As we got to the stadium I wondered what he would make of our stadium, our support, the atmosphere, and of course our players and our team.
It was quite an experience for me, as I actually began to try to perceive all of the above from the viewpoint of his eyes, and without the familiarity that we probably all have as we sleepwalk through another season.
So I asked him, what do you think of the stadium? I have to say he was taken aback as he walked up the stairs and viewed the stadium from the main stand, he was very positive about it, but did say compared to the Nou camp it was small! He was however impressed by the fact we enjoy near full houses every home game.
As for the support, he found the atmosphere good, and was amazed at the vocal support the team got (!) saying that unprompted singing (apart from the ultras) was rare in Spain which surprised me. He did say that the support however were quite impatient and the demand for the ball to get up the park as quickly as possible was something alien to him.
As for the team, well, I knew it would be a big difference from the quality he was used to back in the Nou Camp, but I had hoped to at least be able to let him see some goals and a bouncing Ibrox in full flow, but we all witnessed the outcome for ourselves.
He did say that he found the game very exciting due to the all-out attacking way we spent the second half, but that our style of play, ie the high ball into the box, was something of the past, "the way the English used to play, but they have adapted"
He agreed with my pre-match explanation that Prso was our best player, and his opinion was that Ferguson was our best technical player, but he did say there was no need for our midfield as the ball was in the air so much!
Afterwards over a few drinks, we discussed more, I tried to explain that we hadn't always played that style and that under Advocaat we played some of the best technical football seen in Scotland, and also of the true class players we HAD, such as Laudrup, Gascoigne, Van Bronckhorst, and De Boer.
He then spoke with great pride and enthusiasm as he explained the Barca culture of the club members or "Socios", the presidential elections, (he smiled in disbelief when I explained that one man bought and held control of Rangers....) the impact of Juan Laporta as president, their pride of being No.1 in football, hockey, basketball and women's football, the importance of Catalan identity, and how their motto of "more than a club" was so apt.
It was hard not to identify his themes with those topical for Rangers fans in Scotland today, of cultural identity, the pride and demand of being successful, the need and impact of change from the top down at a football club. It made me think more than ever about where we've come to, how we used to be as a club and a football team, and our prospects for the future.
It depressed me, and sharply focused the mind to what is required, not only a change of management, of ownership, but also, and just as important, our need to promote our identity, to have the mentality and ambition to be No.1 in everything we do. All in sharp contrast to the downsizing of ambition, ability and expectation we are in the midst of right now.
It made me wonder when, like Barcelona have done, we indeed live up to what we are, and be "more than a club".
Eddie Badabing