Off a two-lane country road in Loudoun County, where new construction seeps into farmland and jets approach Washington Dulles International Airport, one of the world’s iconic sports brands has driven a claret-and-blue stake into the fertile ground of U.S. youth soccer.
Some 4,000 miles from the grandeur of FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou Stadium, banners proclaiming the Spanish club’s American ambitions – and, in some respect, its global objectives — cling to the fences at Evergreen Sportsplex.
Images of Lionel Messi and Neymar, among others, punctuate the message: “Teaching Barca Values.”
Atop a rock-climbing wall overlooking the main field, a flag with Barcelona’s unmistakable crest flaps in the spring breeze next to U.