Early Years
FC Barcelona was founded by Swiss businessman Hans Kamper, who
embraced Catalan nationalism so fervently that he changed his
name to the Catalan Joan Gamper. Gamper changed the club's
original name to the current Catalan version. Everything started
when he decided to put a message in a local newspaper asking for
players to join him in a relatively unknown sport called
football. Eleven players attended this meeting: Gualteri Wild,
Lluis d'Ossa, Bartomeu Terradas, Otto Kunzle, Otto Maier, Enric
Ducal, Pere Cabot, Carles Pujol, Josep Llobet, John Parsons, and
William Parsons. The club's international nature has been a
quality since the first days of its existence, as shown by still
holding the original Anglican version of its name Futbol Club
Barcelona, instead of the formal Spanish version Club de Futbol
Barcelona.
The team did not have to wait much time for their first trophy,
as in 1901 they won the Copa Macaya, later known as the
Campionat de Catalunya (Championship of Catalonia). Until 1909
the team played in different stadiums, none of them owned by the
club. On March 14 of that year, the 6,000 seat stadium of Carrer
Industria (Industry Street) opened its door. It was the first
field owned by FC Barcelona. During these years the club
experienced their first growth period, in terms of sport titles
and social mass.
The Golden Years
Legendary players like Alcantara, Zamora, and Samitier boosted
the club's success with brilliant playing style, bringing the
team to a Golden Age of expansion. By 1922, the club opened the
doors of its stadium of Les Corts, which had an initial capacity
of 30,000, later expanded to an impressive 60,000. Besides
dominating Spanish and Catalan championships, they won the first
edition of the Spanish League in 1929.
Crisis and the Civil War
The ongoing crisis, started in the late 20's during the
dictatorship of Primo de Rivera, only got worse after the start
of the Spanish Civil War. The political problems of the country
affected the club, eventually leading to the assassination of
President Josep Suñol by soldiers of the nationalist side and
the bombing of the club's headquarters. After these events, the
club was forced to change its name to Club de Futbol Barcelona,
remove the catalan portion of the flag, and a president friendly
to Franco's regime was appointed.
Kubala
By the second half of the 1940s the club began to recover from
its problems, which almost led the club to disband. Players like
Cesar, Ramallets, and Velasco won the First Division fifteen
years after the first and only time. With political issues
calming down, the style of football played, and titles being
brought, financial problems started to fade as more people
became members. In 1950 arrived one of the most important
players for FC Barcelona, Kubala. During the first years after
his arrival the team won almost every competition they played
in, and its forward, Cesar, Basora, and Kubala himself is still
remembered.
Camp Nou
In 1957, the Camp Nou opened its doors to the public. It had a
capacity for up to 90,000 spectators, already making it one of
the biggest stadiums in the world. Unfortunately, a few years
after the inauguration, titles became scarce, as they only won
three official titles during the 1960s. But even then the club
did not stop growing, gaining social and economic power every
year.
Unlike the decade of the 50's, when Real Madrid "stole"
Argentinian player Alfredo Di Stefano from FC Barcelona, Dutch
legend Johan Cruyff signed a contract with the club in 1973. His
electric style of play, fast and smart, could not appeal more to
the fans. Even the record amount of £922,300 paid by FC
Barcelona for him seemed nothing after defeating Real Madrid 0-5
in their own stadium and winning the league. By the following
year the club had 70,000 members, making it the most powerful in
the world.
The second golden age (1988-1996)
Josep Lluis Nuñez became president of FC Barcelona in 1978,
leading the club into an unprecedented period of social and
economic growth. Dozens of titles were won by all teams, and
other sections seen as less important than the football team
started to receive more attention. During 1990-1994, Johan
Cruyff's Dream Team won four consecutive Leagues and for a first
time the Champions League (1992) among other trophies.
Late 1990s with satisfactory results
After the unsuccessful brief stay of Bobby Robson, notorious
manager Louis Van Gaal came on board and Barcelona won twice
Spanish League title and once Cup Winners' Cup. Although their
great results at homeside, Barcelona failed to win again
Champions League. Due to heavy fan criticism after three seasons
in 2000, Van Gaal resigned.
Years of turmoil
Joan Gaspart was elected as the successor of Josep Lluis Nuñez
in 2000, not an easy task considering his achievements and a lot
of pressure was put on the new board of directors. Still, Joan
Gaspart's bad management led the club to a financial crisis.
Poor judgement when using the club's funds, the absence of any
important victory, and underperforming players made the social
pressure unbearable, forcing him to resign in 2003. A temporary
commission took over until current president Joan Laporta was
elected in the same year.
Revival
Joan Laporta proved to be better choice. With his arrival, and
that of football superstar Ronaldinho and manager Frank Rijkaard
among others, the new style of management, have returned the
club into a positive cycle. Inherited massive financial debt is
being cut down, and only two players remain from the original
team that did not win a major title in five years. Season
2003/2004 Barcelona made spectacular return to form finishing
second after being at the bottom of the table. This season
2004/2005 Barcelona keeps big distance from their archrival Real
Madrid with 7 points and with impressive games at the Spanish
First Division and Uefa Champions League is likely that a new
title approaches. Some people say that a third golden age has
begun for Barcelona.
Although Barcelona has outstanding teams in different sports,
the most famous and well-known section is its football team,
which competes in the first division of the Spanish Football
League. Except for the Intercontinental Cup, it has won all
known trophies. It is the only team in Europe to have
participated in European club competition in every season since
1955, and has never left the Spanish First Division since its
beginning in 1928, along with cofounders Athletic de Bilbao and
Real Madrid.
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