A very good victory for the Mules and first on Spanish soil. We found out the next day that Tarrega club members were tweeting about the game and result!
Day 6: TRAINING/SITGES MEDITERRANEAN RESORT TOWN
We had a morning training session with a coach from La Liga Club FC Espanyol. Jamie Fernandez Molina, who spent time in the States at Binghamton University, was our coach for the morning session. It was great to watch our squad trained by our Spanish counterpart. You could see how his training sessions reflected directly how the Spanish play soccer.
Next it was time to catch a train for a little fun at one of the Mediterranean’s most beautiful resort towns, Sitges. It was a quick 25-minute train ride down the coast to this gem of a town. Many of Barcelona’s elite, including the area’s professional soccer players, choose to make Sitges their home.
Day 7: FIGUERES, SALVADOR DALI MUSEUM/GIRONA
We departed for Figueres, which is known for artist Salvador Dali and his museum. We spent two hours in the museum on a self-guided tour, but you could have spent the entire day trying to make sense of his work. 
Very interesting to say the least. Dali built the museum around his work, making for a great tour.
Next we were off to Girona, which is a northern Catalan city known for its tight alleyways and river that splits the Old City from the more modern part of the city. The boys had free time to roam around the city.
Day 8: FUTSAL/OLD CITY FREE TIME/GAME 3
We started the day off walking down to the local university and taking over their outdoor futsal court (a small court meant for 5v5). The court was very slick and more time was spent trying to avoid falling on your butt than was playing soccer.
The parents and my wife took advantage of a light morning to get out of the city for a wine-tasting tour. A tour of the winery and instruction on how they make cava (champagne) followed by some taste testing sounded like a good time to me!
The boys had some free time after training to find some souvenirs on La Rambla or down in the Old City.
Game 3 was actually a home game for us as we were playing at our training ground at UE Jupiter against Iberos FC of Madrid. Unfortunately they were no match for the Mules and we trounced Iberos 8-0.
Antonini had a couple goals, Nate Squire had a double, and Joey Roberts got in on the scoring with a very nice half volley. Goalies – Chojnowski, Nutovits and Pinto – kept a clean sheet for a second game in a row. It was a good confidence booster ending the trip thrashing the Spanish side.
Click here for video of two of the goals.
Day 9: TRAINING/BEACH/FAREWELL DINNER
We had our last training session of the trip this morning. The boys were in good spirits after the game the previous day. We ended the training session playing in a small caged field made for 5v5 games on field turf. Even the coaches jumped in a played a bit.
The group had some much-needed free time to end the trip. Many of the players headed back to the beach to sport their Muhlenberg red Speedos one last time! Others went searching for souvenirs for family and friends.
My wife and I took time to head back to the Sagrada Familia to see the inside of the cathedral. We had been only around the outside with the squad and it looked too amazing not to see the inside of the cathedral. It did not disappoint as Gaudi designed the inside columns to look like trees branching out. Truly amazing architectural design. Words don’t do this cathedral justice.
The group met up later on in the evening at a nicer restaurant off of the La Rambla strip for our farewell dinner of the trip. It was a nice evening to reflect on what we had done and seen over the last nine days.
I believe all enjoyed the past nine days and will forever remember the memories we made in Barcelona. I would like to thank the Attanasios (Rob & Donna), Plifkas (Greg & Leslie), Todd Lehman, Chris Pachuta, AJ Barnold and last but not least my wife Kristen for helping keep the boys in line and making this a wonderful trip.
Adios Amigos!