About FC Barcelona football club

About FCBarcelona

FC BARCELONA - The 6 title glory!

It is common knowledge that FC Barcelona is the world’s best football club. How can we doubt this after the amazing 6 titles won during the 2008-2009 season! The first time in football history that a club wins titles in all competitions available. And just in case you forgot let’s have a quick reminder:

  • 1. Spanish cup
  • 2. Spanish league
  • 3. UEFA champions league
  • 4. Spanish super cup
  • 5. European super cup
  • 6. FIFA club world cup!

So many cups, it makes me want to drink!

  • A record breaking club

    It took FC Barcelona 110 years from its founding to achieve this unique 6 crown! In 1899 a Swiss, living in Barcelona - Joan Gamper, placed an ad in the paper, searching for play mates, 11 guys showed up, and FC Barcelona was born! Those magic 11 may be more than delighted, if they knew that in these days their humble afternoon friend’s football club is of 160,000 club members, and that its home stadium the Camp Nou can comfortably seat 98,766! and that many of the statistics in the FC Barcelona history are of great pride:

    FCB is one of only three clubs never to have been relegated from La Liga, the Spanish highest division.

    FCB have won La liga 19 times, second only to Real Madrid.

    FCB have won the "Copa del Rey", the Spanish cup 25 times, more than any other team.

    FCB is also one of the most successful clubs in Europe winning 3 UEFA champions league cups, and 4 UEFA cup winners cup! you can see a grand variety of these cups visiting the FC Barcelona museum.

    But it’s not just the cold facts and numbers, it’s the quality of play (read more in our blog) that make football fans and lovers admire BARCA! FC Barcelona is highly popular, 25% of all Spanish support the club, and it is estimated that 45 million Europeans would identify as "Barça" fans! FCB has the most official fan clubs, "penyes", just under 1,900!

    The Barcelona FC fans are referred to as "cules" (culo - ass), as in the old stadium of Sarria the fans would sit on the wall with their bottom side facing out to the street. The legend says that the FC Barcelona colors: BLAU GRANA are inspired from the FC Bazel colors, earlier supported by the founding member Joan Gamper.

  • Barça finds home ground

    It was only in march 1909 when the FC Barcelona club purchased its own home stadium; this first stadium had the allotment capacity of 8000. By 1922 FC Barcelona had 10,000 club members, this increase in popularity lead the way for a move to the Les Corts stadium of a 22,000 capacity, later expanded to the impressive 60,000.

    In the early 1920`s began a era of decay in the clubs growing due to negative political ambient, it was first the dictator Primo de Rivera that ordered to close the FC Barcelona stadium than it was Francos fachist solidiers that have bombed the FC Barcelona offices in 16 march 1968.

    On July 30, 1930, the club's founder, Joan Gamper, after a long period of depression due to personal and money problems committed suicide.

    After the Spanish Civil War, the Catalan flag was banned and football clubs were prohibited from using non-Spanish names. These steps changed the clubs name to Club de Fútbol Barcelona and the extraction of the Catalan flag from the club shield.

  • The Kubala Era

    Better years were to come... In 1945, with J.Samitier as manager FC Barcelona won the Spanish League for the first time since 1929. In June 1950, Barcelona signed L. Kubala, who was to be an emblematic personality at the club, and one of many star players to come.

    In 1961, a FC Barcelona side with Kubala, Suarez and friends, became the first team to beat Real Madrid in an European Cup eliminatory round, and ending their clear dominance of the competition. FC Barcelona gained more pride when beating Real Madrid 1–0 in the 1968 Copa del Generalísimo final at the Santiago Bernabéu in front of Franco. The club rechanged its official name back to Futbol Club Barcelona in 1974!

  • Cruyff and Maradona

    In this significant year, 1974, a new FC Barcelona legend arrived as player, Johan Cruyff. Already a famous player with Ajax Amsterdam, Cruyff quickly won the FC Barcelona fans admiration when he told the European press he chose FC Barcelona over Real Madrid because he could not play for a club related with General Franco.

    He later charmed the fans when he chose a Catalan name, Jordi, for his son. he helped the club win the 1973–74 domestic season for the first time since 1960, along the way defeating Real Madrid 5–0 at the Bernabéu. He was also crowned European Footballer of the Year in his first year at the club.

    In June 1982, the Argentina rising star, Diego Maradona was signed for a world record fee from Boca Juniors. In the following season FC Barcelona won the Copa del Rey, beating Real Madrid. However, Diego's time at FC Barcelona was short and he soon left for Napoli.

  • The Dream Team

    In 1988, Johan Cruyff returned to the club as manager and brought together the players that formed "Dream Team". He introduced players like Josep Guardiola, J.M. Bakero, T. Begiristain, I. Goikoetxea, Hagi, R. Koeman, Michael Laudrup, Romário and the un forgetful Stoichkov. Under Cruyff's managment, FC Barcelona won four consecutive La Liga titles from 1991 to 1994.

    They won Sampdoria in both the 1989 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final and the 1992 European Cup final at Wembley with a legendary free kick goal from Dutch international Ronald Koeman.

    They also won a Copa del Rey in 1990, the European Super Cup in 1992 and three Supercopa de España. With 11 titles, J. Cruyff became the club's most successful manager. He also became the club's longest serving manager.

    In his final two seasons at FC Barcelona, J. Cruyff failed to win any titles (not to mention the shocking 4–0 defeat in the UEFA Champions League 1994 final against A.C Milan) and his relation with FC Barcelona president Núñez went bitter, resulting in Cruyff's removal.

  • New Managment!

    After the inefficacy of the Gaspart presidency period 2000-2003, the affiliation of a new club president Joan Laporta and a new manager, former Dutch and Milan midfielder Frank Rijkaard, saw the club rise again. On the pitch, the arrival of international players, such as Ronaldinho, Deco, H. Larsson and Samuel Eto'o linking with local grown Spanish players, such as Puyol, Iniesta, Xavi Hernández and Víctor Valdés, gave place to the club's successful return.

    FC Barcelona won the La liga and the Spanish super cup in 2004–05, and the teams top stars Ronaldinho and S. Eto'o were voted for first and third place in the FIFA World Player of the Year awards. The following season, FC Barcelona repeated their league and Supercup victory. The grand moment of the La Liga season came at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in a 3–0 win over Real Madrid.

    F. Rijkaard's second victory at the S. Bernabéu stadium, making him the first FC Barcelona manager to win there twice. Ronaldinho's performance was so magical that after his second, and FC Barcelona’s third goal the Real Madrid fans applauded him. In the UEFA Champions' League, FC Barcelona beat Arsenal 2–1 in the final, held in Paris.

    FC Barcelona finished the 2007–08 season third in the La Liga and made it to the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League and Copa del Rey (Spanish cup), losing to Manchester United and Valencia, respectively. A day after the 4–1 defeat to Real Madrid, Joan Laporta declared that second team coach Josep Guardiola would become head coach, and still to today the team we know as the PEP team is displaying excellent football and the right place for Lional Messi, the world’s best football player to be.

he said no

I am not joining
Real Madrid; I'm
staying at Roma
for life - Daniele
De Rossi
De Rossi rules out Real
Madrid move...
By Salvatore Landolina
19 Jun 2010 12:52:00
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Daniele De Rossi - Roma
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Daniele De Rossi
Roma midfielder Daniele De
Rossi has responded to
reports claiming he was
considering a move to Real
Madrid, and said he will not
budge from the capital.
His comments come just days
after club president Rosella
Sensi silenced voices in
relation to a lucrative offer
from Madrid for the Italian
international.
"My future? It's written. Sensi
refused another offer and
said I would be staying at
Roma forever, not just until
the end of my contract," De
Rossi told the press.
De Rossi, who is at the 2010
World Cup, was questioned
on the lack of spark that has
shadowed a cold tournament
thus far.
"There are no games that
end 6-0. Look at Spain or
Germany, or the way Brazil
struggled or even the France
flop," he said.
"My favourite is Argentina,
but Italy is Italy."
Who has the best chance of
winning the World Cup?

GUARDIOLA; a man of his words

Guardiola: year II
Sandra Sarmiento
Josep Guardiola was
unveiled as Barça
manager two years ago.
What he has achieved so
far has far exceeded
expectations – with no
fewer than seven trophies
won.
He promised effort, work
and pride in the team. And
Guardiola is a man of his
word. He has done much
more than that. He didn ’t
promise any titles, yet he has
won seven. It is exactly two
years today that the
Guardiola era began, and
what changes we have seen
in that time. He brought
belief back to the club and
so many dreams have come
true in the last 730 days.
“I sense that I won’t let
you down. I feel ready”
Guardiola
became first
team
manager
after leading
the reserves
to
promotion.
Many
doubted whether he had
enough experience. Although
he knows the club and
knows what it needs, he had
a lot of sceptics to deal with
at first. But he made them
eat their words. He did
everything that was expected
of him and more.
“I believe in work, effort
and talent”
Everybody knows that
Guardiola has got the team
working harder than ever. He
always knows the right thing
to say and the players have
learned his methods to the
extent that they can work
with their eyes closed. He
changed the training routine,
the diet and even rest times.
He has changed the way the
team assembles for matches.
And everything he has done
has been the right thing.
Simply unbeatable.
“I get the feeling that the
people will be proud of us.
They ’ll enjoy themselves”
Guardiola had inherited a
team that has confidence in
itself. They had finished third
in the league and crashed
out of the Champions League
in the semi finals. Much of
the prestige gained from the
win in Paris had disappeared.
There was even a drop in the
number of fans coming to
the stadium. Guardiola
managed to win back the
Camp Nou’s faith.
“I’d like to promise titles,
but that would be a
mistake ”
Guardiola is
an obsessive,
meticulous
worker with
a winning
mentality,
but also a lot
of respect
for the
opposition. He only speaks of
other team ’s virtues. He will
only speak highly of any side,
be it the most humble of
clubs or a Champions League
contender. That ’s the
message he has got across to
the squad, to the press and
to everybody around him. He
has dealt with everything
with humility. And that has
led to seven titles.
Football
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An evolution of the
Rijkaard style
Txiki Begiristain, the
technical secretary of
FC Barcelona, was a
disciple of Johan Cruyff
and also worked with
Frank Rijkaard and Pep
Guardiola. “Cruyff
designed the system
and produced the
Dream Team. Frank
Rijkaard adapted it to
modern football,
especially in a physical
sense, and Guardiola
developed the idea ” is
what he has said on
many an occasion.

TRANSFER

Botía transferred to Sporting
www.fcbarcelona.cat
Alberto Botía, who has
spent this season on loan
to Sporting Gijón, has
finally been transferred to
the Asturian club for 4
seasons. Barça maintain
an option to repurchase
that they can exercise
during the first three
years.
The Murcian centre back
joined the FC Barcelona
youth system in 2003 at the
tender age of 14. Two years
later he debuted with Barça
Atlètic, where he spent four
seasons. In the last of these,
2008/09, he also made his
first appearance for the first
team, but spent the next
season on loan to Sporting
Gijón.
Botía important at
Sporting
Despite his youth (he is only
21 years), Alberto Botía has
gained a regular starting
place at Sporting under
Manolo Preciado. The
defender from Alquerías
played 26 league matches, 25
of them starting in the centre
back role.
First team debut for Barça
2009/10 was
the season
when Botía
got his first
taste of La
Liga in the
very last
game of the
campaign at
Riazor against Deportivo
Coruña. Botía, who wore ‘37’
that day, came on as a
substitute for Gerard Piqué.
Football
Unforgettable
promotion with
Guardiola
One of Alberto Botía’s
fondest memories of
his time at FCB was the
end of the 2007/08
season. Barça B, then
managed by Pep
Guardiola, achieved the
much desired target of
promotion to Second
Division B after winning
to play offs against
Castillo and Barbastre.

HAPPY DANNY

Alves happy to be at the
Tournament
With Inter Milan’s Maicon
seemingly Brazil coach
Dunga ’s preferred option at
right back, Dani Alves may
have to make do with a start
off the bench against North
Korea, though there has
been plenty of speculation
that he could be an option in
midfield, The Barca man is
philosophical about it all and
explained: “I’m happy to be
here. Dunga has achieved
something very important
with the squad and that is
that nobody can consider
themselves a definite starter,
or always a sub. That ’s very
good for the group. Honestly,
I ’m not worrying about
whether I’ll start or not. I’m
just very happy to be here at
the World Cup – that’s
enough for me”.
Football
Toure and Alves join in
the fray
Praise for Messi
Dani Alves is keeping a
close eye on the
Tournament and
reckons: “Messi plays
with Xavi and Iniesta
behind him at Barca
and with all respect, he
doesn ’t have the same
quality players with
him in the Argentina
team. He ’s carrying a
lot of responsibility, but
he never complains.
He ’s a really nice guy
and he’s just like he
was when he first came
to the club – he’s
phenomenal!”
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true?


Outgoing Barcelona president: Sale of Yaya Toure to Premier League club 'very advanced'
Ivorian set for switch to England...
By Matt Monaghan
15 Jun 2010 17:38:00
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Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast) - (Gettyimages)
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Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal target Yaya Toure is set to complete a Premier League switch imminently, according to outgoing Barcelona president Joan Laporta.

Toure, 27, has been linked with a £25 million move all summer, after the Catalans' head coach Pep Guardiola grew frustrated with the player's agent. City were believed to be the keenest team in the chase, while the Ivory Coast midfielder was believed to be a potential makeweight in Cesc Fabregas' move to the Nou Camp.

Speaking to reporters before he hands over control to Sandro Rosell, Laporta declared a transfer was imminent.

"The sale of Toure is very advanced," Laporta confirmed.

Earlier in the week, Toure had confirmed his desire to sample life in England, but for now is focused on his country's exploits in South Africa. He said: "I have said for a long time that I want to play in the Premier League.

"For me, the Premier League is a very good competition and I love that.

"After the World Cup I will decide what I want to do."

write and earn

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WORK AND EARN

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