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132-525: Futbol Club Barcelona ( Catalan pronunciation: [fubˈbɔl ˈklub bəɾsəˈlonə] ), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça ( [ˈbaɾsə] ), is a professional football club based in Barcelona , Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga , the top flight of Spanish football . Founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, Catalan, German, and English footballers led by Joan Gamper ,

264-537: A Platko ", which was written by a member of the Generation of '27 , Rafael Alberti , inspired by the heroic performance of the Barcelona goalkeeper , Franz Platko. On 23 June 1929, Barcelona won the inaugural Spanish League . A year after winning the championship, on 30 July 1930, Gamper committed suicide after a period of depression brought on by personal and financial problems. Although they continued to have players of

396-456: A double in 1943 and retained Copa del Generalísimo in both 1944 and 1945 . They helped the club win another Copa del Generalísimo and a Copa Eva Duarte (the official precedent of the Supercopa de España ) in 1950 . In 1954, coach Ferdinand Daučík retired the team of second historic attack and gave way to a new generation of players. Daučík managed to form a new champion team that won

528-421: A 1–0 scoreline. By that time, Aduriz had finally retired from playing, Garitano had been replaced as coach by Marcelino , and the 2020–21 Supercopa de España originally intended to follow the delayed cup final was contested, Athletic defeating Real Madrid then Barcelona to claim the trophy. They also defeated Levante in the semi-final of the 2020–21 Copa del Rey to reach the final on 17 April 2021, making them

660-447: A 1–1 draw in normal time and Extra time. The campaign included some memorable victories, including a 4–2 win against Barcelona at home and a 4–0 aggregate win over Atlético Madrid. Athletic's shield has incorporated the escutcheons of Bilbao and Biscay. From the shield of Bilbao, it takes the bridge and the church of San Anton , and the wolves from the powerful Haro family , who were lords of Biscay and founders of Bilbao in 1300. From

792-738: A deep interest in football, so when they returned they began to organize games with British workers at the Hippodrome of Lamiako , which at the time was the home of organized football in Biscay. In 1898, Juan Astorquia and 6 other Basque students belonging to the Gymnasium Zamacois, began to practice football in Lamiako. Three years later, in 1901, at a meeting held at the Café García , this group of football pioneers, now larger, began conversations to become

924-624: A 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 trophies. With 11 trophies, Cruyff became the club's most successful manager at that point. He also became the club's longest consecutive serving manager, serving eight years. Cruyff's fortune was to change, and, in his final two seasons, he failed to win any trophies and fell out with president Josep Lluís Núñez, resulting in his departure. Reacting to Cruyff's departure, an independent protest group

1056-610: A game against Real Sociedad, Iribar and Sociedad captain Inaxio Kortabarria carried out the Ikurriña (the Basque nationalist flag), and placed it ceremonially on the centre-circle – this was the first public display of the flag since the death of Francisco Franco . By then the Franco regime also ended and the club reverted to using the name Athletic . In 1977, the club reached the final of

1188-467: A goal from Messi bringing comparison to Diego Maradona's goal of the century , but then lost the second leg 4–0. They took part in the 2006 FIFA Club World Cup , but were beaten by a late goal in the final against Brazilian side Internacional . In the Champions League , Barcelona were knocked out of the competition in the last 16 by eventual runners-up Liverpool on away goals . Barcelona finished

1320-531: A league or competition to participate in) and even switch between football codes. Likewise, a football club may fold if it becomes insolvent or is incapable of fielding a team to play matches. The number of players that take part in the sport simultaneously, thus forming the team are: Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( Basque : Bilboko Athletic Kluba ; Spanish : Athletic Club de Bilbao ), commonly known abroad as Athletic Bilbao ( Spanish : Athletic de Bilbao ), or simply as Athletic domésticas,

1452-515: A legalized official football club, which they called Athletic Club , using the English spelling. Luis Márquez became the club's first president , while Astorquia and Alfred Mills (the club's only foreign-born founder) were named the team's captain and vice-captain, but in 1902, Astorquia replaced Márquez as president, ruling from 1902 until 1903. Under his presidency, Athletic and their city rivals Bilbao Football Club reached an agreement to combine

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1584-425: A match in which goalkeeper Carmelo had to play almost the entire match injured because substitutions did not exist at that time. The 1960s were dominated by Real Madrid, and Atlético went through a few years of transition in which the only figure that shone was goalkeeper José Ángel Iribar , who became one of the club's greatest legends along with Zarra. Due to the team's bad form, the fans used to constantly repeat

1716-414: A meeting, "Barcelona cannot die and must not die. If there is nobody who is going to try, then I will assume the responsibility of running the club from now on." Club president on five separate occasions between 1908 and 1925, he spent 25 years in total at the helm. One of his main achievements was ensuring Barça acquire its own stadium and thus generate a stable income. On 14 March 1909, the team moved into

1848-429: A new young president, Joan Laporta, and a young new manager, former Dutch and AC Milan star Frank Rijkaard , saw the club bounce back. On the field, an influx of international players, including Ronaldinho , Deco , Henrik Larsson , Ludovic Giuly , Samuel Eto'o , Rafael Márquez and Edgar Davids , combined with home grown Spanish players, such as Carles Puyol , Andrés Iniesta , Xavi and Víctor Valdés , led to

1980-541: A period of institutional crisis and during that time it did not participate in the Copa del Rey. In 1920, with the return of Billy Barnes, Athletic once again participated in the national championship and in 1921 won the Copa del Rey again. The star of this team was Pichichi , a prolific goalscorer who scored the first goal at the San Mamés on 21 August 1913 and a hat-trick in the 1915 final . The last championship won by Pichichi

2112-479: A possible 15 in his three years at the helm of the club, becoming the all-time record holder of most titles won as a coach at Barcelona. In December, Barcelona won the Club World Cup for a record second time since its establishment, after defeating 2011 Copa Libertadores holders Santos 4–0 in the final thanks to two goals from Messi and goals from Xavi and Fàbregas. As a result, the overall trophy haul during

2244-530: A record six FIFA World Player of the Year awards, with winners including Romário , Ronaldo , Rivaldo , Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi . In 2010 , three players who came through the club's youth academy — Lionel Messi , Andrés Iniesta and Xavi —were chosen as the three best players in the world in the Ballon d'Or ranking, an unprecedented feat for players from the same football academy. Additionally, players representing

2376-558: A record) of total votes. Rosell signed David Villa from Valencia for €40 million and Javier Mascherano from Liverpool for €19 million. At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Barcelona players that had graduated from the club's La Masia youth system would play a major role in Spain becoming world champions. On 11 July, seven players who came through the academy participated in the final , six of whom were Barcelona players who started

2508-455: A returning Clemente failed to reproduce his success. In 1998, coach Luis Fernández led the club to second in La Liga and UEFA Champions League qualification. Fernández benefited from the club adopting a more flexible approach to the cantera . In 1995, Athletic had signed Joseba Etxeberria from regional rivals Real Sociedad, causing considerable bad feeling between the two clubs. Etxeberria

2640-510: A row between 1930 and 1933 and they were also La Liga runners-up in 1932 and 1933. In 1931, Athletic defeated Barcelona 12–1, the latter's worst defeat and the biggest win in LaLiga history. Athletic's success under English coaches continued with William Garbutt . His first season in Spain was a massive success as he managed to win the Liga that year. He had inherited a talented squad that included one of

2772-507: A section of red-and-white stripes and a section of local motifs, is from 1922; this was a really simple version which was adapted several times, some of which closely resembled the crest of Atlético Madrid , originally a branch of the Bilbao club. Finally, in 1941 the first version of the current shield was created, but the name "Atlético Bilbao" was used when General Francisco Franco outlawed all non-Spanish names during his fascist reign. In 1972,

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2904-459: A sixth-place finish was the best that he could manage. At the end of the season, Antić's short-term contract was not renewed, and club president Joan Gaspart resigned, his position having been made completely untenable by such a disastrous season on top of the club's overall decline in fortunes since he became president three years prior. After the disappointment of the Gaspart era, the combination of

3036-485: A temporary basis, and managed to at least steer the club to the last Champions League spot on the final day of the season against Valencia via an exceptional performance from Rivaldo , who completed arguably the greatest hat-trick in history with an overhead bicycle kick winner in the final minute to secure qualification. Despite better form in La Liga and a good run to the semi-finals of the Champions League, Rexach

3168-567: A treble. In December 2009, Barcelona won the 2009 Club World Cup . Barcelona accomplished two new records in Spanish football in 2010 as they retained the La Liga trophy with 99 points and won the Supercopa de España for a ninth time. After Laporta's departure from the club in June 2010, Sandro Rosell was soon elected as the new president. The elections were held on 13 June, where he got 61.35% (57,088 votes,

3300-570: A world record transfer fee from his previous club, PSV and delivered a cup treble , winning the Copa del Rey, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and the Supercopa de España, with Ronaldo registering 47 goals in 49 games. Despite his success, Robson was only ever seen as a short-term solution while the club waited for Louis van Gaal to become available. Like Maradona, Ronaldo only stayed a short time before he left for Inter Milan in another world record transfer. However, new heroes emerged, such as Luís Figo , Patrick Kluivert , Luis Enrique and Rivaldo , and

3432-524: Is Jon Uriarte. The board of the Athletic Club is composed of the following directors: Athletic began playing in an improvised white kit, but in the 1902–03 season, the club's first official strip became half-blue, half-white shirts similar to those worn by Blackburn Rovers , which were donated by Juan Moser. Later, a young student from Bilbao named Juan Elorduy, who was spending Christmas 1909 in London ,

3564-664: Is a professional football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country , Spain . They are known as Los Leones (The Lions) because their stadium was built near a church called San Mamés , which was named after Saint Mammes , an early Christian thrown to the lions by the Romans . Mammes pacified the lions and was later made a saint . The team plays its home matches at the San Mamés Stadium . Its home colours are red and white-striped shirts with black shorts. Athletic are

3696-522: Is a type of sports club which is an organized or incorporated body. Typically these will have a committee, secretary, president, or chairperson, registrar and members. Football clubs typically have a set of rules, including rules under which they play and are themselves typically members of a league or association which are affiliated with a governing body within their sport. Clubs may field multiple teams from their registered players (which may participate in several different divisions or leagues). A club

3828-416: Is no need for import"), made sense during these early days. In 1922, a new English coach, Fred Pentland , arrived; in 1923, he led the club to victory in the Copa del Rey. He revolutionised the way Athletic played, favouring the short-passing game. In 1927, Pentland left Athletic but returned in 1929 and led the club to La Liga/Copa del Rey doubles in 1930 and 1931. The club won the Copa del Rey four times in

3960-492: Is one of three founding members of the Primera División that have never been relegated from the top division since its inception in 1929, the others being Real Madrid and Barcelona . These three clubs, along with Osasuna , are the only four professional clubs in Spain that are not sports corporations; instead they are owned and operated by club members. Athletic's main rivals are Real Sociedad , against whom it contests

4092-694: Is responsible for ensuring the continued existence of its teams in their respective competitions. The oldest football clubs date back to the early 19th century. While records exist for most incorporated clubs, they do not exist for all football clubs. Standalone clubs are usually run like businesses and appear on official registers . However many football clubs were formed as part of larger organisations (schools, athletic clubs, societies) and therefore public records of their formation and operation may not be kept unless they compete with other teams. Football clubs may also be dormant for periods and be re-formed (for example going into recess for reasons such as war or lack of

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4224-415: Is that it gives teams access to additional volunteer or paid support staff, facilities and equipment. There are several varieties of football, including association football , gridiron football , Australian rules football , Gaelic football , rugby league and rugby union . The number of players selected for each team, within these varieties and their associated codes, can vary substantially. Sometimes,

4356-461: Is the " Cant del Barça ", written by Jaume Picas and Josep Maria Espinàs . Barcelona traditionally play in dark shades of blue and garnet stripes, hence nicknamed Blaugrana . Domestically, Barcelona has won a record 77 trophies: 27 La Liga , 31 Copa del Rey , 14 Supercopa de España , three Copa Eva Duarte , and two Copa de la Liga titles, as well as being the record holder for the latter four competitions. In international club football ,

4488-668: Is to sign players native to or trained in football in the greater Basque Country , which includes Biscay , Gipuzkoa , Álava and Navarre (in Spain), as well as Labourd , Soule and Lower Navarre (in France). Since 1912, Athletic has played exclusively with players meeting its own criteria to be deemed Basque. It has gained Athletic both admirers and critics. The club has been praised for promoting home grown players and club loyalty. The rule does not apply to coaching staff, with several examples of non-Basques both from Spain and abroad having coached

4620-425: The 1939–40 season . Athletic Club did not win the title again until 1943 and by that time Garbutt had been exiled. In 1941, the club was forced to change its name to Atlético Bilbao, following a decree issued by Franco , who also changed the name of the Copa del Rey to Copa del Generalísimo, in reference to his own figure. A year before Telmo Zarra made his debut, who became one of the club's great legends and

4752-519: The 2007–08 season third in La Liga and reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League and Copa del Rey , both times losing to the eventual champions, Manchester United and Valencia , respectively. The day after a 4–1 defeat to Real Madrid, Joan Laporta announced that Barcelona B coach Pep Guardiola would take over Frank Rijkaard's duties on 30 June 2008. Barcelona B youth manager Pep Guardiola took over Frank Rijkaard's duties at

4884-564: The 2012 UEFA Europa League Final at the Arena Națională in Bucharest . They also reached the 2012 Copa del Rey Final , losing again to Barcelona. After star midfielder Javi Martínez moved to FC Bayern Munich , Athletic were eliminated from the 2012–13 Europa League group stage , and were knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Basque club Eibar of the third tier . Relegation was a threat until

5016-456: The 2019–20 season saw more consistent results. After the first five games of the season, the Lions sat at the top of the table, their best start in 26 years. That form could not be maintained, and by the halfway point they had slipped to mid-table after several draws. However, in the Copa del Rey , they survived two penalty shootouts against second-tier opponents and then defeated Barcelona to reach

5148-472: The Basque derby , and Real Madrid, due to sporting and political identity ; a minor rivalry also exists with Barcelona due to historical significance . At various points in the club's history, further Basque league derbies have been contested against Alavés , Eibar and Osasuna. The club is known for its cantera policy of bringing young Basque players through the ranks, as well as recruiting players from other Basque clubs. Athletic's official policy

5280-417: The Basque flag (this was worn against Atlético Madrid in the 2012 UEFA Europa League final ). Between 2001 and 2009 Athletic also manufactured their own playing kit, under the brand 100% Athletic and utilising the small design from their centenary celebrations as a manufacturer's logo. Athletic were one of the last major clubs which did not have the logo of an official sponsor emblazoned on their kit. In

5412-640: The Camp de la Indústria , a stadium with a capacity of 8,000. To celebrate their new surroundings, the club conducted a logo contest the following year. Carles Comamala won the contest, and his suggestion became the crest that the club still wears – with some minor changes – as of the present day. The stadium is regarded as the main element that helped the club grow in the 1910s and become a dominant team, winning three successive Campionats de Catalunya between 1909 and 1911, three Copa del del Rey in four years between 1910 and 1913 , and four successive Pyrenees Cup between

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5544-466: The European Footballer of the Year in 1960 , and two influential Hungarians recommended by Kubala, Sándor Kocsis and Zoltán Czibor , the team won another national double in 1959 and a La Liga and Fairs Cup double in 1960. In 1961, they became the first club to beat Real Madrid in a European Cup play-off. However, they lost 2–3 to Benfica in the final. The 1960s were less successful for

5676-482: The Italian Air Force , causing more than 3,000 deaths, with one of the bombs hitting the club's offices. A few months later, Catalonia came under occupation and as a symbol of the "undisciplined" Catalanism , the club, now down to just 3,486 members, faced a number of restrictions. All signs of regional nationalism, including language, flag and other signs of separatism were banned throughout Spain. The Catalan flag

5808-514: The Santiago Bernabéu in front of dictator Francisco Franco , with coach Salvador Artigas , a former republican pilot in the Civil War. With the end of Franco's dictatorship in 1974, the club changed its official name back to Futbol Club Barcelona and reverted the crest to its original design, including the original letters once again. The 1973–74 season saw the arrival of Johan Cruyff , who

5940-505: The UEFA Cup after eliminating teams like AC Milan or FC Barcelona , among others, and only losing on away goals to Juventus . They also reached the Copa del Rey final, which they lost to Real Betis on penalties (Iribar missed the decisive one, which gave the Sevillians the victory), and reached third position in LaLiga. Despite these defeats, this is remembered as one of the best teams in

6072-482: The first Copa del Rey , losing 1–2 to Bizcaya (a combination of players from Athletic Club and Bilbao FC ) in the final . In 1908, Hans Gamper – now known as Joan Gamper – became club president in a desperate attempt to save Barcelona from extinction, finding the club struggling not just on the pitch, but also financially and socially, after not winning a competition since the Campionat de Catalunya in 1905. He said in

6204-431: The 50 shirts bought by Elorduy, half were then sent to Atlético Madrid , where Elorduy was a committee member and a former player; it had originally begun as a youth branch of Athletic Bilbao. Before the switch, only one other team in Spain wore red and white: Sporting de Gijón , since 1905. Change colours have often been blue and/or white, or black. In 2011, Athletic released a green, white and red away kit inspired by

6336-515: The Bernabéu, making him the first Barcelona manager to win there twice. Ronaldinho's performance was so impressive that after his second goal, which was Barcelona's third, some Real Madrid fans gave him a standing ovation. In the Champions League, Barcelona beat English club Arsenal in the final . Trailing 1–0 to a ten-man Arsenal and with less than 15 minutes remaining, they came back to win 2–1, with substitute Henrik Larsson, in his final appearance for

6468-424: The Bilbao native was sanctioned with 17 games without playing (although the match referee did not show him any card for this fact). In 1985 and 1986, Athletic finished third and fourth respectively. During the 1985–86 season Clemente was fired due to a bad relationship with the team's star, Sarabia. A succession of coaches that included José Ángel Iribar, Howard Kendall , Jupp Heynckes and Javier Irureta and even

6600-768: The Bilbao team won the match 2–0 with goals from Arieta and Mauri , and lifted the Cup in Chamartin Stadium. From that moment on, this was remembered as el equipo de los once aldeanos (en:  the team of eleven villagers ), since club president Enrique Guzmán shouted during the title celebration: "With eleven villagers, we have beaten them!" , in allusion to the club's tradition of playing only with players from its homeland. The classic team lineup was: Carmelo ; Orue , Garay , Canito ; Mauri , Maguregui , Marcaida ; Arteche , Arieta (whom they considered Zarra's successor), Uribe and Gaínza . Thanks to their league title triumph,

6732-453: The Boixos Nois' ideology from liberalism to fascism , which caused division within the group and a sudden support for Núñez's presidency. Inspired by British hooligans, the remaining Boixos Nois became violent, causing havoc leading to large-scale arrests. After the 1986 FIFA World Cup , Barcelona signed the English top scorer Gary Lineker , along with goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta , but

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6864-541: The Gamper-led era, Barcelona won eleven Campionats de Catalunya, six Copa del Rey and four Pyrenees Cups. On 14 June 1925, in a spontaneous reaction against Primo de Rivera 's dictatorship, the crowd in the stadium jeered the Royal March . As a reprisal, the ground was closed for six months and Gamper was forced to relinquish the presidency of the club. This coincided with the transition to professional football, and, in 1926,

6996-408: The Spanish football champions for the 22nd time, still with four games left to play. Ultimately, Barcelona ended the season 15 points clear of rivals Real Madrid, despite losing 2–1 to them at the beginning of March. They reached the semi-final stage of both the Copa del Rey and the Champions League , going out to Real Madrid and Bayern Munich respectively. On 19 July, it was announced that Vilanova

7128-493: The best players of both sides to form a team known as Club Bizcaya , which was created to compete in the Copa de la Coronación (forerunner of the Copa del Rey which officially began a year later) held in Madrid ; Bizcaya returned to Bilbao with the trophy after beating Joan Gamper 's FC Barcelona 2–1 in the final . On 24 March 1903, Bilbao FC and its associates were officially and definitively absorbed by Athletic Club. In

7260-412: The best strikers in the club's history, known as Primera delantera histórica ( en :  First historic attack ), formed by Lafuente , José Iraragorri , Bata (top scorer of LaLiga in 1930–31), Chirri II and Guillermo Gorostiza (top scorer of LaLiga in 1929-30 and 1931–32). Goalkeeper Gregorio Blasco also stood out, who was the most unbeaten goalie in LaLiga on three occasions. Garbutt promoted

7392-455: The changing room, though nothing was ever proven. Despite the difficult political situation, CF Barcelona enjoyed considerable success during the 1940s and 1950s. In 1945, with Josep Samitier as coach and players like César , Ramallets and Velasco , they won La Liga for the first time since 1929. They added two more titles in 1948 and 1949. In 1949 , they also won the first Copa Latina . In June 1950, Barcelona signed László Kubala , who

7524-693: The club added full colour to the design and recovered the original English "Athletic Club" name. In 2008, the shape of the shield was slightly altered and a new "Athletic Club" typeface was introduced. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. The current club president (elected in June 2022, following Aitor Elizegi )

7656-564: The club as a staunch defender of rights and freedoms . Coach Ferdinand Daučík and László Kubala led the team to five different trophies including La Liga, the Copa del Generalísimo, the Copa Latina , the Copa Eva Duarte , and the Copa Martini & Rossi in 1952. In 1953, the club won La Liga and the Copa del Generalísimo again. With Helenio Herrera as coach, a young Luis Suárez ,

7788-427: The club has become a symbol of Catalan culture and Catalanism , hence the motto "Més que un club" ( "More than a club" ). Unlike many other football clubs, the supporters own and operate Barcelona. It is the third-most valuable football club in the world, worth $ 5.6 billion, and the world's fourth richest football club in terms of revenue, with an annual turnover of €800.1 million. The official Barcelona anthem

7920-541: The club has won 22 European and worldwide titles: five UEFA Champions League titles, a record four UEFA Cup Winners' Cups , five UEFA Super Cups , a record three Inter-Cities Fairs Cups , a joint record two Latin Cups , and three FIFA Club World Cups . Barcelona was ranked first in the International Federation of Football History & Statistics Club World Ranking for 1997, 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2015, and occupies

8052-499: The club have won a record eight European Golden Shoe awards. Barcelona is one of three founding members of the Primera División that have never been relegated from the top division since its inception in 1929 , along with Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid . In 2009, Barcelona became the first Spanish club to win the continental treble consisting of La Liga , Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League , and also became

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8184-462: The club win the 1973–74 season for the first time since 1960, defeating Real Madrid 5–0 at the Santiago Bernabéu en route. He was crowned European Footballer of the Year in 1973 during his first season with Barcelona (his second Ballon d'Or win; he won his first while playing for Ajax in 1971 ). Cruyff received this prestigious award a third time (the first player to do so) in 1974, while he

8316-471: The club's first full-time coach in 1917. During the same period, the club changed its official language from Castilian to Catalan and gradually evolved into an important symbol of Catalan identity. For many fans, participating in the club had less to do with the game itself and more with being a part of the club's collective identity. On 4 February 1917, the club held its first tribute match to honour Ramón Torralba , who played from 1913 to 1928. The match

8448-484: The club's return to success. Barcelona won La Liga and the Supercopa de España in 2004–05 , and Ronaldinho and Eto'o were voted first and third, respectively, in the FIFA World Player of the Year awards. In the 2005–06 season , Barcelona repeated their league and Supercopa successes. The pinnacle of the league season arrived at the Santiago Bernabéu in a 3–0 win over Real Madrid. It was Rijkaard's second victory at

8580-597: The club's seventh all-time top-scorer, and in 1917, Gamper also recruited Jack Greenwell as the first full-time manager in Barcelona's history. After this hiring, the club's fortunes began to improve on the field and soon enjoyed its first "golden age". Along with Alcántara, the Barça team under Greenwell also included Sagibarba , Ricardo Zamora , Josep Samitier , Félix Sesúmaga , and Franz Platko . This team won 9 out of 10 Campionats de Catalunya between 1919 and 1928 and two Copa del Rey titles in 1920 and 1922 . In total, during

8712-458: The club's youth programme by converting La Masia into a dormitory for young academy players from abroad. The name of the dormitory would later become synonymous with the youth programme of Barcelona. In June 1982, Diego Maradona was signed for a world record fee of £5 million from Boca Juniors . In the following season, under coach César Luis Menotti , Barcelona won the Copa del Rey, beating Real Madrid. Maradona's time with Barcelona, however,

8844-400: The club, setting up goals for Samuel Eto'o and fellow substitute Juliano Belletti , for the club's first European Cup victory in 14 years. Despite being the favourites and starting strongly, Barcelona finished the 2006–07 season without trophies. A pre-season US tour was later blamed for a string of injuries to key players, including leading scorer Eto'o and rising star Lionel Messi . There

8976-431: The club, this time as manager and he assembled what would later be dubbed the "Dream Team". He used a mix of Spanish players like Pep Guardiola , José Mari Bakero , Jon Andoni Goikoetxea , Miguel Angel Nadal , and Txiki Begiristain while signing international players such as Ronald Koeman , Michael Laudrup , Romário , and Hristo Stoichkov . It was ten years after the inception of the youth programme, La Masia, when

9108-455: The club, with Real Madrid monopolising La Liga. The completion of Camp Nou , finished in 1957, meant the club had little money to spend on new players. The 1960s saw the emergence of Josep Maria Fusté and Carles Rexach , and the club won the Copa del Generalísimo in 1963 and the Fairs Cup in 1966. Barcelona restored some pride by beating Real Madrid 1–0 in the 1968 Copa del Generalísimo final at

9240-570: The conclusion of the season. Guardiola brought with him the now famous tiki-taka style of play he had been taught during his time in the Barcelona youth teams. In the process, Guardiola sold Ronaldinho and Deco and started building the Barcelona team around Xavi, Andrés Iniesta and Lionel Messi. Barça beat Athletic Bilbao 4–1 in the 2009 Copa del Rey final , winning the competition for a record-breaking 25th time. A historic 2–6 victory against Real Madrid followed three days later and ensured that Barcelona became 2008–09 La Liga champions. Barça finished

9372-420: The crowd. The next three years saw the club in decline, and managers came and went. Van Gaal was replaced by Lorenzo Serra Ferrer who, despite an extensive investment in players in the summer of 2000, presided over a mediocre league campaign and a first-round Champions League exit, and was dismissed late in the season. Long-serving Barcelona deputy coach Carles Rexach was appointed as his replacement, initially on

9504-520: The directors of Barcelona publicly claimed, for the first time, to operate a professional football club. On 3 July 1927, the club held a second testimonial match for Paulino Alcántara , against the Spanish national team . To kick off the match, local journalist and pilot Josep Canudas dropped the ball onto the pitch from his aeroplane. In 1928, victory in the Spanish Cup was celebrated with a poem titled "Oda

9636-555: The double in 1956 and two other victories in the Copa del Generalísimo in 1955 and 1958 . The latter is remembered as one of the club's most important achievements, because Athletic managed to beat Di Stefano 's Real Madrid , which had just won the European Cup and LaLiga, and the Spanish federation also ignored Athletic's request to play in a neutral field and forced the final to be played in Chamartin (Real Madrid stadium). However,

9768-469: The end of the season, and the final league game at the "old" San Mamés ended in defeat. Athletic would soon move to a new stadium, albeit in a partially completed state. Bielsa promoted young defender Aymeric Laporte into the side, while striker Fernando Llorente completed a free transfer to Juventus . After Bielsa, Ernesto Valverde returned for a second spell as manager, and he signed or brought through several new players as Athletic came fourth in

9900-399: The entire Spanish Civil War began in 1936, several players from Barcelona enlisted in the ranks of those who fought against the military uprising, along with players from Athletic Bilbao. On 6 August, Falangist soldiers near Guadarrama murdered club president Josep Sunyol , a representative of the pro-independence political party. He was dubbed the martyr of barcelonisme , and his murder

10032-426: The fans when compared to that of Luís Figo, then club vice-captain. Figo had become a cult hero and was considered by Catalans to be one of their own. Barcelona fans, however, were distraught by Figo's decision to join arch-rivals Real Madrid, and, during subsequent visits to Camp Nou, Figo was given an extremely hostile reception. Upon his first return, a piglet's head and a full bottle of whiskey were thrown at him from

10164-485: The first Copas del Rey in 1903 , both times under Juan Astorquia who was president and Captain. In 1904 , they were declared winners after their opponents failed to turn up. In 1907, they revived the name Club Vizcaya after entering a combined team with Union Vizcaino . After a brief lull, they won again in 1910 , with Luis Astorquia as the new captain and goalkeeper. In 1911, former team captain Alejandro de la Sota ,

10296-667: The first European football club in history to achieve the continental treble twice. On 22 October 1899, Swiss Hans Gamper placed an advertisement in Los Deportes declaring his wish to form a football club; a positive response resulted in a meeting at the Gimnasio Solé on 29 November. Eleven players attended – Walter Wild (the first president of the club), Luis de Ossó , Bartomeu Terradas , Otto Kunzle, Otto Maier , Enric Ducal, Pere Cabot , Carles Pujol, Josep Llobet , John Parsons , and William Parsons – and Foot-Ball Club Barcelona

10428-562: The first European football club to win six out of six competitions in a single year, by also winning the Spanish Super Cup , UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup . In 2011, the club became European champions again, winning five trophies. This Barcelona team, which won fourteen trophies in just four years under Pep Guardiola , is considered by some in the sport to be the greatest team of all time. By winning their fifth Champions League trophy in 2015 under Luis Enrique , Barcelona became

10560-456: The first leg of the 2015 Supercopa de España at San Mamés, Athletic defeated Barcelona 4–0, with Aritz Aduriz scoring a hat-trick. In the return leg at Camp Nou , Athletic hung on with a 1–1 draw to win their first trophy since 1984. Aduriz finished with 36 goals in all competitions. Athletic advanced to the quarter-finals in the Europa League where they were only defeated on penalties by

10692-604: The first team. Despite the implications of the name 'Athletic Club' in English, and unlike some of the other major Spanish teams which have several departments, it is not a multi-sport club , participating only in football, although sections for cycling and other sports existed prior to the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s. Football was introduced to Bilbao by two distinct groups with British connections: British workers, and Basque students returning from schools in Britain. In

10824-490: The fourth most successful club in La Liga with eight titles to their name. In the table of Copa del Rey titles, Athletic is second only to Barcelona, having won it 24 times. It is also the most successful Basque football club in both league and cup titles won. The club also has one of the most successful women's teams in Spain, which has won five championships in the Primera División Femenina . The club

10956-676: The history of Athletic Bilbao, which included historical players of the club such as Iribar, Rojo, Guisasola , Alexanko , Goikoetxea , Irureta , Dani or Carlos (last player to win the Pichichi Trophy with the club). In 1981, Javier Clemente became manager. He put together one of the most successful teams in the club's history, the main lineup of this team was: Zubizarreta ; Urkiaga , Goikoetxea , Rocky Liceranzu , De la Fuente ; De Andrés , Sola , Urtubi ; Dani , Sarabia and Argote . In 1982–83 season, Athletic became LaLiga champion after surpassing Santillana 's Real Madrid in

11088-427: The holders and eventual repeat winners Sevilla FC . Valverde left his position at the end of the 2016–17 season after four years. It was confirmed that his successor would be former player José Ángel Ziganda , moving up from Bilbao Athletic. On 29 November the club suffered a shock defeat to SD Formentera in the domestic cup . At the conclusion of a poor season overall, Ziganda was dismissed and Eduardo Berizzo

11220-599: The inaugural year in 1910 and 1913, which was one of the earliest international club cups in Europe since it consisted of the best teams of Languedoc , Midi and Aquitaine (Southern France), the Basque Country and Catalonia; all were former members of the Marca Hispanica region. The contest was the most prestigious in that era. Notable figures of Barça's first great team include Carles Comamala, Alfredo Massana , Amechazurra , Paco Bru , and Jack Greenwell . The latter became

11352-525: The late 19th century, Bilbao was a leading industrial town, thus becoming the home to a large British colony, mainly made up of migrant workers, including shipyard workers and miners from the northeast of England, such as Southampton , Portsmouth , and Sunderland . Along with coal, they brought with them (as in so many other parts of the world) the game of football. Meanwhile, sons of the Basque educated classes, such as Juan Astorquia , went to Britain to complete their studies, and while there, they developed

11484-452: The league , meaning a UEFA Champions League campaign. Ander Herrera transferred to Manchester United for €36 million deal at the end of the season. Athletic had a triumphant first full-capacity match in the new San Mamés as they defeated Napoli to qualify for the Champions League group stage, however they could only finish 3rd in the group. Athletic reached the 2015 Copa del Rey Final , but once again lost to Barcelona, 3–1. In

11616-604: The match, with Iniesta scoring the winning goal against the Netherlands. In November 2010, Barcelona defeated their main rival Real Madrid 5–0 in El Clásico . At the ceremony for the 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or in December, Barcelona's La Masia became the first youth academy ever to have all three finalists for the Ballon d'Or , with Messi, Iniesta and Xavi being named the three best players in

11748-525: The ninth position on the UEFA club rankings as of May 2023. The club has a long-standing rivalry with Real Madrid , and matches between the two teams are referred to as El Clásico . Barcelona is one of the most widely supported teams in the world, and the club has one of the largest social media following in the world among sports teams. Barcelona players have won a joint record twelve Ballon d'Or awards, with recipients including Johan Cruyff , as well as

11880-556: The only team to take part in the showpiece event twice in as many weeks; however, Athletic lost that final as well, to Barcelona by a 4–0 scoreline. In October 2021, a report from the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) showed that Athletic Bilbao and Desna Chernihiv (Ukraine) were the only teams in European continental competitions without foreign players.They ended the season on 10th place. The next two seasons saw

12012-475: The phrase Juegan Iribar y diez más ( en : Iribar and ten more are playing ). The situation improved when in 1969 Atlético won a Copa del Generalísimo and was runner-up in LaLiga in the 1969–70 season. The main stars of this team −in addition to Iribar− were the scorer Fidel Uriarte (winner of a Pichichi Trophy ) and the winger Txetxu Rojo . The 1970s were not much better, with only another single Copa del Generalísimo win in 1973 . In December 1976, before

12144-541: The pitch. His presidency was to last for 22 years, and it deeply affected the image of Barcelona, as Núñez held to a strict policy regarding wages and discipline, letting go of such players as Diego Maradona , Romário and Ronaldo rather than meeting their demands. On 16 May 1979, the club won its first European Cup Winners' Cup by beating Fortuna Düsseldorf 4–3 in Basel in a final watched by more than 30,000 travelling blaugrana fans. The same year, Núñez began to invest in

12276-479: The reign of Guardiola was further extended and saw Barcelona win their 13th trophy out of a possible 16. Considered by some in the sport to be the greatest team of all time, with Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson stating, ”They mesmerise you with their passing”, their five trophies in 2011 saw them receive the Laureus World Sports Award for Team of the Year . In the 2011–12 season , Barcelona lost

12408-512: The same results, narrowly missing out on the Europa Conference League by finishing in 8th and consecutive Copa del Rey Semi final exits although they did finish as Supercopa de Espanã Runners-up in the 2021–22 season, defeating Atlético Madrid and losing to Real Madrid. In the 2023–24 season however, saw Athletic Bilbao end their 40-year Copa del Rey drought by winning the 2023-24 Copa del Rey against RCD Mallorca 4–2 on penalties after

12540-425: The same year, Basque students also formed an affiliated team, Athletic Club Madrid , which later evolved into Atlético Madrid , after watching Athletic's epic triumph in the 1903 Copa del Rey Final . The club itself declares 1898 as its foundation date. The club featured prominently in early Copas del Rey. Following their triumph at the Copa de la Coronación by Club Bizcaya , the newly formed Athletic Bilbao won

12672-541: The season by beating Manchester United 2–0 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome , with goals from Eto'o and Messi, to win their third Champions League title, and complete the first ever treble won by a Spanish team. The team went on to win the 2009 Supercopa de España against Athletic Bilbao and the 2009 UEFA Super Cup against Shakhtar Donetsk , becoming the first European club to win both domestic and European Super Cups following

12804-574: The second leg, beating Barcelona 11–1. According to football writer Sid Lowe , "There have been relatively few mentions of the game [since] and it is not a result that has been particularly celebrated in Madrid. Indeed, the 11–1 occupies a far more prominent place in Barcelona's history. This was the game that first formed the identification of Madrid as the team of the dictatorship and Barcelona as its victims." It has been alleged by local journalist Paco Aguilar that Barcelona's players were threatened by police in

12936-434: The semi-finals of the Champions League against Chelsea . Guardiola, who had been on a rolling contract and had faced criticism over his recent tactics and squad selections, announced that he would step down as manager on 30 June and be succeeded by assistant Tito Vilanova . Guardiola finished his tenure with Barça winning the Copa del Rey final 3–0, bringing the tally to 14 trophies that Barça had won under his coaching. It

13068-497: The semi-finals. The club then defeated Granada CF in the semi-final on away goals to meet local rivals Real Sociedad in the final – which was then postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain , both clubs happy to delay in the hope of supporters being able to attend the historic Basque derby occasion. This did not come to pass, and the final was eventually played in an empty stadium on 3 April 2021, Real Sociedad emerging winners by

13200-458: The shield of Biscay, it takes the Gernikako Arbola (Guernica's tree) and the cross of Saint Andrew ( saltires ). Its first documented use dates from 1922. The first official club crest was a blue circle surrounded by a belt with the letters A and C in the centre in white (as the club colours were at that point). The second was from 1910, consisting of a red-and-white flag (newly adopted as

13332-469: The shirt colours) with a red square in the top left corner, containing the initials of the club in white. The third, from 1913, involved the same flag, but in this case shown on a pole wrapped around a football (this is very similar to the Real Sociedad crest still in use today, ignoring the crown of royal patronage). The first version of the current crest, roughly an inverted triangular shield shape with

13464-448: The standing of Josep Escolà , the club now entered a period of decline, in which political conflict overshadowed sports throughout society. Attendance at matches dropped as the citizens of Barcelona were occupied with discussing political matters. Although the team won the Campionat de Catalunya in 1930, 1931, 1932, 1934, 1936, and 1938, success at a national level (with the exception of the 1937 disputed title ) evaded them. A month after

13596-465: The standings on the last round. The following year they won a LaLiga and Copa del Rey double. In that cup final they beat Maradona 's FC Barcelona 1–0; the Argentine player did not take the defeat well and attacked an Athletic player, which caused a brawl between both teams. Months earlier, Goikoetxea had injured Maradona after a hard tackle from behind, from which it took him several weeks to recover, and

13728-457: The team could not achieve success, as Schuster was excluded from the team. Terry Venables was subsequently fired at the beginning of the 1987–88 season and replaced with Luis Aragonés . The season finished with the players rebelling against president Núñez, in an event known as the Hesperia mutiny, and a 1–0 victory in the Copa del Rey final against Real Sociedad . In 1988, Johan Cruyff returned to

13860-417: The team represented Spain in the 1956 Latin Cup , where they reached the final and lost to AC Milan by a score of 3–1. In the same year the club also made their debut in the European Cup , where they reached the quarterfinals after eliminating FC Porto and Ferenc Puskás 's Honvéd FC . They then beat Manchester United Busby Babes 5–3 at San Mamés Stadium , but were defeated 3–0 at Old Trafford , in

13992-487: The team won a Copa del Rey and La Liga double in 1998. In 1999, the club celebrated its centenari , winning the Primera División title, and Rivaldo became the fourth Barcelona player to be awarded European Footballer of the Year. Despite this domestic success, the failure to emulate Real Madrid in the Champions League led to van Gaal and Núñez resigning in 2000. The departures of Núñez and Van Gaal were hardly noticed by

14124-464: The top Spanish scorer in the championship). During the 1940s and early 1950s, the club featured the legendary forward line formed by Rafa Iriondo , Venancio García , Telmo Zarra, José Luis Panizo and Agustín Gaínza , which was nicknamed Segunda delantera histórica (en:  Second historic attack ); midfielder Nando González and goalkeeper Raimundo Lezama (most unbeaten goalie in LaLiga on 1946-47 ) also stood out from this team. This squad won

14256-402: The top scorer in its history with 335 goals. He won six Pichichi Trophies for being the top scorer in LaLiga (a record only surpassed by Messi in 2020), and his 38 goals in the 1950–51 season stood as a record for 60 years. He was also the top scorer in LaLiga history since 1950 with 251 goals, until in 2014 he was surpassed by Lionel Messi and later by Cristiano Ronaldo (however, he is still

14388-441: The word "team" may be limited to those who play on the field in a match and does not always include other players who may take part as replacements or emergency players. "Football squad" may be used to be inclusive of these support and reserve players. The words team and club are sometimes used interchangeably by supporters, typically referring to the team within the club playing in the highest division or competition. A football club

14520-600: The world for 2010. In the 2010–11 season , Barcelona retained the La Liga trophy, their third title in succession, finishing with 96 points. In April 2011, the club reached the Copa del Rey final , losing 1–0 to Real Madrid at the Mestalla Stadium in Valencia . In May, Barcelona defeated Manchester United in the 2011 Champions League Final 3–1 held at Wembley Stadium , a repeat of the 2009 final, winning their fourth European Cup. In August 2011, La Masia graduate Cesc Fàbregas

14652-447: The young Ángel Zubieta to the first team, a player who at 17 years of age went on to become the youngest ever to play for the Spanish national team at the time. In the final game of the season, the title was decided when Athletic defeated Oviedo 2–0 at home on 19 April 1936, winning the title just two points clear of Real Madrid. In July 1936, football halted due to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War . The league did not restart until

14784-409: The young players began to graduate and play for their first team. Pep Guardiola, the future coach of Barcelona, was one of the first graduates and would go on to receive international recognition. Under Cruyff's guidance, Barcelona won four consecutive La Liga titles from 1991 to 1994. They beat Sampdoria in both the 1989 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final and the 1992 European Cup final at Wembley , with

14916-653: Was a defining moment in the history of FC Barcelona and Catalan identity. In the summer of 1937, the squad was on tour in Mexico and the United States, where it was received as an ambassador of the Second Spanish Republic . The tour led to the financial security of the club but also resulted in half of the team seeking asylum in Mexico and France, making it harder for the remaining team to contest for trophies. On 16 March 1938, Barcelona came under aerial bombardment from

15048-566: Was a prominent member of the 1997–98 squad, along with Ismael Urzaiz and Julen Guerrero . The club narrowly avoided relegation during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons, the latter being the worst in the club's history. In the Copa del Rey , they reached their first final in 24 years, losing 4–1 to Barcelona . Prior to the 2011–12 season , Athletic's new president, former player Josu Urrutia , brought in coach Marcelo Bielsa ; Athletic advanced to their first European final since 1977, losing 3–0 to Spanish rivals Atlético Madrid on 9 May in

15180-440: Was against local side Terrassa where Barcelona won the match 6–2. Gamper simultaneously launched a campaign to recruit more club members, and by 1922, the club had more than 20,000, who helped finance a new stadium. The club then moved to the new Les Cortes , which they inaugurated the same year. Les Cortes had an initial capacity of 30,000, and in the 1940s it was expanded to 60,000. In 1912, Gamper recruited Paulino Alcántara ,

15312-465: Was announced in summer of 2012 that Tito Vilanova, assistant manager at Barcelona, would take over from Pep Guardiola as manager. Following his appointment, Barcelona went on an incredible run that saw them hold the top spot on the league table for the entire season, recording only two losses and amassing 100 points. Their top scorer once again was Lionel Messi, who scored 46 goals in La Liga, including two hat-tricks. On 11 May 2013, Barcelona were crowned as

15444-408: Was appointed. However, his spell was even less fruitful and in December 2018, having won just two of his fifteen matches at the helm and with the team in the relegation zone , Berizzo was dismissed. B-team coach Gaizka Garitano took over and oversaw an improvement in results, with the club moving well out of danger and narrowly missing out on a Europa League spot on the last day. The beginning of

15576-449: Was banned and the club were prohibited from using non-Spanish names. These measures forced the club to change its name to Club de Fútbol Barcelona and to remove the Catalan flag from its crest. In 1943 , Barcelona faced rivals Real Madrid in the semi-finals of Copa del Generalísimo (now the Copa del Rey). The first match at Les Corts was won by Barcelona 3–0. Real Madrid comfortably won

15708-629: Was born. FC Barcelona had a successful start in regional and national cups, competing in the Campionat de Catalunya and the Copa del Rey . In 1901, the club participated in the first football competition played on the Iberian Peninsula , the Copa Macaya , narrowly losing to Hispania AC , but in the following year, Barça won the tournament, the club's first-ever piece of silverware, and then participated in

15840-467: Was bought for a world record £920,000 from Ajax . Already an established player with Ajax, Cruyff quickly won over the Barcelona fans when he told the European press that he chose Barcelona over Real Madrid because he could not play for a club associated with Francisco Franco. He further endeared himself when he named his son "Jordi" , after the local Catalan Saint George . Next to champions like Juan Manuel Asensi , Carles Rexach and Hugo Sotil , he helped

15972-651: Was bought from Arsenal and he would help Barcelona defend the Spanish Supercup against Real Madrid. The Supercup victory brought the total number of official trophies to 73, matching the number of titles won by Real Madrid. Later the same month, Barcelona won the UEFA Super Cup defeating Porto 2–0 with goals from Messi and Fàbregas. This extended the club's overall number of official trophies to 74, surpassing Real Madrid's total amount of official trophies. The Super Cup victory also saw Guardiola win his 12th trophy out of

16104-517: Was charged by the club to buy 25 new shirts, but was unable to find enough. Waiting for the ship back to Bilbao and empty handed, Elorduy realised that the colours of the local team Southampton matched the colours of the City of Bilbao, and bought 50 shirts to take with him. Upon arriving in Bilbao, the club's directors decided almost immediately to change the team's strip to the new colours, and since 1910, Athletic Club have played in red and white stripes. Of

16236-408: Was elected as the 7th president of the club, and he was the driving force behind the construction of the San Mamés Stadium (whose architect was Manuel María Smith), which opened in 1913 and soon become one of the symbols of Athletic's dominance in the 1910s, winning the Copa del Rey three times in a row between 1914 and 1916 , with Billy Barnes as coach. Between 1917 and 1919 the club went through

16368-452: Was never viewed as a long-term solution and that summer Van Gaal returned to the club for a second spell as manager. What followed, despite another decent Champions League performance, was one of the worst La Liga campaigns in the club's history, with the team as low as 15th in February 2003. This led to Van Gaal's resignation and replacement for the rest of the campaign by Radomir Antić , though

16500-453: Was open feuding as Eto'o publicly criticised coach Rijkaard and Ronaldinho. Ronaldinho also admitted that a lack of fitness affected his form. In La Liga, Barcelona were in first place for much of the season, but inconsistency in the New Year saw Real Madrid overtake them to become champions. Barcelona advanced to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, winning the first leg against Getafe 5–2, with

16632-431: Was organised by Armand Caraben, Joan Laporta and Alfons Godall. The objective of the group, called L'Elefant Blau , was to oppose the presidency of Núñez, which they regarded as a corruption of the club's traditional values. Laporta would later take over the presidency of Barcelona in 2003. Cruyff was briefly replaced by Bobby Robson , who took charge of the club for a single season in 1996–97. He recruited Ronaldo for

16764-412: Was perceived as president Núñez's dictatorial rule and the nationalistic support group, Boixos Nois . The group, identified with a left-wing separatism, repeatedly demanded the resignation of Núñez and openly defied him through chants and banners at matches. At the same time, Barcelona experienced an eruption in skinheads , who often identified with a right-wing separatism. The skinheads slowly transferred

16896-462: Was resigning as Barcelona manager because his throat cancer had returned, and he would be receiving treatment for the second time after a three-month medical leave in December 2012. Football team The difference between a football team and a football club is incorporation , a football club is an entity which is formed and governed by a committee and has members which may consist of supporters in addition to players. The benefit of club formation

17028-473: Was short-lived and he soon left for Napoli . At the start of the 1984–85 season, Terry Venables was hired as manager and he won La Liga with noteworthy displays by German midfielder Bernd Schuster . The next season, he took the team to their second European Cup final , only to lose on penalties to Steaua București during a dramatic evening in Seville . Around this time, tensions began to arise between what

17160-456: Was still with Barcelona. In 1978, Josep Lluís Núñez became the first elected president of FC Barcelona, and, since then, the members of Barcelona have elected the club president. The process of electing a president of FC Barcelona was closely tied to Spain's transition to democracy in 1974 and the end of Franco's dictatorship. The new president's main objective was to develop Barcelona into a world-class club by giving it stability both on and off

17292-629: Was the 1921 Copa del Rey, before dying aged just 29 in 1922. Today, the La Liga top-scorer is declared the Pichichi in his honour. Along with fellow Basque clubs such as Real Unión , Arenas Club de Getxo and Real Sociedad , Athletic was a founding member of La Liga in 1928 and by 1930 they were joined by CD Alavés ; five of the ten clubs in the Primera División were from the Basque Country. The saying " Con cantera y afición, no hace falta importación " ( en : "With home-grown teams and support, there

17424-514: Was to be an important figure at the club. On a rainy Sunday of 1951, the crowd left Les Corts stadium after a 2–1 win against Santander by foot, refusing to catch any trams, and surprising the Francoist authorities. The reason was simple: at the same time, a tram strike was taking place in Barcelona, receiving the support of blaugrana fans . Events like this made CF Barcelona represent much more than just Catalonia and many progressive Spaniards saw

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