History of FC Barcelona


We all have grown up listening to a phrase ‘All work and no play make Jack a dull boy’ and this phrase clearly highlights the importance of physical activity in our lives. Physical activity is not jut important for keeping one’s body fit and fine but also for reenergizing oneself. But not all physical activities are equally interesting and this is the reason why sports of all the physical activities are highly rewarding. Today, hundreds of sports are being played in different corners of the world but there is just one sport that is loved and played in most parts of the world- Football. Football is a team sport and is the most prosperous and elaborated sport in the world. Apart from the various national football teams, there are hundreds of established football clubs around the world. Each of such football club has a history of its own but it is the FC Barcelona that has a legacy attached to its name.

A football fan must have seen FC Barcelona’s motto hundred’s of time that says ‘MES QUE UN CLUB’ which actually means ‘More than a Club’ and Barcelona has proved this statement true for more than hundreds of years now. Yes, Barcelona is not just another Football Club, it is the Mecca of football clubs that has generated the best of world footballers over the years who have had played the most exciting football games ever. This phrase or the motto of Barcelona was coined in the year 1968 and clearly sums up the true meaning of this football club.

THE BEGINNING

It was in the year 1899 that a football enthusiast named Hans Gamper along with his eleven other friends who were equally interested in this sport, established a football team in Barcelona. Gamper was a Swiss man and the establishment of a football team in Barcelona comprised the initial step of introducing this amazing game to the people of Barcelona, which are now in fact the ultimate football enthusiasts. This team was established as a football club named ‘Football Club Barcelona’ often called Barca. Gamper chose the colors blue and claret for his football club as they were actually the colors used by the Swiss canton to which he originally belonged. 1899 was considered the perfect year of introducing a football team in Catalonia as this was the time when more and more people were becoming interested in playing this sport and were actually trying to adopt British sports in general. Gamper not just identified the perfect time for the FC Barcelona launch but was also a prominent face of this club for many years to come and represented this club as a player, director, visionary and then the president.

THE GLORIOUS YEARS OF SUCCESS

FC Barcelona played some wonderful football from its very inception and grew by leaps and bounds by winning Macaya and Pyrenees Cups in the years 1902 and 1910 respectively. The years 1919 to 1929 were considered to be the golden years in the history of this club. It was in the year 1922 that a new stadium called ‘El Camps dels Corts’ was inaugurated. This stadium had a capacity of around 30000 people. In the year 1928, the Club Barcelona won the Championship League. Barcelona successfully survived a Civil War but it was the years 1951 and 52 that are proudly remembered by all the Barcelona fans all over the world. It was in these years that FC Barcelona won 5 cups in one football season- the Cup, the Latin Cup, Eva Duarte and the League. The glorious success of FC Barcelona continued for many years and it was able to accomplish new heights by the 20th century. The financial strength of this club grew so much that by the year 1983 that FC Barcelona was able to afford legendry football players such as Maradona and Schuster. FC Barcelona has experienced many ups and downs since its inception but the most amazing aspect of this football club is that it has been able to maintain its name and motto over the period of 100 years.

LEGENDS OF FC BARCELONA

FC Barcelona has not just made a huge name in the world of football due to its unbelievable football wins and titles but also due to the names of the players who’ve been included in this squad. Today, when one looks at the players included in this Club, one can find the best players of this game here such as Messi and Xavi. Generation after generation, this club has had many legendry players which are enlisted as follows:

  • Ronaldinho

He is considered to be the most exciting player in the history of football and especially in the history of FC Barcelona, thanks to his exceptional dribbling and trickery talents. This Brazilian forward tallied 85 goals while playing for Barcelona and twice won the FIFA world player of the year for two football seasons, thus etching his name permanently in the FC Barcelona’s legends list.

  • Samuel Eto’o

He is known to be the greatest striker of all times and one player who literally changed the fortune of FC Barcelona. This player belonging to Cameroon was nothing short of a football wonder that had the record of scoring 100 goals in 5 continuous seasons of football club. Apart from scoring so many goals and playing amazing football, this Barcelona player has a number of titles and honors of football.

  • Hristo Stoichkov

A forward player who was signed twice by this club and has a record of 336 appearances and 152 goals attached to his name. FC Barcelona won a number of championships and titles during the Hristo period and this is the reason why most of the football enthusiasts consider him as the second most influential player of FC Barcelona after Samuel Eto’o.

  • Ronaldo

Ronaldo Luiz Nazario popularly known as Ronaldo among his fans too had a few glorified years with FC Barcelona. He joined Barcelona in the year 1996 and played just one season for it. However in this period of one season, he scored 47 goals in just 51 matches that is an astonishing number altogether. His phenomenal performance is considered to be the biggest reason of Barca winning all the major cups and titles in the football season of 1996-97.

PRESIDENTS OF FC BARCELONA

Gamper was the first and the foremost president of the FC Barcelona and it was his vision and determination that helped this football club achieved more than just fame and money. Since then a number of presidents have taken in-charge of this prestigious club and each one of them has a played a major role in flourishing this football club. It was in the year 1978 that Barcelona chose its first elected president in the form of ‘Joseph Lluis Nunez’ and the tradition of democratic elections is still carried on till date. Nunez was the longest serving president in the history of FC Barcelona that served the club for over 22 years. After the end of Nunez reign, it was Joan Gaspart that presided over this post. However, it was Joan Loparta, the president appointed in 2013 that is considered the most successful FC Barcelona president of all times as the team went on to win each and every title and cup that came in their way during his presidential reign.

COACHES OF FC BARCELONA

Barcelona is definitely most successful in the history of football clubs and much of the credit for this success goes to the coaches popularly known as the mangers of this club. Johan Cruyff is undoubtedly the best of the best manger that Barcelona has ever seen and Barcelona owes much of its name and fame to this Dutchman. He was the longest serving manager from 1988-96 and Barcelona managed to win whopping 11 trophies during his coaching tenure. Apart from Johan, it was Pep Guardiola that is considered to do wonders with the unmotivated Barcelona club team during 2008. He led Barcelona for a total of 2 seasons but managed to do something unbelievable with this team that many of the managers couldn’t do in years. Frank Rijkaard and Helenio Herrera are also known for their amazing managing talents and coaching abilities and brought a lot of success to the FC Barcelona.

CLUB HONORS

There are thousands of football clubs present in the world but there are only few that have just managed to reach where FC Barcelona stands as far as honors and titles are concerned. There is just one honor- ‘the International Cup’ that hasn’t made its way into this club. Apart from this, this club won a number of La Liga titles, the Europian Cup at three distinct occasions and even the FIFA world cup title in 2009 and 2011. Other notable titles and honors that have made place into its tally are:

  • Champions League (1991-92,05-06, 08-09, 10-11)
  • European Cup (78-79, 81-82, 88-89, 96-97)
  • Spanish Cup ( for the astonishing 26 times)
  • Spanish League Championship (22 times)
  • Catalan League Championship ( 23 times)