Barcelona Fc!
Name Futbol Club Barcelona
Nicknames Barca
Blaugrana
Culés
Mascot "Abuelo del Barça"
Established November 29, 1899 (111 years)
Estadio Camp Nou
Capacity 113,023
Location Barcelona, Spain
President Sandro Rossell
Coach Josep Guardiola
Qatar Foundation Sponsor
Unicef
Nike sports equipment
Competition Spanish Cup
Division La Liga
Website fcbarcelona.cat
Futbol Club Barcelona is a Spanish club in the city of Barcelona, Spain.
The club's fans are known as culers (culés or, in Spanish). In 2010, a survey by the German company Sport + Markt concluded that the fans of Barcelona is Europe's largest, with about 57.8 million people [1]. Barcelona was the first Spanish club to win the same season the triplet, consisting of the Champions League, the Cup and La Liga. [2] Barcelona is one of the best known brands in the world [3].
Barcelona are strongly identified with the Catalan region, which was proclaimed as a symbol. Their departures are considered as a tourist event for up to outsiders and routinely demonstration sites of nationalism - and divides - Catalan. The testimony of one its most famous fans, the tenor Josep Carreras, invited to sing at the centennial celebration of the team in 1999, expresses this idea well: "Being a fan of Barca goes beyond the purely sporting event. It is the feeling of roots, values and identity of a country: Catalonia. "[3] Other expressions are the iconic local track team captain, who usually plays the flag of Catalonia, and més que un club motto, adopted in 1968. [3] Despite this is the club that gave more players to the Spanish Football Selection [4].
The city of Barcelona is a rare case of a city with two football clubs in non-treated, while Barcelona, as is well known, adds twenty titles in the Spanish League, twenty-five Cups King, three Champions Leagues and the World FIFA Club, the other team's city, Espanyol, is evidence of only four words of the King Cups This inequity is one of the factors that make them feel Blaugrana biggest rivalry with a team from another city, Real Madrid, with whom divides the hegemony of Spanish football. The feeling is mutual, with the blancos loathing more than Barcelona to the city rivals, Atletico Madrid. The rivalry between Barca and Real is considered one of the largest in the world.
Barcelona, its archrival Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao Spanish are the only teams that have never been relegated to second division Spanish. For too long, the club was proud to be perhaps the only time giant in the world do not use the logos of sponsors on their shirts football, only one in 2006 was soon placed in the abdominal part of the blouses, and still showing good causes: the club pays, rather than receive, to print the logo of UNICEF. From the 2011/12 season, financial difficulties, [5], the tradition will give way to bigger sponsorship deal in football history, where Barca will receive 30 million annually for five years for display, along with the Unicef, the mark of the Qatar Foundation. [6]
[Edit] History
Time of Barcelona in 1903. [Edit] Early years (1899-1908) On October 22, 1899, a Swiss former footballer, Hans Gamper, put an ad in Los Deportes declaring his wish to form a football club in Barcelona . A positive response resulted in a meeting at the Gimnasio Solé on November 29. Eleven players attended: Walter Wild, Lluís d'Osso, Bartomeu Terradas, Kunzler Otto, Otto Maier, Enric Ducal, Pere Cabot, Carles Pujol, Josep Llobet, John Parsons and William Parsons.
As a result, the Foot-Ball Club Barcelona was born in a cosmopolitan, yet paradoxically it woud together with the Catalan spirit, the club only exalt later. [3] The name in English, the language of the land for the creation of football, England was common at the time. The colors would also be external influence: legend has it that Gamper was inspired would have on the Basel, which he was captain of the team, to choose a new club. [3] would then be red and blue. The red would be replaced by garnet, since this is the color that the designer had the shield provision.
The announcement that Hans "Joan Gamper (spelled" Kansas Kamper ") expressed his wish to assemble a team futebol.Em 1902, the club won its first trophy, the Copa Macaya, and also played his first final of the Copa del Rey , losing 2-1 to Bizcaya [7].
[Edit] With Gamper (1908-1925) In 1908, Gamper became club president for the first time. Eventually becoming known for its name in Catalan: Joan Gamper. He took office with the team on the verge of bankruptcy and has not won anything since the Campeonato de Catalunya 1905. Gamper won elections for club president five times between 1908 and 1925, and spent 25 years at the helm. One of his main achievements was to help to acquire its own stadium.
On March 14, 1909, after ten years of the foundation, the team moved into the Carrer Industria, a stadium with a capacity of 8000 seats. Gamper was used this ploy to get more supporters for the club, which soon became more numerous than the first rival, the now defunct Català. [3] The architecture of the stadium would yield one of the team nicknames, culé, which derive cultural expression, Catalan word to describe the anus: the reason was the fact that people passing by the stadium on game day could only see the buttocks of fans seated in the bleachers walls. [3] The following year he won his first Copa del Rey
Gamper also recruited Jack Greenwell as manager. This saw the club begin to improve in the field: [8] in the 1910s, highlighted by the strengthening of the rivalry with the then Royal Español, the team created the slogan that was later embraced by Barca: identification with players and the region place, as a counterpart to the foreignness of the Blaugrana, and by the goals of Paulino Alcántara player coming of the Spanish colony of the Philippines and leading scorer in club history, having noted the astonishing mark of 357 goals in 357 games. [3]
Barcelona and shared the achievements Español Catalan Championship, the Copa Macaya derived, with culés winning five in the period in 1913, 1916, 1919, 1920 and 1921, against three rival (1912, 1915 and 1918). In parallel, Barcelona also won three more Cups King in 1912, 1913 and 1920. The achievements did the club get more fans, the gradual increase has made the Barcelona arrange another stage, moving to Las Corts, which opened in 1922. This stadium had an initial capacity of 22,000, later expanded to 30,000.
Ricard Zamora, goalkeeper between 1919 and 1922. [Edit] Republic and Civil War (1925-1939) On June 14, 1925, had a political event for the first time to the club: [9] In a reaction against the dictatorship of Primo Rivera, the crowd booed the anthem of Spain. In retaliation, the club was closed for six months while Gamper forced to resign the presidency. [3]
The 1920 followed with the team emphasizing its dominance in local football, getting eight of the ten editions of the Catalan League Cups and four of the King The biggest idols were goalkeeper Ricardo Zamora and Josep Samitier. The team also won the Spanish Cup first made as of the 1928/29 season. The trophy was celebrated with a poem titled "Ode an Platko," which was written by an important member of that generation, Rafael Alberti, inspired by the heroic performance from Barca.
Forebodings of difficulties in the 1930s came with the suicide of Gamper, due to a period of financial and personal problems, [10] might be caused by the 1929 crisis.
Space for the museum in Josep Samitier clube.Embora they continued to have position players Josep School, the club entered a period of decline, in which political conflict overshadowed sport in society. Barca faced a crisis on three fronts: financial, social (with the number of members falling steadily), and sports, despite the team having won the Campionat Catalunya in 1930, 1931, 1932, 1934, 1936 and 1938, and Cups King in 1933, 1934 and 1939. The year 1930 also saw the first two Brazilians to play for Barca, both from the Vasco da Gama and that did not work due to the prejudice for being black: Fausto dos Santos and Jaguaré, [3] that were just in season 1931/32.
I the first weeks of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, the Barca president Josep Sunyol, which was left, was murdered by nationalists linked to right-wing General Franco. Though his death to be unrelated to Barcelona - it was accidentally walking on the wrong side of the border, shouting "Long live the republic" and had no sense of presence close to the nationalist forces [4] - it would later mythologized as a starting point of the chase that the team would suffer from the Franco dictatorship, because the facilities and offices of the club would not escape the fascist occupation in the city.
Manifestation pro-Catalan, something commonplace in the Barcelona games. [Edit] The beginning of an icon catalãoApós the Spanish Civil War, the victorious General Franco banned cultural events other than Castilian in the country, fencing extending the use of Catalan . These measures meant that there were changes in Barcelona: the name to Club de Fútbol Barcelona and the symbol, in which four red stripes on the top direct, alluding to the flag of Catalonia, were reduced to two, to represent the flag of Spain . [3] Consequently, the Catalan Championship, after the edition of 1940, was abolished, ending with Barcelona as its biggest winner, sound, 22 titles, twice the rival Español. During the Franco era, one of the few places where one could speak Catalan was Barca's stadium. [11] It would increasing association of Catalan pride with Barcelona, while Spanish rival would be identified as a ally of the Franco regime [12].
Despite the difficult political situation, Barcelona enjoyed considerable success among the civil war and 1953, precisely the most oppressive of the Franco dictatorship, [4] a possible reason was the rapid restructuring of the club was the fact that the period just nese blaugrana president be appointed by the Spanish government. [12] The team won five titles in Spanish, making it briefly the biggest winner of the competition, and three Cups Generalissimo, as it was renamed the Copa del Rey Samitier was the coach and the team also met Joan Velasco, Antoni Ramallets and Caesar. In 1949 he also won the first Copa Latina. [13] At the time, the hegemony of Spanish football was played with Valencia and Atletico Madrid [12].
Since 1950, Barcelona already had the Hungarian László Kubala. Kubala almost signed for Real Madrid, but the decisive moment to change his mind was when he married the daughter of Ferdinand Daučík, who was in contact with Josep Samitier. Then, because of this relationship, Kubala finally picked to play in Barcelona - and would be voted on in 1999 as the greatest player of the first hundred years of the club. [14] In 1952, besides the Spanish league, four different trophies in 1952 : Copa del Generalísimo, Copa America, Copa Eva Duarte and the Copa Martini Rossi. The double victory of the League Cup and would come again the following season.
Previously, on a rainy Sunday in 1951, [15] the crowd left the stadium on foot Les Corts, after a win against Santander 2-1, refusing to take the trams and it surprised no authority Franco. The reason was simple: while a strike was held in Barcelona, which won the backing of supporters Blaugrana. Events like this have made Barcelona represent much more than just Catalonia and many progressive Spaniards saw the club as a staunch defender of the rights and freedoms [16].
In 1953, the club have signed the Argentinian Alfredo di Stefano, after an exquisite view of the player for Millonarios, Colombia team that, on tour in Spain, defeated by Real Madrid 4 x 2 at the Santiago Bernabéu. [12] But the team capital entered the race: while the Blaugrana have negotiated with the holder's legal move from the Argentine (River Plate, as the Colombian teams were banned by FIFA for playing in a league of pirate), Real has negotiated directly with Millonarios. Di Stefano had already played three friendly matches for Barcelona when he came to the solution given by the Ministry of Sports: The player would alternate seasons for each club, starting with the Real. [17] Barcelona did not accept and let Di Stefano played for the team just meringue living in decadence - the rival Atletico Madrid was in the best moment had more trophies and was the one who had initially turned to the military. [3]
The return from Real Madrid three years after losing to Barca Kubala was precisely in the year in which they completed ten of the match in Barcelona which was defeated by 11 x 1 for this team. This game was valid for the second leg of the Cup semi-final of the Generalissimo; going on in Barcelona, the Madridians lost by 3 x 0 and surprising result, the largest rout of matches between two teams, would be the result of intimidation place: the trio Arbitration was scheduled to promote the Real, and police raided the wardrobe of the Barcelona players threatening to leave if the match with the classification. The first major clash between the two teams would be so outrageous that even the Royal recognize this fact in this way. [3] The rivalry, however, would only be fired after the "betrayal" of Di Stefano [18].
[Edit] Last years national hegemony Di Stefano effect would soon be noticed: twenty one years after his last trophy in the Spanish League, the second, Real and regained the trophy would be bi in the next edition. Barcelona go into uncomfortable title drought in the country's premier tournament, only won back in 1959, when he had, besides the Brazilian Evaristo and star of the Spain squad Luisito Suarez, with other stars in Hungarian: the vice world champions in 1954 Zoltán Czibor and Sándor Kocsis. The coach was the legendary Helenio Herrera. The team already had its game at Camp Nou ("new field" in Catalan) in 1957, with Evaristo stuffed with nets in the opening [3].
Despite the title again in 1960, the damage was already done: the Royal, who had won two more times the Spanish in the interim, the bill was conquering Europe following the first five editions of the Champions League of Europe, the current Champions League UEFA, from 1956 to 1960. The taste was bitter for Di Stefano be the great master of blancos, used politically in favor of Franco - whose antipathy caused fascist dictatorship in Europe after the war [12] - which only served to increase the strife.
In 1958, the Barcelona continental champion would also be, but in a smaller tournament, the Cities Fairs Cup - the forerunner of the current UEFA Europa League. The 1959/60 season would see the first time participating in the Champions League, as the Spanish champions. Real Madrid followed in the tournament because it is always the champion of the previous editions, and the two met in the semifinals. Real went on the decision two 3 x 1, each with two goals from Di Stefano, inside and outside the home.
The rematch came the following season's Cup, the second-round final, in another meeting, this time it was the turn of Barca qualify. The team managed to reach the final, on condition of favorite against Portugal's Benfica, still without Eusebius, yet possessed of international prestige. It was a great chance of Barcelona threaten a reaction to the achievements of the real, just in the tournament so far only beaten by him.
For those who were the incarnate raise the Cup in a decision known as la final de los posts, in reference to four times that the attacks resulted in Barcelonista catch balls in the second half when the game was already 3 x 1 (ending in March x 2), turning to Benfica. The scenario was the same Wankdorfstadion in Bern stadium where Czibor and Kocsis - author of two goals - have suffered another surprising defeat in the Cup final of 1954. Kocsis would declare that "I now understand what happened in 1954. In lawn weighs against a curse that the entire Hungarian Tread" - despite the opposing coach, Béla Guttmann, be your compatriot. Czibor, in turn, would say "Normally a game like that would 10x0." [19]
The consolation of winning the club more Spanish League would soon end, the club would be fasting for fourteen years and would rival Real beat him in tournament victories in 1963, when he won for the ninth time. With the lack of titles in the Spanish league, the club had to content themselves with the new trophy now known as the Fairs Cup in 1966 and 1971, and Generalissimo Cup in 1963 and 1968 - this year with something special: it was with a 1 x 0 in the final against Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu stadium full with Franco in the audience. One reason was precisely the lack of money the club, he had spent too much on the works of the Nou Camp - and still turns the idol Evaristo move to Real that decade.
The Franco dictatorship was fading with the aging of the General, who died in 1975. Since last year, the club had already adopted a name in Catalan, Futbol Club Barcelona, [20] which continues today.
[Edit] Cruyff arrives, but does not solve the shortage
Johan Cruijff.A 1973/74 season saw the arrival of a legend, Johan Cruyff. The player was already enshrined in continentally have been followed champion with Ajax's Champions League, the tournament that did not go to Barca, and usher in a great relationship with club soccer in the Netherlands. His coming caused a scandal: it was trading more expensive in world football so far, [21] five million guilders, the price so high that the Spanish government did not approve the transfer. Cruijff could only be taken because it was officially registered as a piece of machinery for agriculture [22]
The impact was immediate: the ace in his first season, led Barca to regain the Spanish League, leading a team Wed featured local talent Juan Manuel Asensi, Carles Rexach and Hugo Sotil, breaking the fast with the right trouncing Real x 0 for 5 at the Bernabeu. Receive his third Golden Ball France Football's done for. During the season, his son born, Cruijff and further increased the idolatry around him to baptize him with the Catalan name of the patron saint of Catalonia, St George was so named Jordi Cruyff.
After a season of dreams, the other would eventually be stressful for Cruyff, even with the company of his friend Johan Neeskens from the 1974/75 season. He'd have to have a broken leg [21] and would leave the club, retiring briefly, after the King's Cup in 1978, just the second trophy they had achieved at Barca. The accredited conquers Barcelona to play for the first time the European Cup Winners Cup, then the European tournament second in importance, being the champion. The award marked the farewell Idol Neeskens. Another highlight to leave, one year later, was the Austrian striker Hans Krankl.
[Edit] The shortage continues in the years 1980Josep Lluís Núñez was elected president of Barcelona in 1978. Its main objectives were to establish the club as a global brand and provide financial stability. [3] In 1982 the club won another Cup Winners Cup and hit the hiring, just before the World Cup that year, another ace world: Diego Maradona. [23] The following season, under coach César Luis Menotti compatriot, Maradona lead Barca to a memorable end to the King's Cup, beating Real Madrid.
Andoni Zubizarreta.No However, passage of highs and lows of Maradona [24] would end up short, also because of stress and fracture in the leg, leaving in 1984, and poor relationship with the board, his exit was enacted after he was suspended for three months in Spanish football because of the pitched battle that provoked the King's Cup final that year against Athletic Bilbao (who won by 1 x 0). Deprived of it, the club accepted a proposal from the small Italian team Napoli and Argentina, disgusted with what he deemed a lack of effort in Barcelona defend him at trial, accepted [23].
Who replaced him as a great team leader was the German Bernd Schuster, [25] at the club since 1980. Just after the departure of Maradona, Barca win La Liga again, the first time since the title with Cruyff in 1974 and is also the first since the death of Franco detested. [4] Under the guidance of Terry Venables, the team won 1984/85 edition.
The following season, the team came back to the Champions League final, with perhaps more favoritism than they had in 1960: his opponent had even less prestige, Romania's Steaua Bucharest, which would attempt to be the first team in Europe to win the Communist most important tournament of clubs on the continent. To complete the final will be Spain, Sevilla. The match, however, end in 0 and 0 x rumaria to the shootout. Even with the defending goalkeeper Urruti first two penalty kicks opponents, no Barcelona player managed to hit their collection and the title went to Romania.
Shirt-tribute to Hristo Stoichkov.Jogadores Basques like Urruti, would be increasingly common in the club, which already had with Jose Ramon Alexanko. The next season, also hire Andoni Zubizarreta, and the scorer of the recently held World Cup 1986, the Englishman Gary Lineker. Lineker did very well in the first season, scoring 21 goals in 41 games, getting to make three of the Blaugrana in a 3 x 2 over Real Madrid [26].
The results, however, and appeared in 1988, after three consecutive titles from Real Madrid in the league, Venables would be gone, like the idol Schuster - this, for worse, away to Real, after falling out with president Núñez [25] that had used politically in his re-election and had not fulfilled the promise of increasing the wages of German if it won. [23] Madrid, with a young squad known as the Quinta del Buitre, [4] featuring Michel, Emilio Butragueño and striker Hugo Sanchez would win two more times over the championship in one of the worst decades of Barca.
[Edit] Dream Team CruijffCruijff returned to Barcelona in 1988 after winning the European Cup Winners Cup coaching Ajax. Other Basques came under his command: Txiki Begiristain Ion Andoni Goikoetxea, Jose Mari Bakero, Julio Salinas and Julen Lopetegi. Cruyff also hire Michael Laudrup, Ronald Koeman and Hristo Stoichkov. Who was left Lineker in 1989, annoyed by their non-title due to the insistence on using it Cruijff in middle-left position in which he surrendered as well. [26] The first trophy of the new coach has already his first season, winning his second individual then that Recopa 1989. In 1990, it would be the turn of the Copa del Rey
The day coach Ronald Koeman was the hero of the Champions League in 1992, scoring the goal of lack of title. The former defender scored an incredible 67 goals in 192 games for Barca in La Liga [27] The Spanish league is finally back to the Nou Camp in 1991 and three were won in succession. In 1992, the club finally gotten the coveted title of European Cup, beating Sampdoria in the final. Against the Italian team, which also uses blue, Barca played all orange. But at the time of lifting the trophy, the cast wore the traditional robe over blaugrana. [28] From the following year, the club could also count with Romario, who turns Cruyff in his native country playing for PSV Eindhoven. The Shorty lived its heyday in Barcelona, being named the best player in the world by FIFA when the club was even overshadowing his companions. [27] Furthermore, it was also the first Brazilian to be successful there since Evaristo: in the period, team hired six players in the country, among them Roberto Marinho Peres and Dynamite [3], all without success.
Cruijff in Barcelona followed until 1996, leaving eight years in office, and who coached the longer club, [21] by adding eleven trophies. The league championships won under his command (four) were twice defeated by the team between 1960 and 1988, when he arrived. His team-based, particularly the Spanish tetracampeã 1994 - Andoni Zubizarreta, Albert Ferrer, Ronald Koeman, Miguel Angel Nadal, Sergi Barjuan, Josep Guardiola, Guillermo Amor (athlete who has won more titles by the club), Jose Mari Bakero, Michael Laudrup, Hristo Stoichkov and Romario - was accompanied by enough viewers worldwide. Many of them would start there rooting for Barcelona [27]
Michael Laudrup, named as one of the best Dream Team [27] However, the environment had been further strained in 1994, the team had a chance to be bi in the UEFA Champions League (name adopted in 1993 for the former Champions League) favorite and came to the final against Milan, but lost by 4 to 0. It was also the last year that the Spanish team won. Since then, disagreements with Romario and Stoichkov, also owners of strong personalities, they became more frequent for Cruyff, who both departed the team. [21] The Shorty for his frequent trips to Brazil, was sold to Flamengo still in mid-season 1994 / 95, [23] The Bulgarian also left because of a salary disagreement with the president Núñez. [23] Another not get along with Cruyff was the Romanian and former Real Madrid Gheorghe Hagi, who hired after his beautiful Cup 1994 World, did not yield expected after being required by the cherish Cruijff defensive marking. [29]
Hagi came out in 1996, a year after Laudrup, who repeated Evaristo and Schuster to go to Real Madrid. The Dane, who participated in a 5 x 0 imposed by Barça over Real in 1994, would inspire the rivals to return the same rout of Barcelona in 1995. [4] His outward, a reaction to the success of the Real Barca [4 ] was probably motivated by the dissatisfaction of being left out of the European - Cruijff preferred to fill the vacancy of three foreigners in the final with Romario, Stoichkov and Ronald Koeman.
Romario: two years in Barça.Cruijff brief and remarkable, however, planted with Barca after the philosophy that characterizes the club and that he had done in Ajax, the appreciation of the basic categories. The club would follow the same recipe after the departure of the coach, and now the academy has twelve teams, each with up to 24 players. Most technicians are licensed by UEFA to direct the lower categories of Barca, the largest producers of high-level players, and can take up to 15 years to train an athlete. [30]
Josep Guardiola, Albert Ferrer, Carles Busquets, Thomas Christiansen and Sergi Barjuan, and his son Jordi, all boys were taken straight to the first team by Cruyff. Guardiola summed up the ideology of his former coach, still followed today by the club:
"Players have to think fast and play with intelligence, always knowing what the next move (...). This is how we learn to play and that the public expects that we play, so attractive, but without losing the efficiency (...). Cruijff (...) has taught us to play the ball moving quickly. He wore only players of great technique. When you look for players, we still want those qualities. "[30]
Ronaldo, who made a unique and unforgettable season at the club. [Edit] 1996-2003 three years of achievement, four decadênciaCruijff was briefly replaced by Bobby Robson, who took over the club for a single season in 1996/97. He recruited Ronaldo, another promising Brazilian arriving from PSV Eindhoven. In Catalonia, the young man turned El Phenomenon [31] and had a killer season, when they scored just 34 goals in the Spanish league, just the title that was missing - that season, Barca won the Cup, the Spanish Supercup and the Cup Winners Cup European (with his goal in the final against Paris Saint-Germain). The Brazilian, just like Maradona and Romario, would have a memorable and fleeting passage: Núñez after refusing to increase his salary, [31] but it did with Stoichkov and Schuster, [23] the business of the player they sold to Internazionale, who have already wished previously [31].
Luis Enrique, one of the most beloved players by the crowd at the end of século.Quem occupy the space left by Ronaldo were new heroes: their compatriots Giovanni (who came to the team months before the Phenomenon) and Rivaldo, Portuguese Luis Figo and Spain's Luis Enrique , who overcame initial distrust of culés for coming to Real Madrid. The coach was another Netherlands Louis van Gaal. After four years of waiting, the Spanish League was again won. The season would mark the centenary of the club, in 1998/99, saw the strengthening of a revelation at the World Cup 1998, Patrick Kluivert. The match that celebrated the commemoration of 100 years of the foundation was played against nothing less than the Brazilian national team on 28 April. The party game ended in 2 x 2, also marks a reunion of the crowd with idols Ronaldo and Romario, who played for Brazil, as well as the athletes of the club Rivaldo and Giovanni [32].
The departure of Luis Figo to Real Madrid in 2000, traumatized the Barcelona. It became one of the most hated by the fans, who once lionized [4] The Spanish title was won and Rivaldo, who won the Ballon d'Or and Best in the World Cup. However, even a nuisance again before we had was about forty: the club has not scored well in the Champions League and the rival Real Madrid would back the bill it in 1998 and 2000. This year Barca lost the Spanish league. Van Gaal, challenged by the growing colony of fellow citizens who formed the team - Michael Reiziger, Winston Bogarde, Marc Overmars, Frank de Boer, Ronald de Boer, Phillip Cocu, Ruud Hesp and Boudewijn Zenden, besides Kluivert and Jari Litmanen, Finnish trained in Ajax - eventually making the team, and Nunez, president.
The departures of the two were nothing compared to that of Luís Figo. Captain of the cast and most popular player of the crowd, which had as its symbol, [23] was bought by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez for the 2000/01 season, in what was a real shock for everyone, especially for the club. The newly elected president Joan Gaspart never overcome the trauma [4]. Figo skin feel the hatred created in Catalonia: in one of their returns to Camp Nou, playing for Real in El Clásico one was approved in a field with rain objects that included bicycle chains, golf balls, glass bottles, cell phones, screwdrivers and more macabre - the head of a rooster and a pig roast. [4]
Rivaldo came to be criticized for not surrendering in the Brazil squad that played three years in Barcelona.Por, Barca back to living a decline noted in both the remaining cast as new hires in the period, as Simao Sabrosa, Javier Saviola, Geovanni, Fabio Rochemback, Philippe Christanval, Patrik Andersson, Francesco Coco, Gaizka Mendieta, Juan Román Riquelme and Juan Pablo Sorin. Already attracted the meringues bonds with the signings and media called "Galactic", and in the interim two-time champion Spain also win in 2002, the Champions League again, inspired by one of the stars purchased, Frenchman Zinedine Zidane - to make matters worse, the archrival spent the final eliminating Barca in the semifinals with a tie at 1 x 1 in Madrid preceded by a 2 x 0 in Camp Nou.
Another was former galactic idol Ronaldo, who came months later, after a great World Cup 2002. Rivaldo left the club shortly before heading to Milan, dissatisfied with the return of the disaffected Van Gaal. The 2002/03 season ended bad, with Van Gaal was fired in its course, without qualification for the Champions League - the team would be content to play in the UEFA Cup next.
In parallel, the hiring of a third Galactic, David Beckham, the forgettable end of 2002/03, which wake Barcelona. All because the player was a campaign promise of a new president, Joan Laporta, who, without English, went to Plan B: Ronaldinho [33].
Frank Rijkaard and Ronaldinho smiling: the best days of both the Barcelona rose again. [Edit] The years of Rijkaard and Ronaldinho (2003-2008) Although he proposed the very best Real Madrid and Manchester United, Barcelona Ronaldinho chose where could perform under less pressure and be the only star. [34] Along with it came a new coach, Frank Rijkaard, Cruyff indicated by his compatriot [22]. Rijkaard had come to replace the Serb Radomir Antic, in turn hired to replace Van Gaal.
Ronaldinho was slow going in its first season because of injury, in the first round, the team finished only seventh with Rijkaard threatened with dismissal. [35] The reaction would come in the middle of the Spanish League, where he led a great reaction from the Barca a second place - was the title with Valencia. Overshadowed by other reinforcements of the season, which, except for Mexican Rafael Marquez, would not take hold in the club: Portuguese midfielder Ricardo Quaresma, the Turkish goalkeeper Rüştü Reçber [33] and the Netherlands Edgar Davids. At the end of the season, the cast has been renewed, marking the departure of most of the Netherlands - besides himself Davids, Kluivert, Cocu, Reiziger, and Overmars, leaving coach Rijkaard and Giovanni van Bronckhorst. [36] to Another leave was the idol Luis Enrique, who retired.
Ronaldinho 2004/05.A sound stage in the season Ronaldinho was kept in 2004, he received first prize for the best in the world. With a Brazilian colony, also composed of Thiago Motta, Edmilson, Belletti, Sylvinho and the Portuguese-born Deco, Ronaldinho and led a team mingling in two Spanish titles followed in 2005 and 2006. Motta was establishing the club, where professional debut in 2001. Edmílson came accredited with its participation in three consecutive French titles of Lyon, the first team; Belletti and Sylvinho, for outstanding contributions in Spain Celta Vigo and Villarreal respectively, Deco, being the commander of the Port, surprising winner of the Champions League 2003/04. [36]
Amid called Samba Team, [37] also highlighted the dual offensive that Ronaldinho made with Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o (Real Mallorca star, but until then belonging to rival Real Madrid [36]), supplemented by Swede Henrik Larsson and Frenchman Ludovic Giuly (Monaco highlighted the vice-champion of the Champions League [36]), all contractors that season, plus the Spanish silver-from-home Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta young. The youngest was still the promise Argentine Lionel Messi, another to come from the foundations of the club.
The climax came in the second season in the Barcelona in their Champions League campaign Spanish, hit by 3 x 0 Real Bernabeu in full. Ronaldinho enjoyed a performance so impressive that so-soon after scoring the third goal in individual play in the opposing area (similar to the second goal, also his own), a standing ovation by the crowd meringue. In UEFA Champions League, the team reached the final again after twelve years, beating Arsenal upset by 2 x 1, with plenty of fans against the decision in Paris - the English club was full of Frenchmen, including Thierry Henry, and addition, Ronaldinho was not so good at passing the city's club, Paris Saint-Germain.
The authors of the goals in the final of the Champions League in 2006 amid the festivities: Samuel Eto'o and Juliano Belletti. The Brazilian was the unlikely hero in the final by scoring the try of vitória.Porém, the performance of the star off the end (the goals were scored by Samuel Eto'o and Juliano Belletti unexpected in deciding plays of Henrik Larsson
Henrik Larsson victorious in season 2005/06. It were a jovial and Andres Iniesta two passes for the goals in the win against Arsenal in the Champions League final. [38]) would be a harbinger of hard times again. After bad impression left on the 2006 World Cup, Ronaldinho was unable to repeat the stage with frightening regularity as before. The bad phase included a shock defeat in the Club World Cup in 2006, a rival to staff ace, who started his career at Gremio, Internacional. The ensuing season with Barcelona, the Spanish leader, end up losing the title to Real Madrid due to the direct confrontation (the two teams tied in percentage points, 76 each. However, Real Madrid won at the Bernabeu by 2 x 0 and tied for 3 x 3 at Camp Nou). Ronaldinho increasingly ceded its leading position for Messi.
The 2007/2008 season, despite the bombastic hiring Frenchman Thierry Henry, [39] wanted by the club since the previous [40] was a repeat of this: a Barcelona dully third place in the Spanish league with Real Madrid champions again. In the Champions League, managed to reach the semifinals, but were eliminated by eventual champion Manchester United. Ronaldinho, Deco and Rijkaard did not survive and ended up leaving the club by the back door (Ronaldinho and Deco have fallen into self-complacency after the 2005/2006 season, and Rijkaard has been widely blamed for allowing this behavior of the Brazilians in the squad caused disagreements).
Josep Guardiola as coach (2008-present). [Edit] With Guardiola at the helm (2008-present) The lack of accomplishments almost cost him the office of Joan Laporta's pre-season of 2008-09. With the money from sales of dead Ronaldinho, Deco, Lilian Thuram, Oleguer, Edmilson, Gianluca Zambrotta and Giovani dos Santos, the cast was renewed. [41] At the request of new coach Josep Guardiola's idol, € 90 million was spent on hiring Alyaksandar Hleb, Daniel Alves, Gerard Piqué (Barça create what was at Manchester United), Martín Cáceres and Seydou Keita. The reinforcements, particularly Daniel Alves and Pique, amounted to the base in previous years: Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Víctor Valdés, Carles Puyol, Rafael Marquez, Samuel Eto'o, Lionel Messi improved the most meteoric and Bojan [41]. showing the wide use by Pepe Guardiola's called La Masia, the youth academy players from Barcelona.
Lionel Messi, victorious in the 2008/09 season in which Barca won the triple crown. The Argentine scored the second goal in deciding the most important title, the League of Campeões.Em January 17, 2009, Barcelona set the record for accumulating the highest points total for the first half of the season in La Liga, reaching 50 points out of a possible 57, with 16 wins, 2 draws and just one defeat, against Numancia in the first game of the season (and winning the first El Clasico of the season against Real Madrid 2-0 at Camp Nou). The club also reached the Copa del Rey final for the first time since 1998. Six days later, on January 23, the Barcelona IFFHS ranked first in its list of major football clubs in the last 18 years. The ranking was determined by taking into account all the results of the national championships, cup competitions national club competitions of the six continental confederations and FIFA.
On April 14, Barcelona were qualified for the semifinals of the Champions League for the second consecutive year after defeating Bayern Munich 5-1 on aggregate two games and faced Chelsea in the semifinals. Your first step to Chelsea resulted in a goalless draw at home. After the game, faced Real Madrid in El Clásico won by a humiliating 6 x 2. Immediately after the historic victory over their biggest rivals, Barcelona has played against Chelsea in the second round of the Champions League semifinals. Chelsea took the game at Stamford Bridge 1 x 0 from the beginning of the game when Iniesta scored the tie of the classifier on 48 minutes from time. Both very tasty victories do not go unnoticed in maternity wards in Barcelona nine months later, where we noticed an increase in average births per day. The "phenomenon" be named "generation Iniesta" in allusion to the author's dramatic goal against Chelsea. [42]
The idol Samuel Eto'o in his last game for Barca in the victorious final of the UEFA Champions League in 2009, it marked the first gol.Em May 13, FC Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao 4-1 at the Mestalla state to win the Copa del Rey after a few days, Barcelona have confirmed the expected title of La Liga. The club then had the opportunity to be first in Spain to win the triple crown: winning the championship and national cup tournament and interclub most important European in the same season. That was achieved two weeks later, on May 27, in which Barcelona beat Manchester United at the Olimpico in Rome, with a 2 x 0 sealed by the new star player, Messi. The match also marked the departure of the idol Eto'o, who had relationship problems with coach Pep Guardiola. [4] He was transferred to Internazionale in an exchange involving the star of the Italian team, the Swede Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
On December 19, in his most successful year, Barcelona won the title that he lacked the Club World Cup: After being defeated by Brazilian teams of Sao Paulo in 1992 and Internacional in 2006, hit a turning point in overtime Argentineans Estudiantes. [43] Lionel Messi, who scored the victory, would elect two days after the world's best player by FIFA in the year.
The 2009/2010 season was marked by a dispute with Real Madrid for the Spanish League title (with Barca winning the title just in the last round and adding impressive 99 points, plus two classic win against arch-rival, 1-0 at Camp Nou and 2-0 in the Bernabeu), the remarkable rise of Peter (the other player "Made in La Masia"), Messi became even more prolific scorer (due to failure to comply with Ibrahimovic in this function) and for the second consecutive season playing more than 50 games without suffering any injuries, physical problems of Andres Iniesta (since the game against Chelsea in 2008/2009) and Xavi increasingly leading the team in midfield. King's Cup, was eliminated by Sevilla, the first sign that the squad could not bear the load of games and the incredible persecution of Real Madrid in the league.
In the Champions League, showed great strength to reach the semifinals. But once again were eliminated by eventual winners of the competition, this time to Inter Milan (whose coach was none other than Jose Mourinho, now coach of Real Madrid). Iniesta's injuries and the short roster for this season (Messi and Xavi forced to play without rest) did succumb Barca this competition. Still, the club supplied seven players to the Spanish Football Selection would be champions for the first time in World Cup 2010, all of which came from the Youth Blaugrana: Carles Puyol, Andrés Iniesta (authors of the decisive goals in semifinal and final, respectively), Xavi and Gerard Pique were held, along with being champions Víctor Valdés, Sergio Busquets and Pedro (the latter two, revelations of the previous season). Canteras also transferred out of the club, Cesc Fàbregas and Pepe Reina have been other champions of Furia. Another culé champion was the top scorer David Villa, negotiated with the Valencia just before the tournament starts.
At the end of the season, there were elections for President of the Club. Sandro Rosell (Laporta's deputy until 2005) was elected for a term of six years with 61.35% of the votes (with participation of 57,088 members of the Club, a record). He was followed by 14.09% of Agustí Benedito, 12.29% from 10.80% Marc England and Jaume Ferrer, the candidate nominated by Joan Laporta. A clear sign that incredible results on the pitch do not excuse or erase poor attitudes of the now former president (like spying on future political opponents, trade agreements in Uzbekistan, a dictatorship, which is against democratic values and the excessive increase of Barcelona expenditures by the Club). Club members gained access to the audit proved that such problems.
After twelve rounds of live Spanish league and King's Cup and UEFA Champions League, Barcelona finally faced Real Madrid. After a tense weekend, due to pressure from major newspapers of Madrid (who stated once again the order of superiority culé in Spain, this time with the arrival of Jose Mourinho to meringues), repeated the Barcelona Dream Team in 1994 and humiliated rival with a 5 x 0. After a week, Barcelona has made history again: the three finalists for the prize of the world's best players the club are: Xavi, Iniesta and Messi
