HOSTILITIES have been declared between the Kenna’s Barcelona contingent.
The knives were out in ‘La Liga Latina’ after early-season front runners Just Put Carles dipped to thirteenth in the table, one place below fierce Catalan rivals PSV Mornington.
Comments made by the JPC manager at a post-match interview on Wednesday evening ignited the row.
“N’hi ha per llogar-hi cadires!” fumed the JPC boss, in a language only a handful of people understand, when asked what it was like to be below PSV for the first time in the season.
Yesterday morning’s front cover of Sport, Catalonia’s best-selling sports daily, featured a cartoon depicting the PSV boss trying to lure passers by into an empty stadium.
“Tallo el bacallà!”
The PSV manager’s response was unequivocal. Interviewed through the window of his Continental city car arriving at work yesterday he said: “Sabràs dos i dos quants fan. Està tocat del bolet. Tallo el bacallà!”
By Thursday lunchtime, the quote was all over the news. Photoshopped pictures of the JPC boss eating cod and mushrooms went viral.
“Ets un somiatruites i un tap de bassa!,” said the JPC manager emerging from his afternoon siesta when quizzed by reporters about his rival Catalan’s comments.
Mexican stand-off
Late Thursday evening, the PSV boss was forced to abandon his customary, midnight, family paella to address the rabble of hacks assembled outside his house.
“No sabeu el pa que s’hi dóna,” is all he would explain to Sky Sports News while eating a suspiciously-large piece of nougat and making a flicking gesture with his thumb and front teeth.
Even though just five points separate the two teams, both managers repeatedly refuse to acknowledge they are in a ‘Mexican stand-off’ for 12th place.
They outrageously claim the British media are ‘portraying negative stereotypes of Hispanic culture’.
As the Kenna moves into the final month of the season, the spat appears far from over.
Quick guide to Catalan idioms
- N’hi ha per llogar-hi cadires! > You could even rent chairs with this!
(I can’t believe it / this is incredible – in a negative context)
- Sabràs dos i dos quants fan > you know what two and two make
(There will be consequences if I do not get my way)
- Està tocat del bolet > He is touched by the mushroom
(He is crazy)
- Tallo el bacallà > I cut the cod
(I’m in a position of power)
- Ets un somiatruites > He is an omelette dreamer
(He is a daydreamer)
- No sabeu el pa que s’hi dóna > You do not know the bread that is given
(You do not really know what is this about)
For more information about Catalan idioms and the region itself visit All about Catalonia.
