Gerard Pique decided to retire in 2018. But recently, Pique got a call from the Catalan National Team. Catalan national team is not included in FIFA members. However, they were quite active in holding trial matches. The players also have big names. Some are players who have defended Barca and one of them is Gerard Pique.
On Monday, March 25, Pique performed with the Catalan who conducted a trial against Venezuela. Other names that were also summoned in the match were Martin Montoya, Marc Bartra, Aleix Vidal, and Bojan Krkic.
Then what is the story behind the referendum and the demand for independence echoed by the Catalan public?
Tag #CatalanReferendum had enlivened the social media timeline around October 2017. As can be found in many reports, the Catalan people conducted a referendum to determine the fate of the independence they fought for in order to escape the Spanish government and kingdom.
Similar things have also happened in Indonesia. In 1999, the conflict which also involved many violations of human rights between Indonesia and Timor Leste resulted in a surprise decision. As many as 78.5 percents of East Timorese people, according to data released by the Indonesian government at that time, agreed to choose to leave Indonesia. History then noted that one of the provinces in the Republic of Indonesia, now an independent country with the name Timor Leste.
In Catalan itself, the conflict began when the indigenous people who inhabited the Catalan region considered themselves French and few Germans. Some areas in Catalan even use French as their daily language. Then, they also have their own cultural style which is more familiar with France than Spain.
In addition, the issue is also suspected by the amount of tax that the Catalan government must deposit to Spain is too large.
Another thing that underlies this problem is that the Catalan people have not long associated themselves as part of Spain. The wealth and development of Barcelona became a developed metropolitan city in Spain, then made the Catalan feel if they were still able to stand even though they were not part of Spain.
In this conflict, the names of players like Xavi Hernandez and Gerard Pique had once voiced support for Catalan independence. At that time, Pique was even ready to resign from the Spanish national team if the conflict would disrupt the stability of the team.
From cultural differences, economic problems, to the politics of hostility with the center made the Catalan want the referendum.
However, the Spanish government considered that the referendum desired by the Catalan Government was unconstitutional and made the Constitutional Court of Matador suspend the vote.
Until right on December 21, 2017, Carles Puigdemont who became the Catalan leader announced the independence of Catalan from Spain after winning a majority in regional elections held over the decision of Madrid.
From the results of the vote count, as quoted from Al Jazeera, the Catalonia parliament won 70 seats from the requirement of 68 seats as the majority.
Regarding the National Catalan Nason Team, technically this team is not a national team that can take part in official competitions between countries. But they never made a scene in the world of football in 2009. At that time, Dutch legend and former Barcelona manager, Johan Cruyff, accepted an offer to become coach of the national team of Catalonia.
Various prestigious national teams have also received offers of match tests at the Camp Nou stadium. Among them was Argentina in 2008, Nigeria in 2013, and the latest was Venezuela which was held some time ago.
The Catalan football federation also holds the annual Copa Catalunya football tournament. The championship was attended by clubs from various amateur and professional level leagues in the Catalonia region.
