Barca missing box office appeal

THERE are concerns over ticket sales for the Hibs v Barcelona glamour friendly at Murrayfield Stadium this week as the arrival of the Catalan superstars in Scotland yesterday generated little of the excitement or anticipation that was experienced when the club came here last year.

Barcelona have again based themselves at St Andrews, and as they did last year will play two pre-season friendlies. Compared to 2007, however, the visit of one of the world's leading clubs is set to proceed in a distinctly low-key fashion.

Players such as Thierry Henry and Lionel Messi can hardly escape attention anywhere on the planet, and Edinburgh Airport was not a complete exception yesterday when the team flight landed. But there were dozens, rather than hundreds, of fans waiting for them – a numerical drop from the norm which will also be reflected in the attendance for their match at Murrayfield.

Forty or 50 people were waiting at International Arrivals, with Henry and Messi the two who drew most attention.

Yet there were almost as many curious onlookers as serious fans, and the media presence was also down on the usual. Half a dozen camera crews were there, as well as a similar number of photographers. There were just three newspaper journalists present, though – and one was only looking in as he was about to fly out on holiday.

At least the relative decline in interest will be less in evidence in Dundee. Last year Tannadice was full when Dundee United drew with Barcelona on a Thursday, and two days later the national rugby stadium played host to a crowd of almost 58,000 when Hearts provided the opposition. United are again expected to have a capacity crowd this Saturday, but Murrayfield is likely to be around two-thirds empty on Thursday evening.

Rumours in Edinburgh that Hibs have sold only 11,000 tickets have not been confirmed, and the management company who are hosting the visit would not divulge ticket sales for the Murrayfield match yesterday. Last year, there were almost daily updates. At present a figure of 25,000 appears to be the best they can hope for at a stadium with a capacity of 67,500.

The final attendance will be restricted by the absence of walk-up sales to fans who might not decide they want to go until near to kick-off. Tickets will remain on sale until 5pm on Thursday, but after that there will be no cash gate at Murrayfield.

The proximity of Murrayfield to Tynecastle, home of Hearts, can surely have deterred no more than a few Hibs supporters from buying tickets to see their team renew an old rivalry with the team from Spain. There are other, far more plausible reasons, for slow sales.

Economic conditions are one. As was demonstrated by the SFA's decision not to host a friendly with Argentina, fans are less inclined or simply less able to spend money on non-competitive matches.

The lack of novelty value is another. In the past 12 months, Barcelona have played four matches in Scotland – the Champions League games against Rangers and Celtic, and the two pre-season friendlies. Most of the people who might have longed to see them in the flesh have now had a chance to do so.

Third, the high-profile departures of Ronaldinho and to a lesser extent Deco have removed some of the star quality from Pep Guardiola's squad. It has made Barcelona less of an attractive box-office prospect.

Tickets for Thursday's match are on sale at Easter Road and Murrayfield, as well as via the Ticketmaster website.