History of FC Barcelona -- total trophies...
1899 -1909. Foundation and survival
FC Barcelona, founded in 1899 by a group of young foreigners living in Barcelona, was the result of the increasing popularity of football, and other British sports, across Europe. These origins have conferred upon the Club its intercultural identity, multi-sport focus and its deeply-rooted allegiance to Barcelona and Catalonia. The foundation of the Club coincided with a time when people were becoming interested in playing sport in Catalonia; this social context and Catalonia’s idiosyncratic culture led to the creation of a new model of modern leisure. Gamper, the Club’s founder, was the inspiration and driving force behind the Club’s first 25 years. His commitment to FC Barcelona went far beyond his role as player, director and president.
THE CLUB'S FOUNDATION
Hans Gamper (Winterthur, Switzerland,1877 – Barcelona, 1930) arrived
in Barcelona in 1898 for professional reasons.During his free time, he
played football with a group of friends in Bonanova.
In October 1899, Gamper placed an advert in Los Deportes magazine to find players interested in forming a football team.
On
29 November, Gamper and eleven other men (Otto Kunzle and Walter Wild
from Switzerland; John and William Parsons from England; Otto Maier from
Germany; and Lluís d’Ossó, Bartomeu Terradas, Enric Ducal, Pere Cabot,
Carles Pujol and Josep Llobet from Catalonia) came together at the Solé
Gymnasium to form an association that would bear the city’s name and
coat of arms: Futbol Club Barcelona.
GAMPER AND BARÇA'S FOUNDING VALUES
Gamper was sports fanatic - aside from football, he participated in athletics, cycling, rugby and golf - and he considered it a vital factor in bringing out the best in man himself.
He aimed to create an organisation that was open to everyone,
regardless of their origin. He envisaged a club that served as a means
of social integration, in which everyone could speak their mind, and he
created a democratic society that was freely governed by its members. As
a sign of his gratitude to Catalonia, the country that had welcomed
him, Gamper imbued FC Barcelona with the essence that has come to define
it ever since: its commitment to Catalan identity.
Catalan identity, democracy, multiple sports and universality: today, Gamper’s original values continue to give Barça meaning.
THE FIRST CLUB BADGE
FC Barcelona decided to use the same badge as the city of Barcelona in a show of solidarity with the city that played host the new sports' club.
.In 1910, the board decided that the Club needed its own badge and
organised a competition to find a new design and it adopted the format
that with one or two variations has survived until the present day.
THE FIRST KIT
At the beginning, half the shirt was blue and the other claret, the sleeves were opposite colours and the shorts were white. The most likely theory regarding the origin of the colour is that they come from the kit worn by the rugby team at the English school Merchant Taylors' school where the Witty brothers, two of the first members of the Club, had studied in their youth.
THE FIRST FOOTBALL GROUNDS
Their difficulty in finding permanent grounds was due to economic instability and the lack of large open-air spaces at a time when the city was undergoing urban expansion.
- 1899-1900 The former cycle track grounds at Bonanova (today, next to Turó Park)
- 1900-1901 The Hotel Casanovas grounds (today, Hospital de Sant Pau)
- 1901-1905 Carretera d’Horta grounds
- 1905-1909 Carrer de Muntaner grounds
THE COPA MACAYA, THE FIRST TROPHY
The Copa Macaya was the precursor to the Catalan Football
Championship. It was begun in 1900 by Alfons Macaya, president of the
Hispania Club, when he announced his intention to organise a competition
between Catalan teams. The trophy is an exceptional work of modernist
art but unfortunately the Copa Macaya disappeared a year after the
creation of the Catalan Championship.
1909-19. Consolidation at Carrer Indústria
In November 1908, the Club was struggling with just 38 members who were on the verge of abandoning the project. Gamper was determined to keep the Club afloat and for the first time he became president of the organisation.
This marked a new stage in the Club's history, which consolidated it within the football panorama and social milieu of the city and country. A number of different circumstances played a part in this process, including its strengthening as an organisation via the steady growth of its members; the re-writing of the Club statutes, and the acquisition of the Club's own football grounds for the first time. At the same time, a range of sporting successes and growing recognition accorded to players saw football develop into a mass phenomenon, turning it into a professional sport.
The Club grew rapidly. The number of members increased from 201 in 1909 to 2,973 in less than ten years. During these years, Barça laid down solid foundations in order to define the type of football club it wanted to be. This took it beyond the original dream of the group of friends that had founded it in 1899; the Club was here to stay.
THE FIRST PROPER STADIUM
The ground at Carrer Indústria (today Carrer París) was inaugurated on 14 March 1909 and was the Club's home until 1922. In 1916 a two-tier stand was erected, the first of its kind in a Spanish football grounds; this increased the stadium capacity to 6,000 spectators.
Barça fans associate these football grounds with the origin of the nickname “culers” (literally “arse-people”), used to refer to supporters of FC Barcelona. Far from being offensive, the name refers to fans seated in the highest row of the stadium. From outside, people who passed by could only see their backsides.
FIRST NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL TITLES
During four seasons from 1909 to 1913, the Club won three Spanish Championship (also known as the Copa del Rey) and four Pyrenees Cups, which was the first international tournament that Barça played in. Teams from Catalonia, the Basque Country and the south of France played in this competition.
THE TEAM'S FIRST EUPHORIC HOMECOMINGS
The team’s success led to membership growth and compelled the fans to turn out to welcome the team home after a victory. The players who beat Madrid in the Spanish Championship in 1910 received a hero’s welcome at Passeig de Gràcia station, with the crowd following them to the building where the celebration dinner was held. From 1909 the Canaletes drinks stand, in the centre of Barcelona, became the place where football results were announced. Fans have congregated here ever since to celebrate Barça’s successes.
THE CURRENT BADGE
The Club held a competition to choose a new design; the result, with slight modifications, is the badge we know today, and was designed by Santiago Femenia. The design is representative of the Club’s identity. It features the St. George’s Cross and the four stripes of the Senyera, the Catalan flag. The Club’s colours, blue and claret, also appear with a football in the centre.
PAULINO ALCÁNTARA, THE FIRST STAR PLAYER
Paulino Alcántara, from the Philippines, played his debut season in 1911-12, aged just fifteen. He is, without doubt, Barça’s first star player and the Club’s top goalscorer until the arrival of Leo Messi. He scored a staggering 369 goals in 357 matches, representing an impressive average of one goal per match. It is said that his kick was so powerful it could rip through the goal net. Alcántara always wore a white scarf tied round his waist.
LOCAL DOMINATION
The 1908-1909 season marked the beginning of FC Barcelona’s dominance in the Catalan Football Championships. By 1919, Barça had won the title five times, with the highlight coming in 1909/10 when the team won all their matches.
1919-30. A golden age
During the 1920s, football became a sport of the masses. FC Barcelona continued to attract huge amounts of support and was viewed as a dream team, comprising star players that became the first Barça idols, such as Samitier, Alcántara, Zamora, Sagi, Piera and Sancho.
This legendary team saw a growth of its fan base, which “prompted” the construction of the football ground at Les Corts, in 1922; this was the first great Barça stadium. By 1923, the Club had in excess of 10,000 members.
Matches played against Barcelona’s other team, Espanyol, Barça’s biggest rival at that time, were always met with great expectation from devoted football fans, who followed the team to all its matches. The team enjoyed many years of success at the Les Corts football ground.
ZAMORA THE FIRST GREAT BARÇA KEEPER
Ricardo Zamora, nicknamed 'el Diví' (the Divine one), left a great impression despite only playing three seasons as a goalkeeper and he is considered one of the greatest in the position in the Club's history. He made his debut alongside Samitier in 1919 and both players mark a before and after in the sporting story of FC Barcelona.
JOSEP SAMITIER BURSTS ON TO THE SCENE
Samitier was known by the nickname of “home llagosta” (lobster man) because of his acrobatics on the field and was the first major idol of Catalan football. He became a society figure and was often seen alongside artists like Carlos Gardel and Maurice Chevalier.
STADIUM AT LES CORTS, FIRST OWN GROUND
The stadium at Les Corts, opened on 20 May 1922, was the scene of the Club first expansion and golden age. It was one of the best football grounds in Europe at that time. It was designed by Santiago Mestres and Josep Alemany, and cost a total of 991,984.05 pesetas. It had an initial capacity of 22,000 spectators and successive enlargements tripled this capacity to 60,000. The Les Corts football grounds witnessed three decades of hope and glory, but also saw less successful periods.
25TH ANNIVERSARY IN 1924
FC Barcelona celebrated its 25th anniversary on 7 and 8 December 1924, with two matches against Real Unión de Irun at Les Corts football ground. The occasion was also marked by the “III Challenge Pere Prat” race, in addition to an athletics convention with Spanish and French representatives. At that time the Club had 12,207 members.
CUP TRIUMPH IN 1928, THE MOST CELEBRATED TITLE
The most significant victory of the decade was the Spanish Championship (Copa del Rey) final in 1928. At the final, which took place in Santander, Barça beat Real Sociedad (3-1), after the first two matches ended in a draw. The goalkeeper, Plattkó, suffered serious injuries during the match and was the day's hero and his performance was commemorated in a famous poem by Rafael Alberti. For the first time ever, Barça’s victory was broadcast on the radio and the newspapers published special editions.
THE FIRST LEAGUE TITLE
On February 12 1929, a new competition began: the League. In only a few years, this competition would become the championship par excellence of Spanish football. It lasted four and a half months and FC Barcelona was the first champion with twenty-five points, two more than Real Madrid, which finished in second place. Manuel Parera had the honour of being the team’s first goalscorer in the Spanish League. However, this victory was not met with great enthusiasm at the time, as football fans thought that the League was an insignificant competition. In any case, the Club's record in that golden decade was extraordinary with eight Catalan Championships, five Spanish Championships and one league title.
1930-39. Struggling against history
FC Barcelona was committed to social, political and cultural reform, initiated by the Republican Catalan government in 1931. The official Club newsletter in October 1932 made the Club’s position clear: “Our club’s popularity undeniably includes elements that are not related to sport.”
At the beginning of the Civil War in 1936 and faced wtih the threat of FC Barcelona being subsumed by elements of the anarchist forces, the Club employees made an important committee decision that ultimately saved the organisation. The committee demonstrated its firm resolve not to break away from its pre-war leadership.
In fact, in November 1937, once the threat of disappearance had abated, the committee resigned and a new Board of Directors was named under the presidency of Francese Xavier Casals.
The 1930s were marked by political instability and general crisis, which inevitably took its toll on FC Barcelona. During this decade, the Club endured many cataclysmic events, which included its founder’s death, the Second Spanish Republic, the Spanish Civil War and the assassination of its president, Josep Suñol. In summary, it was a period characterised by uncertainty, which saw a reduction in membership and the cancellation of some players’ contracts.
GOODBYE TO JOAN GAMPER
On 30 July 1930, Barça received the worst news it had ever had: Joan Gamper had committed suicide due to personal problems. The Club’s founder — a dynamic businessman and sportsman, responsible for the creation and development of a unique football club — had died, aged only 52. The demise of FC Barcelona’s founder was a bad omen for the years to follow.
BARÇA DURING THE REPUBLIC
During the 1930s, society showed more interest in the political
meetings than it did in football matches. Barça entered a period of
history characterised by its commitment to freedom, democracy and
Catalan identity. The new Club statutes, approved in May 1932, redefined
the organisation. According to its first article, FC Barcelona was “a
cultural and sporting association”. October saw the creation of the
Cultural Committee, which promoted activities for members.
In
July 1935, the new president Josep Suñol i Garriga made it clear that he
believed in political ideals based on Catalan nationalism. Using the
motto “Sport and Citizenship”, he emphasised the link between society
and sport at FC Barcelona.
LIMITED SUCCESS
Football took second place to political and social events at the time and attendances at the majority of games at Les Corts suffered as a result. The team was not the one that had dazzled years previously and the reality was that FC Barcelona failed to win a single League Championship or Copa in that time. That had to make do with victories in the Catalan Championship.
With Suñol as president, the Club's economy underwent a slight improvement and Barça embarked upon a new sporting policy with the purchase of promising players. The war, however, was a massive setback to the team's seemingly brighter future.
TRAGIC DEATH OF SUÑOL
On 6 August 1936, Josep Suñol was assassinated near Madrid by Francoist military forces. As an MP for the ERC party in the Cortes de Madrid, Suñol had driven from Valencia where he had been as an envoy on behalf of the president of the Catalan Parliament, Joan Casanovas. Josep Suñol was acting as a political figure and not atttempting to sign any player.
At one of the most difficult times ever experienced by Catalonia and Spain, the Club was without a president and in the midst of a revolution.
THE MEDITERRANEAN LEAGUE IS BARÇA'S
During the 1936/37 season, the Catalan Football Federation hosted a tournament in which six Catalan and four Valencian teams played. The competition was held instead of the League tournament, which had been cancelled because of the war and FC Barcelona became the Mediterranean League champion.
The Barça title, however, has been hold since 1939 as the victory for
the Francoist dictatorship led to the decree to abolish the
championship and to this the situation has not been put right.
TOUR OF SALVATION IN THE AMERICAS
To escape a country in war and at the same time generate much needed income for the Club, Barça undertook in 1937 a tour of the Americas, including Mexico and the USA. Some players would not return to Barcelona. The team was received in Mexico as an authentic ambassador for democracy and freedom. Aside from the prestige involved in defending republican values, the Club also raised 461,799,10 pesetas, a figure that was transferred to a bank in Paris in October of 1937. Later on, the money was used to wipe clean the Club's long-standing debts and to serve as a financial basis to get the organisation up and running again following the end of the Civil War and the victory for the fascist forces in 1939.
1961-69. A new social dimension
During the 1960s, FC Barcelona saw a relentless increase in
membership numbers. Paradoxically, this did not go hand in hand with
sporting success. At the same time, Catalonia received a large number of
migrants and it was in this context that Barça became an important
mechanism for integration in Catalan society.
Irregular sporting
success and economic austerity, partly due to the construction of the
Camp Nou, meant that the Club was unable to sign big players; this was
reflected in Barça’s results.
GREAT SOCIAL GROWTH
During the 1960s, Catalonia’s population grew by more than 1,200,000 inhabitants. This was largely due to waves of migration from the south of Spain. Many people were attracted to Barça because of its democratic spirit, its inter-class consciousness and its overtly anti-centralist stance. The identification of Barça with Catalonia was no longer limited to members and fans born in the Principality. Barça consolidated its role as a catalyst for social integration. This had happened previously in the 1920s when people from Valencia, Murcia and Aragón migrated to Catalonia, and it would happen again at the end of the 20th century, when immigrants would arrive from other continents.
TV BOOM
In the 1960s, football was broadcast on television for the first time. The first game in Catalonia was broadcast in 1959. Because televisions were so expensive, the first Barça matches broadcast on television were watched by crowds of people standing outside shops that sold televisions, or in bars and restaurants throughout Catalonia.
GOODBYE TO THE GOLDEN GENERATION
The “curse of the square goalposts” in Berne proved decisive in Barça’s failure to win the 1961 European Cup Final; this marked the beginning of an unsuccessful period of sporting history for the Club. The Five Cup era, and the time of Helenio Herrera, had come to a definitive end. At the end of the season, László Kubala’s departure made it even more obvious that Barça’s glory had come to an end. That Antoni Ramallets, the great goalkeeper, left the Club, followed by Tejada and Czibor, was further evidence of Barça’s decline. When Segarra left in 1964, this marked the end of the golden generation.
'MORE THAN A CLUB' FOR THE FIRST TIME
The incoming Barça president Narcís de Carreras, during his acceptance speech on 17 January 1968, stated “Barcelona is something more than a football club”. A short time later, this gave rise to the motto “Barça is more than a club”. His son Lluís remembered that his father had a written copy of his speech — something he did not normally do — and that this famous saying had been written conscientiously. Although it was impossible that the speaker could imagine the impact his words would have, and still have today, it is clear that he was aware they meant something special.
THE DEATH OF JULIO CÉSAR BENÍTEZ
The sudden death of the footballer Julio César Benítez, aged 27, on 6 April 1968 was one of the saddest days ever for Barça fans. His death was a hard blow for both his team mates and the fans, at a time when Barça was not performing well. It happened on the day before a Barça-Madrid match, which was cancelled. Thousands of people came to pay their last respects to Benítez as he lay in state at the Camp Nou. Mourners included Barça fans, as well as supporters of other teams.
THE 'FINAL OF THE BOTTLES'
The Spanish Cup final, which took place at the Santiago Bernabéu against Real Madrid, has gone down in history as “the bottle final”. This name came about due to an incident that occurred only minutes from the end of the match, when spectators threw glass bottles at Barça players. Despite the hostile atmosphere, Barça beat Madrid 0-1 in a heroic victory.
1978-88. More members, more stars
The incredible victory in Basel in May 1979, when Barça won the
European Cup Winners’ Cup for the first time ever, returned FC Barcelona
to the top ranking positions of the great world clubs. It was the first
great victory during Josep Lluís Núñez’s presidency.
During the
1980s, FC Barcelona experienced alternating highs and lows, influenced
by match results, star players’ performances and other matters,
unrelated to sport.
This decade saw the arrival of fantastic
footballers -including Quini, Maradona, Schuster, Alexanco, Julio
Alberto, Urruti, Marcos…- and a series of managers with very different
outlooks on football - Helenio Herrera, Lattek, Menotti, Venables… This
was also the period in which the first multi-million contracts appeared
and television rights began to influence the Club’s financial
affairs. The organisation grew bigger with the extension of the Camp Nou
and a spectacular rise in membership numbers, which saw the total
figure increase to over one hundred thousand.
A NEW ERA WITH PRESIDENT NÚÑEZ
The end of Franco and the new climate of political transition in the country allowed the Club to return to its democratic traditions. On 6 May 1978, the first elections of the new democratic period were held. All members were able to choose their president freely. Josep Lluís Núñez was elected, with the campaign “Let’s open up Barça”. Núñez was insistent on his aim to make the Club more accessible to its members, and the need to straighten out the Club’s financial situation.
FIRST EUROPEAN CUP WINNERS' CUP
On 16 May 1979, Barça won the Cup Winners’ Cup against Fortuna Düsseldorf (4-3), in an epic match that ran into extra time. An impressive group of some 30,000 FC Barcelona supporters accompanied the team to its victory; bringing their Senyeres and blue and claret flags across Europe. The European title victory prompted an unprecedented celebration on the streets of Barcelona and in other Catalan cities. The champions received a sensational homecoming, with two players given an especially ecstatic reception: Johan Neeskens, who was leaving the team, and Migueli, who had played the final with a broken collarbone.
QUINI'S KIDNAPPING
On 1 March 1981, the team’s best striker, Enrique Castro, “Quini”, was kidnapped from his own front door. His captivity lasted 25 days, during which time the team members rallied around each other. Quini’s kidnapping had an enormous emotional impact on the team. Left without its striker, the team was obliged to continue playing the League, but lost any chance of winning the title. Barça supporters carried out a mass demonstration for Quini’s release, which eventually came about on 25 March.
THE SIGNING OF MARADONA
One of the most complex and costly operations carried out by FC
Barcelona came in the summer of 1982 with the signing of Diego Armando
Maradona, who was considered the best footballer in the world at that
time. Maradona, known as 'El Pelusa', was a maestro of unforgettable
moves and goals. The Argentinean forward was a football prodigy, with
his magical left foot, changes of rhythm, speed and dribbling. However,
his time with Barça was marred by bad luck. In two years, he suffered
from hepatitis and a serious injury. These misfortunes meant that fans
could not enjoy his exceptional talent uninterruptedly. Maradona left
the Club in 1984.
SECOND EUROPEAN CUP WINNERS' CUP AT CAMP NOU
On 12 May, Barça won its second Cup Winners’ Cup; the final was played at the Camp Nou against Standard Liège (2-1), with goals from Simonsen and Quini. Barça lost the Spanish League during the final matches of the 1981/82 season, although victory had seemed imminent. Lattek’s team had also been knocked out of the Spanish Cup before the quarterfinals.
"URRUTI, I LOVE YOU"
On 24 March 1985 Barça claimed the league title with four games to go thanks to a 2-1 win away at Valladolid. A penalty awarded against Barça in the 88th minute could have delayed the team from winning the title. Urruti saved 'Mágico' González’s shot, and Barça became League champion for the first time in eleven years. The Basque goalkeeper went down in the Club’s history. The match was broadcast on Catalunya Ràdio, with commentary from Joaquim Maria Puyal. Upon seeing the goalkeeper’s save, he repeatedly exclaimed “Urruti, I love you”. These words have come to mark the culminating moment of a League that Barça sorely wanted to win.
WILDERNESS YEARS
Unfortunately, the team coached by Terry Venables were unable to live up to that memorable 1984/85 campaign. 1986 saw the disappoinment of defeat in Seville in the final of the European Cup against Steaua Bucharest. Two years on and poor results brought a crisis on the field that led to a need for wholesale changes to the squad.
1996-2008. Barça reaches its century
Few organisations reach their one hundredth anniversary, for doing
so requires consistence and continuity. The aim of FC Barcelona's
centenary was to celebrate the link between a glorious past and new hope
for the future.
The commemorative events saw an outpouring of
Barça sentiment, and offered an emotional opportunity to spend a year
looking back at the Club's proud history. Several important figures from
Catalan culture were involved, as did the media and several major
organisations. Famous artist Antoni Tàpies designed the official
Centenary poster, thus adding his name to list of internationally
renowned artists and writers that have helped aggrandise FC Barcelona's
symbolic universe over the years.
The 1998-99 season, that of the
Centenary celebrations, was also historic because of the many sporting
achievements: all four of the Club's professional sections (Football,
Basketball, Handball and Roller Hockey) won their respective league
titles.
In 2003, newly elected president Joan Laporta brought
with him a young and dynamic generation of directors who totally changed
the Club's image. His priority was to make it possible for the club's
sporting successes to have a knock-on effect on the more social aspects
of the Club.
The following years were spectacular in many ways:
there was sporting success, an exponential increase in membership,
economic progress that situated the Club among the world's elite and an
unprecedented focus on charity projects that was culminated with Barça's
collaboration agreement with Unicef in 2006, which projects Barça's
caring image around the world, thus definitively globalising the notion
of being "more than a club".
VAN GAAL AND SUCCESSIVE LEAGUE TITLES
39 since they had last achieved the feat, Louis Van Gaal's side won the League and Cup double in 1997/98. The following season the Dutchman also led his team to the league title.
CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS
The Club wanted the FC Barcelona Centenary celebrations to go on for a year. The fans and sportspeople enjoyed a series of commemorative events between 28 November 1998 and 29 November 1999. It all started with a massive fiesta in the stadium. One of the most memorable moments came when legendary Catalan singer Joan Manuel Serrat sung the Barça anthem before one hundred thousand spectators. Another emotional moment came on 28 April 1999 with the parade of hundreds of sportspeople that have defended the FC Barcelona colours over the years.
FIRST EUROLEAGUE TITLE
On 11 May 2003, Barça’s Basketball team ended its disappointing European track record to win the Euroleague, formerly known as the European Champions’ Cup. Following five defeats, the team, coached by Svetislav Pešić and led by Dejan Bodiroga, Sarunas Jasikevicius and Juan Carlos Navarro, finally won the Euroleague title. Barça defeated Benetton Treviso 76-65 at a packed Palau Sant Jordi. Dejan Bodiroga was named MVP of the Final Four played in Barcelona.
NEW ERA WITH PRESIDENT LAPORTA
In June 2003, the club members voted in a new board of directors, led by Joan Laporta. The new board brought in Frank Rijkaard as coach and Ronaldinho was signed to lead the team on the field. The Club had suffered four lean seasons and the arrival of the Brazilian was a much needed injection of optimism for Barça.
Rijkaard's tema won the league in 2004/05 in style and retained the
title the following season. The team was led by Ronaldinho alongside the
likes of Edmílson, Giuly, Belletti, Sylvinho and the duo of Deco
and Eto’o. Home grown players such as Valdés, Oleguer, Puyol, Xavi and
Iniesta also played a vital role in the team's success.
SECOND CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TITLE IN PARIS
On May 17, 2006, Barça had its name engraved on the Champions League trophy for the second time after overcoming Arsenal 2-1 in Paris. The goals by Eto’o and Belletti illuminated the Stade de France. It was the victory of joyous football, the so-called “jogo bonito”, a bold and daring style, acclaimed the world over. Thousands of members and fans celebrated the victory in Paris, and millions more followed suit in Barcelona and other cities inside and outside Catalonia.
HISTORIC AGREEMENT WITH UNICEF
In 2006 an historic agreement was signed with UNICEF, by virtue of which the Club undertook to collaborate financially with this association, which works for children’s rights and their protection, and whose anagram the Club’s first-team shirt now bears. The first match in which the team sported the shirt with the UNICEF logo was on 12 September 2006, in the Camp Nou, in a Champions League match against Levski Sofia. Barça put on yet another brilliant exhibition that ended with a resounding 5-0 victory.
2008-16. The best years in our history
From the season 2008/09 under Josep Guardiola, the team improved even further. Playing with the same style that Cruyff had introduced, Guardiola was a firm supporter of basing his team around the club's own youth system and promoted several young talents to the first team, and the result was the greatest Barça team ever.
The greatest international recognition of this came when the FIFA Ballon d'Or nominations in 2010 shortlisted Xavi, Iniesta and Messi for the honour, all three of whom had grown up at La Masia, the residence where young sportspeople of all ages are trained and educated.
This team was the culmination of everything that FC Barcelona stands for, and produced an amazing string of major titles, including two Champions Leagues and three Spanish Leagues, plus the long-awaited Clubs World Cup, which was finally won in 2009, that extraordinary year when Barcelona won all six major trophies, something unprecedented in the history of European football. Barça broke all kinds of records, played memorable matches and won just about every title on offer. But the finest hour for Guardiola's side came at Wembley on 28 May, 2011, when the world was enchanted by the kind of football that dreams are made of. The world's press bestowed praise on this extraordinary side that had written one of the most incredible chapters in the history of the game. The Guardiola era ended in 2012 but Barça continued their success under Tito Vilanova (the league in 2012/13) and Luis Enrique who in 2015 won the Champions League, the League and the Copa del Rey in another historic treble winning season.
But it wasn't just the football team that was collecting honours. The basketball, handball, futsal and roller hockey teams also won further European titles. Furthermore, the season 2011/12 and 2014/15 ended with a new record by winning 17 professional titles. Never before had FC Barcelona won so much silverware in a single season during its 118 year history.
THE RETURN OF GUARDIOLA
In 2008, Josep Guardiola accepted the difficult job of replacing Frank Rijkaard as coach and end a run of two seasons without a trophy. To do so, he applied the same style of play that was used when he was a player at the Club, an attacking philosophy based on passing and it turned out to be a great success.
In his debut season, Guardiola won all three trophies available. After a winning start to the following campaign in 2009/10, Barça became the team of the Six Trophies, all won in the calendar year of 2009. The run of success continued with Guardiola claiming 14 titles of a possible 19 as coach in his four seasons in charge. Guardiola became a reference point in football and his Barça side went beyond the strictly footballing field.
BARÇA WIN THEIR THIRD CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
FC Barcelona went to the Olympic Stadium looking to claim their third title of the season after having won the Copa del Rey and the league. Guardiola went into the final against Manchester United with several players missing in defence. The Premier League side started strongly but Eto’o’s goal changed the game and from then on Barça dominated with Messi adding a second to make the final score 2-0. On 27 May 2009 Barça claimed their third Champions League title thanks to victory over the holders, becoming the first Spanish side to claim the treble of the Copa del Rey, the league and the Champions League.
2009, A MAGICAL YEAR
Under the direction of Josep Guardiola, the team had a dream 12 months, winning every trophy possible. Six titles that they claimed with authority, Barça on the field were untouchable. At the end of the season there were celebrations and the trophies kept coming for the rest of the year.
13 May – Copa del Rey
16 May – League
27 May – Champions League
23 August – Spanish Super Cup
28 August – European Super Cup
19 December – FIFA World Club Cup
SANDRO ROSELL, NEW PRESIDENT
Sandro Rosell rose to the presidency of FC Barcelona with an extensive background in both the business world and in football. His first stint in the management of the Club had begun in 2003 as a member of the board under then-president Joan Laporta. Rosell was the driving force behind the signing of Ronaldinho.
Rosell’s candidacy used the slogan "We are all Barça" under an electoral program created after listening to the members for two years. In 2010 he was elected the new president of FC Barcelona with an overwhelmingly successful 35,021 of the votes, the best result ever achieved. Sandro Rosell thus became the most voted president in the history of the Club.
BARÇA SWEEP THE PODIUM FOR THE BALLON D’OR
FC Barcelona made history with the nomination of Xavi, Iniesta and Messi as finalists for the FIFA Ballon d'Or 2010. Three Barça players who all came up through La Masia swept the podium. Journalists, coaches and captains from around the world, the elite of world football, lauded Barça’s style. It was the first time that all three finalists came from the youth academy of the same club. It was a full recognition of the work done at La Masia. Three superstars developed at home, instilled with the values of effort, humility, sportsmanship and enthusiasm, were selected as the three best players in the world in 2010.
WEMBLEY, AGAIN
On 28 May 2011 Barça lifted its fourth European Cup. The victory came at the new Wembley Stadium, the same place where in 1992 Cruyff’s Barça had won the trophy for the first time. It was full of symbolism. After winning a very difficult semi-final against Real Madrid, Barça played for the title against Manchester United, who they had defeated in the Rome final two years before. A clearly superior Barça won 3-1 with goals each striker: Pedro, Messi and Villa.
It was a great display of football, one of the best ever seen in a Champions League final. Europe hailed Barça, and the world press followed suit. At the end of the summer Barça confirmed its greatness by winning the Spanish Super Cup against Real Madrid and UEFA Super Cup against Porto.
THE DEATH OF TITO VILANOVA
One of the saddest pieces of news in Barça history was received on 25 April 2014 when Francesc 'Tito' Vilanova i Bayó (Bellcaire d'Empordà, 09/17/1968 - 04/25/2014, Barcelona), a man loved and admired by all, died at the age of 45 after failing to overcome an illness had forced him in July to step away from his duties as head coach of the first team, and just a couple of months after leading the team to a league title with 100 points, a record achievement. Vilanova was also Guardiola's second in command from 2008 to 2012. A totalof 53,000 people came to Camp Nou in the days after his death to pay him a final tribute.
GOODBYE TO TWO LEGENDS: PUYOL AND VALDÉS
In the summer of 2014 Barça said goodbye to two captains. Two symbols. Carles Puyol, the eternal captain, announced his retirement as a player after 593 official games and a career that made him an idol for Barça fans. The most memorable of these were his defensive stop using the Barça shield in a Champions League match, his kisses to La Senyera during Barça’s 6–2 rout at the Bernabéu or when he gave Abidal the honour of raising the Cup following the victory at Wembley in 2011. Puyol’s departure coincided with that of Victor Valdés, the long-time Barça goalkeeper who months earlier had announced his intention to leave the team at the end of the 2013/14 season. One of the best ever to wear the blaugrana shirt, Valdés conceded just 441 goals in 535 matches. Among his most outstanding performances was in the 2006 Champions League final in Paris and the semi-final against Chelsea in 2009.
LUIS ENRIQUE: ARRIVAL AND A TREBLE
Gerardo Martino took over for Tito Vilanova in the summer of 2013
but, despite a good start, the left after the 2013/14 season having only
won the Spanish Super Cup. Luis Enrique, a beloved former Barça player,
took Martino’s place as coach in the summer of 2014 and success
immediately followed. In his first year as coach, Luis Enrique would
attain the second treble in Barça history, just six seasons after the
first. FC Barcelona won the League, Copa del Rey and Champions League in
one magical season. The same team, consisting of top players like
Messi, Iniesta, Neymar Jr and Luis Suárez went on to win a total of five
titles in 2015, adding the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup to the
treble. To that treble the team would add four more trophies the
following season: the European Super Cup, the Club World Cup, the league
and the Copa del Rey. Furthermore, in the 2016/17 season, the team won
the Copa del Rey, their third in a row.
XAVI’S FAREWELL
In the summer of 2015, coinciding with the completion of the second treble, Xavi Hernandez announced his goodbye. The legendary FC Barcelona midfielder hung up his shoes after 17 seasons with the first team. He said goodbye to the Club with an enviable total of 25 titles: eight leagues, four Champions Leagues, three Spanish Cups, six Spanish Super Cups, two European Super Cups and two Club World Cups. Xavi left with 85 goals in 767 official matches, an FC Barcelona record. He left as an inheritance his unique style of football.
JOSEP MARIA BARTOMEU WINS ELECTION
On July 18, 2015 Josep Maria Bartomeu won the election for the presidency of FC Barcelona. With 25,823 votes, 54.6% of the total, Bartomeu won the third most voted election in club history. Bartomeu quickly resumed some of the work he had already begun in January 2014, following the resignation of the previous president, Sandro Rosell.
THE ARRIVAL OF ERNESTO VALVERDE
Ernesto Valverde had been a Barça player under Johan Cruyff at Barça and had gone on to have a highly successful career as a coach. He took over as Barça coach for the 2017/18 season and under him a new era for FC Barcelona began, full of optimism and excitement.
Trophies
La Liga Winners (24): 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,
2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2012–13. 2014-15, 2015-16
Copa del Rey Winners (29):
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, 1958–59, 1962–63, 1967–68,
1970–71, 1977–78, 1980–81, 1982–83, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1996–97, 1997–98,
2008–09, 2011–12, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17
Supercopa de España Winners (12): 1983, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016
Copa Eva Duarte (forerunner to the Supercopa de España) Winners (2): 1948, 1952
Copa de la Liga Winners (2): 1982–83, 1985–86
European Competitions
European Cup/UEFA Champions League Winners (5): 1991–92, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2014-15
European Cup Winners' Cup / UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Winners (4): 1978–79, 1981–82, 1988–89, 1996–97
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (forerunner to the UEFA Europa League) Winners (3): 1955–58, 1958–60, 1965–66
European Super Cup/UEFA Super Cup Winners (5): 1992, 1997, 2009, 2011, 2015
https://www.fcbarcelona.com
https://www.barcelonas.com
About Redowanul Islam
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