LONDON — If ever we doubt that sporting values still hold in the mercenary modern era, then the last weekend before Christmas was gold dust.

Before the Catalan derby match on Saturday between Espanyol and FC Barcelona at the new Cornellà-El Prat stadium, it was a player from the visiting team who received the applause of the 40,000 men, women and children in the audience.

And then, five minutes before the end, with Espanyol suffering a 5-1 home defeat, its supporters stood to applaud the same Barcelona player in that same spine-tingling manner.

This, trust me, is a once in a lifetime thing.

Andrés Iniesta is a once in a lifetime kind of guy. He gets a warm reception everywhere he goes, in every Spanish stadium no matter how hostile the atmosphere.