FC Barcelona
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Template:Football club infobox
FC Barcelona, also known as Barça, is a sports club in Barcelona, Catalunia, Spain with sections in many different sports. Founded in 1899 by a group of twelve, led by Joan Gamper, its motto is "El Barça és més que un club" (Catalan for Barça is more than a club). Its main stadium is the Nou Estadi del Futbol Club Barcelona, popularly known as the Camp Nou, in Barcelona.
FC Barcelona and long-standing rival Real Madrid remain the most representative teams of Spain. FC Barcelona fans are also called culés.
History
Early Years
FC Barcelona was founded by Swiss businessman Hans Kamper, who embraced Catalan nationalism so fervently that he changed his name to the Catalan Joan Gamper. Gamper changed the club's original name to the current Catalan version. Everything started when he decided to put a message in a local newspaper asking for players to join him in a relatively unknown sport called football. Eleven players attended this meeting: Gualteri Wild, Lluis d'Ossa, Bartomeu Terradas, Otto Kunzle, Otto Maier, Enric Ducal, Pere Cabot, Carles Pujol, Josep Llobet, John Parsons, and William Parsons. The club's international nature has been a quality since the first days of its existence, as shown by still holding the original Anglican version of its name Futbol Club Barcelona, instead of the formal Spanish version Club de Futbol Barcelona.
Joangamper.jpg
The team did not have to wait much time for their first trophy, as in 1901 they won the Copa Macaya, later known as the Campionat de Catalunya (Championship of Catalonia). Until 1909 the team played in different stadiums, none of them owned by the club. On March 14 of that year, the 6,000 seat stadium of Carrer Industria (Industry Street) opened its door. It was the first field owned by FC Barcelona. During these years the club experienced their first growth period, in terms of sport titles and social mass.
The Golden Years
Legendary players like Alcantara, Zamora, and Samitier boosted the club's success with brilliant playing style, bringing the team to a Golden Age of expansion. By 1922, the club opened the doors of its stadium of Les Corts, which had an initial capacity of 30,000, later expanded to an impressive 60,000. Besides dominating Spanish and Catalan championships, they won the first edition of the Spanish League in 1929.
Crisis and the Civil War
The ongoing crisis, started in the late 1920s during the dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera, only got worse after the start of the Spanish Civil War. The political problems of the country affected the club, eventually leading to the assassination of President Josep Suñol by soldiers of the nationalist side and the bombing of the club's headquarters. After these events, the club was forced to change its name to Club de Futbol Barcelona, remove the catalan portion of the flag, and a president friendly to Franco's regime was appointed.
Kubala
By the second half of the 1940s the club began to recover from its problems, which almost led the club to disband. Players like Cesar, Ramallets, and Velasco won the First Division fifteen years after the first and only time. With political issues calming down, the style of football played, and titles being brought, financial problems started to fade as more people became members. In 1950 arrived one of the most important players for FC Barcelona, Ladislao Kubala. During the first years after his arrival the team won almost every competition they played in, and its forwards, Cesar, Basora, and Kubala himself are still remembered.
Camp Nou
In 1957, the Camp Nou opened its doors to the public. It had a capacity for up to 90,000 spectators, already making it one of the biggest stadiums in the world. Unfortunately, a few years after the inauguration, titles became scarce, as they only won three official titles during the 1960s. But even then the club did not stop growing, gaining social and economic power every year.
Unlike the decade of the 50's, when Real Madrid "stole" Argentinian player Alfredo Di Stefano from FC Barcelona, Dutch legend Johan Cruyff signed a contract with the club in 1973. His electric style of play, fast and smart, could not appeal more to the fans. Even the record amount of £922,300 paid by FC Barcelona for him seemed nothing after defeating Real Madrid 0-5 in their own stadium and winning the league. By the following year the club had 70,000 members, making it the most powerful in the world.
The second golden age (1988-1996)
Josep Luis Nuñez became president of FC Barcelona in 1978, leading the club into an unprecedented period of social and economic growth. Dozens of titles were won by all teams, and other sections seen as less important than the football team started to receive more attention. During 1990-1994, Johan Cruyff's Dream Team won four consecutive Leagues and for a first time the Champions League (1992) among other trophies.
Late 1990s with satisfactory results
Bobby Robson took charge of the club for a single season in 96-97, he recruited Ronaldo from PSV Eindhoven (his previous club) and delivered a Cup Winners' Cup and Spanish Kings cup. Interestingly he also brought the famous protuguese manager Jose Moriniho to the club, although he was employed as a translator!
Robson's time was short lived as the club had already made an agreement with notorious Dutch manager Louis Van Gaal. Despite the loss of Ronaldo to Internazionale of Milan Rivaldo joined the team and Barcelona twice won the Spanish League title. Despite their great results at domestically, Barcelona failed to win the Champions League. Due to heavy fan criticism after three seasons in 2000, Van Gaal resigned.
Years of turmoil
Joan Gaspart was elected as the successor of Josep Lluis Nuñez in 2000. It was not an easy task considering his achievements and a lot of pressure was put on the new board of directors. Still, Joan Gaspart's percieved bad management led the club to a financial crisis. Poor judgement when using the club's funds, the absence of any important victory, and underperforming players made the social pressure unbearable, forcing him to resign in 2003. A temporary commission took over until current president Joan Laporta was elected in the same year.
Revival
Joan Laporta proved to be better choice in the last election for FC Barcelona chairman. With his arrival, and that of football superstar Ronaldinho and former Dutch international Frank Rijkaard as manager (who was actually Laporta's second choice, Guus Hiddink now of PSV Eindhoven being his first) among others, the new style of management, have returned the club into a positive cycle. Inherited massive financial debt is being cut down, and only two players remain from the original team that did not win a major title in five years. Season 2003/2004 Barcelona made spectacular return to form finishing second after being at the bottom of the table. It was only because of lack of chance and a bit belated revival amid the season, for which Barcelona didn't claim the title this season. During the 2004/5 season, Barcelona moved atop La Liga by mid-season and would preserve a healthy lead over their arch-rivals Real Madrid that culminated on its 17th Spanish La Liga title on May 14th, 2005 after a 1-1 tie vs Levante UD. Despite their controversial exit from the Champions League at the hands of Chelsea, media and players themselves are starting to assure a third golden age appears to be beckoning.
Football
History
Although Barcelona has outstanding teams in different sports, the most famous and well-known section is its football team, which competes in the first division of the Spanish Football League. Except for the Intercontinental Cup, it has won all known trophies, being one of only four clubs to have won all three major European trophies. It is the only team in Europe to have participated in European club competition in every season since 1955, and has never left the Spanish First Division since its beginning in 1928, along with cofounders Athletic de Bilbao and Real Madrid.
Trophies
- Champions League: 1
- 1991-92
- FC Barcelona 1 - 0 Sampdoria
- Goal by Ronald Koeman (111')
- 1991-92
- Inter-Cities Fairs Cup: 3
- 1958
- 1960
- FC Barcelona 4 - 1 Birmingham City
- Birmingham City F.C. 0 - 0 FC Barcelona
- 1966
- Real Zaragoza 2 - 4 FC Barcelona
- FC Barcelona 0 - 1 Real Zaragoza
- European Super Cup: 2
- 1992
- Werder Bremen 1 - 1 FC Barcelona
- FC Barcelona 2 - 1 Werder Bremen
- 1997
- FC Barcelona 2 - 0 Borussia Dortmund
- Borussia Dortmund 1 - 1 FC Barcelona
- 1992
- Cup Winners' Cup: 4
- 1979
- FC Barcelona 4 - 3 Fortuna Düsseldorf
- 1982
- FC Barcelona 2 - 1 Standard de Liège
- 1989
- FC Barcelona 2 - 0 Sampdoria
- 1997
- FC Barcelona 1 - 0 Paris Saint-Germain
- 1979
- Spanish first division: 17
- 1928-29, 1944-45, 1947-48, 1948-49, 1951-52, 1952-53, 1958-59, 1959-60, 1973-74, 1984-85, 1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1997-98, 1998-99, 2004-05
- Spanish Super Cup: 5
- 1984, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997
- Spanish League Cup: 2
- 1983, 1986
- King's Cup: 24
- 1909-10, 1911-12, 1912-13, 1919-20, 1921-22, 1924-25, 1925-26, 1927-28, 1941-42, 1950-51, 1951-52, 1952-53, 1956-57, 1962-63, 1967-68, 1970-71, 1977-78, 1980-81, 1982-83, 1987-88, 1989-90, 1996-97, 1997-98
- Catalunya Cup: 5
- 1990-91, 1992-93, 1999-2000, 2003-04, 2004-05
- Macaya Cup: 1
- 1901-02
- Championship of Catalunya: 20
- 1904-05, 1908-09, 1909-10, 1910-11, 1912-13, 1915-16, 1918-19, 1919-20, 1920-21, 1921-22, 1923-24, 1924-25, 1925-26, 1926-27, 1927-28, 1929-30, 1930-31, 1931-32, 1934-34, 1935-36, 1937-38
- Latin Cup: 2
- 1949, 1952
- Eva Duarte Cup: 3
- 1948, 1952, 1953
- Martini & Rossi Trohpy: 2
- 1952, 1953
- Little World Cup: 1
- 1957
- Joan Gamper Trophy: 30
- 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
- Teresa Herrera Trophy: 5
- 1948, 1951, 1972, 1990, 1993
- Ramon de Carranza Trophy: 2
- 1961, 1962
- Ciudad de Palma Trophy: 5
- 1969, 1974, 1976, 1980, 1981
- Cup of the Pyrenees: 4
- 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913
- Mediterranean League: 1
- 1937
Current Squad
Players owned by the club but playing in any other team are not considered.
BarcelonaLineUp20042005.gif
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¹ Has dual nationality including a country from the European Union. Does not count towards the limit of three players per team from outside the EU.
² Has dual nationality and plays competitively for country shown despite place of birth.
Squad changes during 2005/06 season
In:
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Santi Ezquerro - Transfered From Athletic de Bilbao
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Missing image
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Mark Van Bommel - Transfered From PSV Eindhoven -
Missing image
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Rustu - Return From Fenerbahce -
Rochemback - Return From Sporting Lisboa
- Sergio García - Return From Levante
- Oscar Lopez - Return From Lazio
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Saviola - Return From Monaco
- Also Return Santamaria, Ros and Tortolero.
Out:
- Gerard - Transfered To Monaco
- Riquelme - Transfered To Villarreal
Successful managers
- Josep Samitier, 1944-47
- Fernando Daucik, 1950-54
- Vic Buckingham, 1969-71
- Ladislao Kubala, 1962-63,
- Helenio Herrera, 1958-60,
- Terry Venables, 1984-87
- Luis Aragones, 1987-88
- Johan Cruyff, 1988-96
- Bobby Robson, 1996-97
- Louis Van Gaal, 1997-2000
- Frank Rijkaard, 2003-present
Top players
Josep_Samitier.jpg
Handball
Basketball
History
The basketball section was founded in 1926.
Trophies
- Euroleague: 1
- 2002-03
- European Cup Winners' Cup: 2
- 1984-85
- 1985-86
- European Super Cup: 1
- 1986-87
- World Clubs' Cup: 1
- 1984-85
- Korac Cup: 2
- 1986-87, 98-99
- Spanish League: 14
- 1958-59, 1980-81, 1982-83, 1986-87, 1987-88, 1988-89, 1989-90, 1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1998-99, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2003-04
- Catalonian League: 11
- 1980-81, 1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1984-85, 1985-86, 1989-90, 1993-94, 1995-96, 2000-01, 2001-02
- King's Cup: 12
- 1977-78, 1978-79, 1979-80, 1980-81, 1981-82, 1982-83, 1986-87, 1987-88, 1990-91, 1993-94, 2000-01, 2002-03
- Catalunya Cup:
- 1941-42, 1942-43, 1944-45, 1945-46, 1946-47, 1947-48
- Prince of Asturias Cup: 1
- 1988-89
- Iberian Cup: 1
- 1947-48
Famous Coaches
Famous Players
Trivia
Sponsorship
Barça are also known for their relentless refusal to allow sponsor logos on their football shirts. This is due to the fact that Barça is seen as a symbol of Catalonia, and any offer of sponsorship of "intrusive nature" is usually to be turned down. Even their kit manufacturer, Nike's swoosh was controversial. However since 2005 Barça have accepted to yeld the logo of TV3 (the main Catalan TV channel and also a symbol of Catalonia) on the right arm, leaving, for the moment no sponsor will cover the body of Barça's football shirt, although media are speculating about contracts being closed lately. In recent weeks, it has been widely reported (though officially denied) that Barça is close to making a deal with the organizing committee for the 2008 Summer Olympics to place the Beijing Olympic logo on their football shirts. The proposed deal would run through 2010; after the 2008 Olympics, Barça shirts would bear the logo for the 2010 Asian Games, slated for Guangzhou.
Nonetheless, Barça have accepted a sponsor's logo on their basketball jerseys.
Culés
Culés.jpg
External link
- Official web site (http://www.fcbarcelona.com/) (portal to Catalan, Spanish, English, Japanese, and Chinese versions)
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