Asphalt, sand, very strict rules, restrictions and the preview of the classic Super Cup in Riyadh: "What game?"

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Between

and

there are

, a whole world. Two capitals that if they looked at each other in a mirror would be stunned, amazed by their differences. "I come from a city that was

, and whose walls are fire," they say

, ambassador of the Castilian King

, told Emperor

, one of the greatest conquerors of

. He was referring to the Manzanares and how the sun focused on the old wall. It was the

, but the phrase would fall with the same surprise in the center of present-day

, built on the

, with its

, its great avenues with hardly any sidewalks, its

, its eternal distances between points ... and its

2022

- I need a connection on my phone for the game, do you sell a data card?

- What a match?

- The Barcelona-Real Madrid tomorrow.

- Will Barcelona and Real Madrid play here tomorrow?

The conversation between the Spanish journalists and the Saudi clerk is from this Tuesday morning.

.

But in the center of Riyadh life passes too slowly to speed up the view the next day.

For now

on Monday night

, got away from its local spectators and embarked on a colonizing adventure that aims to serve as a source of income and sports expansion, trying to imitate what

or what other competitions such as the

repeat each year . Rumors and conversations make it clear that there is Spanish football, and for a while, in this part of the world.

flight

chartered by the Spanish Federation, the most comfortable and safe for transfers of this type, sat

, president of the organization, his assistants, the referees, members of the RFEF technical team, sponsors and journalists, Received almost like rock stars on arrival in Riyadh, gift rose included.

The rules governing Saudi Arabia

The charter landed between the Barcelona plane and the Real Madrid plane, so the passport control, carried out by the private flights area, was slow but less inconvenient than any other Monday at the Rey Khalid International Airport.

Of course, the

are mandatory to set foot on Saudi soil.

The rest of the rules will sound to you:

as punishments for certain acts. Homosexuality

is a crime with the maximum penalty in the area,

are prohibited, the possession or distribution of pornography is punishable by jail and

with beheading, and its use and consumption is punishable by public flogging or deportation.

The

is prohibited, with prison sentences and flogging, men are prohibited from

or Bermuda shorts above the knees,

are not allowed to meet either in public or in private unless there is one a family bond between them ... And on the issue of women, after the publication of several royal decrees, on August 2 the requirement of authorization for men to travel and obtain a passport from any Saudi woman was eliminated.

Back to the airport. At the exit,

, the eternal asphalt that covers a city on which luxurious skyscrapers rise and where the neighborhoods, that very characteristic European neighborhood, hardly exist.

There are 18 kilometers

between the press hotel and

hotel , where Madrid is staying. 27 kilometers to the

, where Barcelona is located, 29 to

Atlético de Madrid's

The distances in the Saudi capital are eternal and can only be completed by car, unless you are interested in running a marathon. Perhaps that is why, and due to the strict policy of restrictions, the situation of Covid-19 is controlled to think about the increase in infections. In the last 24 hours

and there have been 4,700 new cases, the mask is mandatory also outdoors and to enter most stores it is necessary to show a government authorization through the

, where the resident or visitor must indicate their immunization records.

Closer to the start of the press conferences and training sessions for Barcelona and Real Madrid, the teams that open the Super Cup this Wednesday, the televisions and the local media begin to warm up the atmosphere. Even the driver of one of the taxis dares to break out in Spanish:

. In an hour, Saudi fans have sold out the

on sale for the classic, 50% of the stadium's capacity, but on the street the atmosphere was still quite dry, like the weather.

Some fans have gathered at the doors of the hotels in Madrid and Barça, but timidly and without creating the expected classic atmosphere.

All interrupted, yes, by the

in Islam, the '

', which depends on the city, can be held once or several times a day.

In the West, this proclamation is made inside mosques, but in Arab countries it can be heard throughout the city.

As of this Wednesday, football will finally begin: Atlético de Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Real Madrid and Athletic Club for the first title of the Spanish season ... In Arabia.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

• Real Madrid

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• Spain Supercup

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