Football
Reuters 18y

Soccer-Barcelona erupts in ecstasy after Champions win

By Armando Vargas

BARCELONA, May 17 - For 76 minutes, Barcelona
seemed like a ghost town, silence hanging heavy as fans watched
their beloved team trail 1-0 to Arsenal in the Champions League
final on Wednesday night.

But when Samuel Eto'o equalised with 14 minutes left and
Brazilian substitute Juliano Belletti added what proved to be
the winner five minutes later, the silence was smashed by a
cacophony of car horns, claxons and chants of "Campeones,
Campeones, Ole, Ole, Ole!".

"When Arsenal scored my heart sank to my stomach, I couldn't
bear it" said Guillerm Martin, 31.

"It was almost worse when Barca equalised because you never
know what can happen but they pulled through like real
champions," he said, heading off for an all-night party in the
centre of town.

Strangers jumped into each others' arms, scooter riders
waved flags and fans stuck in a huge traffic jam leant out of
their car windows to hug each other and slap high fives.

A group of Dutch tourists wearing their nation's bright
orange shirts were caught up in the celebrations, dancing in the
tree-lined streets with the Spanish.

RIJKAARD DOUBLE

They claimed a small part of the victory on behalf of
Barca's Dutch coach Frank Rijkaard, who became only the fifth
man to win the European Cup as both a player and a coach.

"When Arsenal scored, I was fine because I was sure we would
still win," said 19-year-old university student Xenia Fabregas.

"We're going to dance 'till dawn. Forget class tomorrow.
It's not every night that Barca wins the Champions League".

Near Barcelona's Nou Camp stadium club workers had already
prepared the open-topped bus that carried the team through the
streets only a couple of weeks ago when they won the Spanish
League.

For some fans, the double whammy was just the beginning of a
trend for the Catalan side.

"The Champions League is the Champions League, it proves
we're the best," said Carlos Argregas, 32, a bank worker.

"Now we're on a winning streak. We have the Champions League
and that opens the way for us to win more and more titles."

Even in Madrid, home to Barca's arch rivals Real, Spaniards
took to the streets in celebration.

"OK, we don't like Barca much but we rarely need much of an
excuse to party and tonight was another victory for Spain," said
Adrian Torres, 28.

"First Sevilla won the UEFA cup, now Barca have won the
Champions League. Now all we have left is for Spain to win the
World Cup. Time to bring them all home."

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