TICKET prices may have been hiked up for tonight's friendly – but for some Barcelona fans the trip to Murrayfield for the clash with Hibs will prove far cheaper than a match at the Nou Camp.
A band of Scottish-based Barca fans will be in the crowd tonight for a rare opportunity to see their heroes play on home soil.
The Catalan giants are in Scotland, based at St Andrews, for games against both Hibs and Dundee United and members of th
e Penya Union Barcelona – a web-based supporters club for people across the UK – won't be missing out on any of the action.
A number of Hibs supporters have joined and Scot Colin Scrimgeour is vice president of the organisation after helping get it up and running 18 months ago.
He's such a Barca fanatic that even his sons, six-year-old Jim and three-year-old Lee, are also registered as official supporters. Colin usually shells out over £300 to travel to Barcelona for a game, something he does around six times a year, so tonight's match will be something of a bargain.
He will be part of a delegation from the Penya Union who will travel to St Andrews tomorrow to meet up with some of the Barcelona players and delegates before they prepare to face United. He revealed: "We started the supporters club about 18 months ago, although it took about four months to get it all up and running because we had to go through the channels of getting official accreditation from Barcelona.
"We've got 62 members right now and we've had quite a lot of interest in it recently – Gary Lineker is one of our honorary members because of his history of playing with the club. Through the various forums that we were using, we found out that a lot of people were travelling over there to see games on a regular basis and it really all built from there.
"There are quite a few Hibs fans who are members and we are going to meet up before the match at Murrayfield for a drink and a catch-up. It's always good to see some of the old faces."
Colin grew up as a Dundee United supporter but when he saw them over two legs against Barcelona in the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup – which the Tannadice side won 3-1 on aggregate – he switched allegiances and now his only interest in Scottish football is the national team.
He continued: "When I was a young boy I used to be a Dundee United fan and I watched them play Barcelona in 1987. I've supported Barca ever since and, to be honest, I very rarely watch Scottish football nowadays.
"I'm one of the founding members of the supporters club and it does take up a lot of your time because there is a lot of travelling to be organised and fundraising to sort out, but it is definitely worth it. We are actually presenting a cheque to Dundee United at half-time in their game against Barcelona on Saturday afternoon for £500 to go towards their chosen charity so it's nice to give something back."
Colin believes that all of the changes taking place at Barcelona this summer will be for the best. He added: " Having been through to watch them at training this week already, I've got to say that I think the changes have been a positive thing.
"There is a spark about the squad, they are laughing and joking and they appear to have a real hunger. I felt that it was probably time for Ronaldinho to go."
The full article contains 617 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
