After more than two years of reconstruction, Barcelona’s long-awaited return to the Camp Nou was marked by emotion, nostalgia, and a powerful sense of renewal. A crowd of 45,157 supporters filled the partially completed arena, witnessing a symbolic homecoming 909 days after the club last played at their historic ground. Though sections of the stadium remain unfinished, the feeling of familiarity was unmistakable as players and fans reconnected with a place deeply woven into the club’s identity.
Barcelona’s opponents, Athletic Club, arrived as historically favourable visitors, having gone 30 matches without a win at this venue and the script remained unchanged. Barcelona celebrated their return with a commanding 4-0 victory, capped by Ferran Torres’s second goal of the afternoon after a dazzling assist from 18-year-old Lamine Yamal, who embraced the moment as a generational symbol of the club’s future. Robert Lewandowski and Fermin López added their names to the scoresheet as fireworks lit up the stadium.
For head coach Hansi Flick, standing on the Camp Nou touchline for the first time felt historic. Years earlier, he had visited this ground as a sacked third-division coach dreaming of one day sitting on Barcelona’s bench. On this day, he spoke of possibility, pride, and the new chapter unfolding both for the club and himself.
Barcelona honoured their past too. The ceremonial first touch was taken by long-serving club members Juan Canela Salamero and Jordi Penas i Iberri, one carrying a treasured ticket from the stadium’s original inauguration in 1957. While modern entry is now digital, the nostalgia was unmistakable.
The reopened Camp Nou currently accommodates only three sides of the lower tiers, seating 45,401 out of the 105,000 capacity it will reach upon completion. The stadium lacks its future roof and upper tiers, and parts of the structure still resemble an active construction site. Yet the spirit of home—familiar bars, familiar faces, and the neighbourhood of Les Corts buzzing again—overshadowed any unfinished edges.
As supporters stepped into the multicoloured stands and saw the glowing green pitch once more, it felt like reclaiming a piece of their lives. This was both a return and a beginning: the revival of the ground where Kubala, Cruyff, Messi, and now Lamine Yamal continue to write Barcelona’s story.
