History of FC Barcelona

The history of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Barcelona" title="FC Barcelona">Futbol Club Barcelona</a> goes from the <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_club" title="Football club">football club</a>'s founding in 1899 and up to current time. FC Barcelona, also known simply as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is based in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona" title="Barcelona">Barcelona</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalonia" title="Catalonia">Catalonia</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain" title="Spain">Spain</a>. The team was founded in 1899 by a group of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland" title="Switzerland">Swiss</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England" title="England">English</a> and Spanish footballers led by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Gamper" title="Joan Gamper">Joan Gamper</a>. The club played amateur football until 1910 in various regional competitions. In 1910, the club participated in their first of many European competitions, and has since amassed ten <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA" title="UEFA">UEFA</a> trophies and a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_association_football_teams_to_have_won_four_or_more_trophies_in_one_season#Sextuple" title="List of association football teams to have won four or more trophies in one season">sextuple</a>. In 1928, Barcelona co-founded La Liga, the top-tier in Spanish football, along with a string of other clubs. As of 2016, Barcelona has never been relegated from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Liga" title="La Liga">La Liga</a>, a record they share with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletic_Bilbao" title="Athletic Bilbao">Athletic Bilbao</a> and arch-rival <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Madrid_C.F." title="Real Madrid C.F.">Real Madrid</a>.<br /> The history of Barcelona has often been political. Though it is a club created and run by foreigners, Barcelona gradually became a club associated with <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_people" title="Catalan people">Catalan</a> values. In Spain's transition to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autocracy" title="Autocracy">autocracy</a> in 1925, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalonia" title="Catalonia">Catalonia</a> became increasingly hostile towards the central government in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madrid" title="Madrid">Madrid</a>. The hostility enhanced Barcelona's image as a focal point for Catalonism, and when Francisco Franco banned the use of the Catalan language, the stadium of Barcelona became one of the few places the people could express their dissatisfaction. The Spanish transition to democracy in 1978 has not dampened the club's image of Catalan pride. In the 2000s – a period of sporting success in the club and an increased focus on Catalan players – club officials have openly called for Catalonia to become an independent state.<br /> <br /> <div class="toc" id="toc"> <div id="toctitle"> <h2> Contents</h2> </div> </div> <br /> <ul> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#Beginnings_of_Football_Club_Barcelona_.281899.E2.80.931922.29"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Beginnings of Football Club Barcelona (1899–1922)</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#Rivera.2C_Republic_and_Civil_War_.281923.E2.80.931957.29"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Rivera, Republic and Civil War (1923–1957)</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#Club_de_F.C3.BAtbol_Barcelona_.281957.E2.80.931978.29"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Club de Fútbol Barcelona (1957–1978)</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#N.C3.BA.C3.B1ez_and_the_stabilization_years_.281978.E2.80.932000.29"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Núñez and the stabilization years (1978–2000)</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#The_Laporta_years_.282000.E2.80.932010.29"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">The Laporta years (2000–2010)</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#2011.E2.80.93present"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">2011–present</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#References"><span class="tocnumber">7</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a></li> </ul> <div> <h2> <span class="mw-headline" id="Beginnings_of_Football_Club_Barcelona_.281899.E2.80.931922.29">Beginnings of Football Club Barcelona (1899–1922)</span></h2> </div> <div> <span class="mw-headline"><br /></span></div> <div> On 22 October 1899, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Gamper" title="Joan Gamper">Joan Gamper</a> placed an advertisement in <i>Los Deportes</i> 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: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Wild" title="Walter Wild">Walter Wild</a> (the first director of the club), Lluís d'Ossó, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartomeu_Terradas" title="Bartomeu Terradas">Bartomeu Terradas</a>, Otto Kunzle, Otto Maier, Enric Ducal, Pere Cabot, Josep Llobet, John Parsons and William Parsons. As a result, Football Club Barcelona was born.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Ball.2C_Phil_p._89_1-0"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-Ball.2C_Phil_p._89-1">[1]</a></sup> The blue and red colours of the shirt were first worn in a match against Hispania in 1900; the prevailing Catalonia conception is that the colours were chosen by Joan Gamper and are those of his home team, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Palace_F.C." title="Crystal Palace F.C.">Crystal Palace</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-2"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-2">[</a></sup></div> <div> FC Barcelona quickly emerged as one of the leading clubs in Spain, competing in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_football_championship" title="Catalan football championship">Campeonato de Cataluña</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copa_del_Rey" title="Copa del Rey">Copa del Rey</a>. In 1902, the club won its first trophy, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_football_championship" title="Catalan football championship">Copa Macaya</a>, and also played in the first Copa del Rey final, losing 2–1 to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletic_Bilbao" title="Athletic Bilbao">Bizcaya</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-rsssf1_3-0"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-rsssf1-3">[3]</a></sup><br /> In 1908, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Gamper" title="Joan Gamper">Joan Gamper</a> became club president for the first time to save the club from bankruptcy. The club had not won since the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_football_championship" title="Catalan football championship">Campeonato de Cataluña</a> in 1905; this caused their financial trouble. One of his main achievements was to help Barcelona acquire its own stadium and thus achieve a stable income.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-fcbarcelona1_4-0"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-fcbarcelona1-4">[4]</a></sup><br /> On 14 March 1909, the team moved into the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_de_la_Ind%C3%BAstria" title="Camp de la Indústria">Camp de la Indústria</a>, a stadium with a capacity of 8,000. To celebrate their new surroundings, a logo contest was held the following year. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carles_Comamala" title="Carles Comamala">Carles Comamala</a> won the contest, and his suggestion became the crest that the club still wears as of 2012, with some minor changes.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-crest_5-0"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-crest-5">[5]</a></sup><br /> With the new stadium, Barcelona participated in the inaugural version of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrenees_Cup" title="Pyrenees Cup">Pyrenees Cup</a>, which, at the time, consisted of the best teams of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languedoc" title="Languedoc">Languedoc</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIDI" title="MIDI">MIDI</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquitaine" title="Aquitaine">Aquitaine</a> (Southern France), the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basque_Country_%28greater_region%29" title="Basque Country (greater region)">Basque Country</a> and Catalonia; all were former members of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marca_Hispanica" title="Marca Hispanica">Marca Hispanica</a> region. The contest was generally considered the most prestigious in that era.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-6"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-6">[6]</a></sup> From the inaugural year in 1910 to 1913, Barcelona won the competition four consecutive times. Carles Comamala played an integral part of the four-time champion, managing the side along with Amechazurra and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Greenwell" title="Jack Greenwell">Jack Greenwell</a>. The latter became the club's first full-time coach in 1917.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-7"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-7">[7]</a></sup> The last edition was held in 1914 in the city of Barcelona, which local rivals <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espanyol" title="Espanyol">Espanyol</a> won.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-8">[8]</a></sup><br /> During the same period, the club changed its official language from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_language" title="Spanish language">Castilian</a> to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_language" title="Catalan language">Catalan</a> 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-9"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-9">[9]</a></sup> On 4 February 1917, the club held its first <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testimonial_match" title="Testimonial match">testimonial match</a> to honour <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram%C3%B3n_Torralba" title="Ramón Torralba">Ramón Torralba</a> who played from 1913 to 1928. The match was against local side Terrassa, which Barcelona won 6–2.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-fcbarcelona.cat_10-0"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-fcbarcelona.cat-10">[10]</a></sup><br /> 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 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_de_Les_Corts" title="Camp de Les Corts">Les Cortes</a>, which they inaugurated the same year.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Arnaud103_11-0"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-Arnaud103-11">[11]</a></sup> Les Cortes had an initial capacity of 22,000, and was later<sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="white-space: nowrap;">[<i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Dates_and_numbers#Chronological_items" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers"><span title="The time period mentioned near this tag is ambiguous. (July 2012)">when?</span></a></i>]</sup> expanded to 60,000.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-fcbarcelona2_12-0"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-fcbarcelona2-12">[12]</a></sup><br /> Gamper recruited <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Greenwell" title="Jack Greenwell">Jack Greenwell</a> as the first full-time manager in Barcelona's history. After he was hired, the club's fortunes began to improve on the field. During the Gamper-led era, Barcelona won eleven <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_football_championship" title="Catalan football championship">Campeonato de Cataluña</a>, six <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copa_del_Rey" title="Copa del Rey">Copa del Rey</a> and four <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrenees_Cup" title="Pyrenees Cup">Pyrenees Cups</a> and enjoyed its first "golden age".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-rsssf1_3-1"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-rsssf1-3">[3]</a></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-fcbarcelona1_4-1"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-fcbarcelona1-4">[4]</a></sup><br /> <br /> <h2> <span class="mw-headline" id="Rivera.2C_Republic_and_Civil_War_.281923.E2.80.931957.29">Rivera, Republic and Civil War (1923–1957)</span></h2> <div> <span class="mw-headline">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.[13] This coincided with the transition to professional football, and, in 1926, the directors of Barcelona publicly claimed, for the first time, to operate a professional football club.[11] 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 airplane.[10] In 1928, victory in the Spanish Cup was celebrated with a poem titled "Oda 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.[14] Two years after the victory, on 30 July 1930, Gamper committed suicide after a period of depression brought on by personal and financial problems.[4]</span></div> <div> <span class="mw-headline"><br /></span></div> <div> <span class="mw-headline">Although they continued to have players of the standing of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josep_Escol%C3%A0" title="Josep Escolà">Josep Escolà</a>, 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-15"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-15">[15]</a></sup> Although the team won the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_football_championship" title="Catalan football championship">Campionat de Catalunya</a> in 1930, 1931, 1932, 1934, 1936 and 1938,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-rsssf1_3-2"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-rsssf1-3">[3]</a></sup> success at a national level (with the exception of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_League" title="Mediterranean League">1937 disputed title</a>) evaded them.<br /> A month after the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Civil_War" title="Spanish Civil War">Spanish Civil War</a> 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-16"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-16">[16]</a></sup> On 6 August, <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falangist" title="Falangist">Falangist</a> soldiers near <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guadarrama" title="Guadarrama">Guadarrama</a> murdered club president <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josep_Sunyol" title="Josep Sunyol">Josep Sunyol</a>, a representative of the pro-independence political party.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-17"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-17">[17]</a></sup> He was dubbed the martyr of <i>barcelonisme</i>, and his murder was a defining moment in the history of FC Barcelona and Catalan identity.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-18"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-18">[18]</a></sup> 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 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Spanish_Republic" title="Second Spanish Republic">Second Spanish Republic</a>. The tour led to the financial security of the club, but also resulted in half of the team seeking <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_of_asylum" title="Right of asylum">asylum</a> in Mexico and France, making it harder for the remaining team to contest for trophies.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-19"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-19">[19]</a></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-20"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-20">[20]</a></sup><br /> <br /> On 16 March 1938, Barcelona came under aerial bombardment from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Air_Force" title="Italian Air Force">Italian Air Force</a>, causing more than 3,000 deaths, with one of the bombs hitting the club's offices.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-21"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-21">[21]</a></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-22"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-22">[22]</a></sup> A few months later, Catalonia came under occupation and as a symbol of the "undisciplined" <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalanism" title="Catalanism">Catalanism</a>, 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 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senyera" title="Senyera">flag</a> was banned and the club were prohibited from using non-Spanish names. These measures forced the club to change its name to <b>Club de Fútbol Barcelona</b> and to remove the <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_flag" title="Catalan flag">Catalan flag</a> from its crest.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-23"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-23">[23]</a></sup><br /> In 1943, Barcelona faced rivals Real Madrid in the semi-finals of <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copa_del_General%C3%ADsimo" title="Copa del Generalísimo">Copa del Generalísimo</a>. The first match at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_de_Les_Corts" title="Camp de Les Corts">Les Corts</a> was won by Barcelona 3–0. Before the second leg, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Franco" title="Francisco Franco">Franco</a>'s director of state security visited Barcelona's players in the changing room. He reminded them that they were only playing due to the "generosity of the <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco_regime" title="Franco regime">regime</a>". Real Madrid comfortably won the match, beating Barcelona 11–1.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-24"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-24">[24]</a></sup><br /> Despite the difficult political situation, CF Barcelona enjoyed considerable success during the 1940s and 1950s. In 1945, with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josep_Samitier" title="Josep Samitier">Josep Samitier</a> as coach and players like <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A9sar_Rodr%C3%ADguez_Alvarez" title="César Rodríguez Alvarez">César</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoni_Ramallets" title="Antoni Ramallets">Ramallets</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Zambudio_Velasco" title="Juan Zambudio Velasco">Velasco</a>, they won La Liga for the first time since 1929. They added two more titles in 1948 and 1949.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-25"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-25">[25]</a></sup> In 1949, they also won the first <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_Cup" title="Latin Cup">Copa Latina</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-26"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-26">[26]</a></sup> In June 1950, Barcelona signed <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladislao_Kubala" title="Ladislao Kubala">Ladislao Kubala</a>, who was to be an important figure at the club.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-27"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-27">[27]</a></sup><br /> On a rainy Sunday of 1951, the crowd left Les Corts stadium after a 2–1 win against <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racing_Santander" title="Racing Santander">Santander</a> by foot, refusing to catch any trams, and surprising the <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francoist" title="Francoist">Francoist</a> authorities. The reason was simple: at the same time, a tram strike was taking place in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona" title="Barcelona">Barcelona</a>, receiving the support of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supporters_of_FC_Barcelona" title="Supporters of FC Barcelona"><i>blaugrana</i> fans</a>. Events like this made CF Barcelona represent much more than just <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalonia" title="Catalonia">Catalonia</a> and many progressive <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaniards" title="Spaniards">Spaniards</a> saw the club as a staunch defender of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rights" title="Rights">rights</a> and <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedoms" title="Freedoms">freedoms</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-28"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-28">[28]</a></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-29"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-29">[29]</a></sup><br /> <br /> Coach <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_Dau%C4%8D%C3%ADk" title="Fernando Daučík">Fernando Daučík</a> and player <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A1szl%C3%B3_Kubala" title="László Kubala">László Kubala</a>, regarded by many as the club's best, inspired the team to several different trophies in 1952, including La Liga, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copa_del_Rey" title="Copa del Rey">Copa del Generalísimo</a>, the <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copa_Latina" title="Copa Latina">Copa Latina</a>, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercopa_de_Espa%C3%B1a" title="Supercopa de España">Copa Eva Duarte</a> and the Copa Martini Rossi. In 1953, they helped the club win La Liga and the Copa del Generalísimo agai<br /> <br /> </span></div> <h2> <span class="mw-headline" id="Club_de_F.C3.BAtbol_Barcelona_.281957.E2.80.931978.29">Club de Fútbol Barcelona (1957–1978)</span></h2> <div> <span class="mw-headline">With <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helenio_Herrera" title="Helenio Herrera">Helenio Herrera</a> as coach, a young <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Su%C3%A1rez_%28footballer,_born_1935%29" title="Luis Suárez (footballer, born 1935)">Luis Suárez</a>, the <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Footballer_of_the_Year" title="European Footballer of the Year">European Footballer of the Year</a> in 1960, and two influential <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungary" title="Hungary">Hungarians</a> recommended by László Kubala, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A1ndor_Kocsis" title="Sándor Kocsis">Sándor Kocsis</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zolt%C3%A1n_Czibor" title="Zoltán Czibor">Zoltán Czibor</a>, 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 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960%E2%80%9361_European_Cup" title="1960–61 European Cup">European Cup</a> play-off. However, they lost 2–3 to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.L._Benfica" title="S.L. Benfica">Benfica</a> in the final.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-30"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-30">[30]</a></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-31"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-31">[31]</a></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-fcbarcelona3_32-0"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-fcbarcelona3-32">[32]</a></sup></span></div> <div> <span class="mw-headline">The 1960s were less successful for the club, with Real Madrid monopolising La Liga. The completion of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Nou" title="Camp Nou">Camp Nou</a>, finished in 1957, meant the club had little money to spend on new players.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-fcbarcelona3_32-1"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-fcbarcelona3-32">[32]</a></sup> The 1960s saw the emergence of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josep_Maria_Fust%C3%A9" title="Josep Maria Fusté">Josep Maria Fusté</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carles_Rexach" title="Carles Rexach">Carles Rexach</a>, 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 the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santiago_Bernab%C3%A9u_Stadium" title="Santiago Bernabéu Stadium">Santiago Bernabéu</a> – in front of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Franco" title="Francisco Franco">Francisco Franco</a> – with their coach <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvador_Artigas" title="Salvador Artigas">Salvador Artigas</a>, a former <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Spanish_Republic" title="Second Spanish Republic">republican</a> pilot in the civil war. With the end of Franco's dictatorship in 1974, the club changed its official name back to <b>Futbol Club Barcelona</b> and reverted the crest to its original design, including the original letters once again.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-33"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-33">[33]</a></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-34"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-34">[34]</a></sup><br /> The 1973–74 season saw the arrival of a new player in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_Cruyff" title="Johan Cruyff">Johan Cruyff</a>, who was bought for a world record £920,000 from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AFC_Ajax" title="AFC Ajax">Ajax</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-35"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-35">[35]</a></sup> 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 Franco. He further endeared himself when he named his son <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordi_Cruyff" title="Jordi Cruyff"><i>Jordi</i></a>, after the local Catalan <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_George" title="Saint George">Saint George</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-36"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-36">[36]</a></sup> Next to champions like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Manuel_Asensi" title="Juan Manuel Asensi">Juan Manuel Asensi</a>, Carles Rexach and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Sotil" title="Hugo Sotil">Hugo Sotil</a>, he helped the club win the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973%E2%80%9374_La_Liga" title="1973–74 La Liga">1973–74 season</a> for the first time since 1960,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-rsssf1_3-3"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-rsssf1-3">[3]</a></sup> defeating Real Madrid 5–0 at the Santiago Bernabéu along the way. He was crowned <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Footballer_of_the_Year" title="European Footballer of the Year">European Footballer of the Year</a> 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 was still with Barcelona.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-37"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-37">[37]</a></sup><br /> </span><br /> <h2> <span class="mw-headline"> <span class="mw-headline" id="N.C3.BA.C3.B1ez_and_the_stabilization_years_.281978.E2.80.932000.29">Núñez and the stabilization years (1978–2000)</span></span></h2> <span class="mw-headline"> In 1978, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josep_Llu%C3%ADs_N%C3%BA%C3%B1ez" title="Josep Lluís Núñez">Josep Lluís Núñez</a> 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 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 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 world-class players as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego_Maradona" title="Diego Maradona">Diego Maradona</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rom%C3%A1rio" title="Romário">Romário</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronaldo" title="Ronaldo">Ronaldo</a> rather than meeting their demands.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-fcbarcelona4_38-0"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-fcbarcelona4-38">[38]</a></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-39"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-39">[39]</a></sup><br /> On 16 May 1979, the club won its first <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Cup_Winners%27_Cup" title="UEFA Cup Winners' Cup">UEFA Cup Winners' Cup</a> by beating <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortuna_D%C3%BCsseldorf" title="Fortuna Düsseldorf">Fortuna Düsseldorf</a> 4–3 in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basel" title="Basel">Basel</a> in a final watched by more than 30,000 travelling <i>blaugrana</i> fans. The same year, Núñez began to invest in the club's youth program by converting <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Masia" title="La Masia">La Masia</a> to a dormitory for young academy players from abroad. The name of the dormitory would later become synonymous with the youth program of Barcelona.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-40"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-40">[40]</a></sup><br /> In June 1982, Diego Maradona was signed for a world record fee of £5 million from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boca_Juniors" title="Boca Juniors">Boca Juniors</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-41"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-41">[41]</a></sup> In the following season, under coach <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A9sar_Luis_Menotti" title="César Luis Menotti">César Luis Menotti</a>, Barcelona won the Copa del Rey, beating Real Madrid. Maradona's time with Barcelona, however, was short-lived and he soon left for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.S.C._Napoli" title="S.S.C. Napoli">Napoli</a>. At the start of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984%E2%80%9385_La_Liga" title="1984–85 La Liga">1984–85 season</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Venables" title="Terry Venables">Terry Venables</a> was hired as manager and he won La Liga with noteworthy displays by German midfielder <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernd_Schuster" title="Bernd Schuster">Bernd Schuster</a>. The next season, he took the team to their second <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985%E2%80%9386_European_Cup" title="1985–86 European Cup">European Cup</a> final, only to lose on penalties to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Steaua_Bucure%C8%99ti" title="FC Steaua București">Steaua București</a> during a dramatic evening in Seville.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-fcbarcelona4_38-1"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-fcbarcelona4-38">[38]</a></sup><br /> Around this time, tensions began to arise between what was perceived as president Núñez's dictatorial rule and the nationalistic support group, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boixos_Nois" title="Boixos Nois">Boixos Nois</a>. 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 <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skinheads" title="Skinheads">skinheads</a>, who often identified with a right-wing separatism. The skinheads slowly transferred the Boixos Nois' ideology from liberalism to fascism, which caused division within the group and a sudden support for Núñez's presidency.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-42"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-42">[42]</a></sup> Inspired by British hooligans, the remaining Boixos Nois became violent, causing havoc leading to large-scale arrests.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-43"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-43">[43]</a></sup><br /> After the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986_FIFA_World_Cup" title="1986 FIFA World Cup">1986 FIFA World Cup</a>, Barcelona signed the English top-scorer <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Lineker" title="Gary Lineker">Gary Lineker</a>, along with goalkeeper <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andoni_Zubizarreta" title="Andoni Zubizarreta">Andoni Zubizarreta</a>, but 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 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Aragon%C3%A9s" title="Luis Aragonés">Luis Aragonés</a>. The season finished with the players rebelling against president Núñez, in an event known as the Hesperia mutiny, and a 1–0 victory at the Copa del Rey final against <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Sociedad" title="Real Sociedad">Real Sociedad</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-fcbarcelona4_38-2"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-fcbarcelona4-38">[38]</a></sup><br /> In 1988, Johan Cruyff returned to the club as manager and he assembled the so-called "Dream Team".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-44"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-44">[44]</a></sup> He used a mix of Spanish players like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pep_Guardiola" title="Pep Guardiola">Pep Guardiola</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Mari_Bakero" title="José Mari Bakero">José Mari Bakero</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Txiki_Begiristain" title="Txiki Begiristain">Txiki Begiristain</a> while signing international players such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Koeman" title="Ronald Koeman">Ronald Koeman</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Laudrup" title="Michael Laudrup">Michael Laudrup</a>, Romário and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hristo_Stoichkov" title="Hristo Stoichkov">Hristo Stoichkov</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-45"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-45">[45]</a></sup><br /> <br /> It was ten years after the inception of the youth program, La Masia, when the young players began to graduate and play for their first team. One of the first graduates who would later earn international acclaim was Pep Guardiola.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-46"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-46">[46]</a></sup> Under Cruyff's guidance, Barcelona won four consecutive La Liga titles from 1991 to 1994. They beat <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.C._Sampdoria" title="U.C. Sampdoria">Sampdoria</a> in both the 1989 <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988%E2%80%9389_UEFA_Cup_Winners%27_Cup" title="1988–89 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup">UEFA Cup Winners' Cup</a> final and the 1992 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991%E2%80%9392_European_Cup" title="1991–92 European Cup">European Cup</a> final at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wembley_Stadium_%281923%29" title="Wembley Stadium (1923)">Wembley Stadium</a>, with a free-kick goal from Dutch international Ronald Koeman. They also won a Copa del Rey in 1990, the <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Super_Cup" title="European Super Cup">European Super Cup</a> in 1992 and three <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercopa_de_Espa%C3%B1a" title="Supercopa de España">Supercopa de España</a>. With 11 trophies, Cruyff became the club's most successful manager to date. He also became the club's longest consecutive serving manager, serving eight years.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-honours_47-0"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-honours-47">[47]</a></sup> Cruyff's fortune was to change, however, and in his final two seasons, after he failed to win any trophies, he fell-out with president Núñez, resulting in his departure.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-fcbarcelona4_38-3"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-fcbarcelona4-38">[38]</a></sup><br /> Reacting to Cruyff's departure, an independent protest group was organised by <a class="new" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Armand_Caraben&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Armand Caraben (page does not exist)">Armand Caraben</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Laporta" title="Joan Laporta">Joan Laporta</a> and <a class="new" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alfons_Godall&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Alfons Godall (page does not exist)">Alfons Godall</a>. The objective of the group, called <i>L'Elefant Blau</i> was to oppose the presidency of Núñez, which they regarded as a corruption of the club's traditional values.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-48"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-48">[48]</a></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-49"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-49">[49]</a></sup> Laporta would later take over the presidency of Barcelona in 2003.<br /> Cruyff was briefly replaced by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Robson" title="Bobby Robson">Bobby Robson</a>, who took charge of the club for a single season in 1996–97. He recruited Ronaldo from his previous club, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PSV_Eindhoven" title="PSV Eindhoven">PSV</a> and delivered a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treble_%28association_football%29" title="Treble (association football)">cup treble</a>, winning the Copa del Rey, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995%E2%80%9396_UEFA_Cup_Winners%27_Cup" title="1995–96 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup">UEFA Cup Winners Cup</a> and the Supercopa de España. Despite his success, Robson was only ever seen as a short-term solution while the club waited for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_van_Gaal" title="Louis van Gaal">Louis van Gaal</a> to become available.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-fcbarcelona5_50-0"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-fcbarcelona5-50">[50]</a></sup><br /> Like Maradona, Ronaldo only stayed a short time before he left for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inter_Milan" title="Inter Milan">Internazionale</a>. New stars emerged, however, such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lu%C3%ADs_Figo" title="Luís Figo">Luís Figo</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Kluivert" title="Patrick Kluivert">Patrick Kluivert</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Enrique_%28footballer%29" title="Luis Enrique (footballer)">Luis Enrique</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivaldo" title="Rivaldo">Rivaldo</a>, and the team won a Copa del Rey and La Liga double in 1998. In 1999, the club celebrated its <i>centenari</i>, winning the Lile title and where Rivaldo became the fourth Barcelona player to be awarded <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Footballer_of_the_Year" title="European Footballer of the Year">European Footballer of the Year</a>. Despite this domestic success, the failure to emulate Real Madrid in the Champions League led to van Gaal and Núñez resigning in 2000.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-fcbarcelona5_50-1"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-fcbarcelona5-50">[50]</a></sup><br /> <h2> <span class="mw-headline" id="The_Laporta_years_.282000.E2.80.932010.29">The Laporta years (2000–2010)</span></h2> The departures of Núñez and Louis van Gaal were hardly noticed by 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 the Camp Nou with Madrid, 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 the crowd.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-51"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-51">[51]</a></sup> The next three years saw the club in decline, and managers came and went. Van Gaal was replaced by <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lloren%C3%A7_Serra_Ferrer" title="Llorenç Serra Ferrer">Llorenç Serra Ferrer</a> who, despite an extensive investment in players in the summer of 2000, presided over a mediocre league campaign and a humiliating first-round Champions League exit, and was eventually dismissed late in the season.<br /> Long-serving coach Carles Rexach was appointed as his replacement, initially on a temporary basis, and managed to at least steer the club to the last Champions League spot on the final day of the season. Despite better form in La Liga and a good run to the semi-finals of the Champions League, Rexach 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 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radomir_Anti%C4%87" title="Radomir Antić">Radomir Antić</a>, though 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 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Gaspart" title="Joan Gaspart">Joan Gaspart</a> 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-52"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-52">[52]</a></sup><br /> After the disappointment of the Gaspart era, the combination of a new young president, Joan Laporta, and a young new manager, former <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands_national_football_team" title="Netherlands national football team">Dutch</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A.C._Milan" title="A.C. Milan">Milan</a> star <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Rijkaard" title="Frank Rijkaard">Frank Rijkaard</a>, saw the club bounce back. On the field, an influx of international players, including <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronaldinho" title="Ronaldinho">Ronaldinho</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deco" title="Deco">Deco</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrik_Larsson" title="Henrik Larsson">Henrik Larsson</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludovic_Giuly" title="Ludovic Giuly">Ludovic Giuly</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Eto%27o" title="Samuel Eto'o">Samuel Eto'o</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_M%C3%A1rquez" title="Rafael Márquez">Rafael Márquez</a>, combined with homegrown Spanish players <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carles_Puyol" title="Carles Puyol">Carles Puyol</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9s_Iniesta" title="Andrés Iniesta">Andrés Iniesta</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xavi" title="Xavi">Xavi</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C3%ADctor_Vald%C3%A9s" title="Víctor Valdés">Víctor Valdés</a>, led to 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 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_World_Player_of_the_Year" title="FIFA World Player of the Year">FIFA World Player of the Year</a> awards.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-53"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-53">[53]</a></sup><br /> In the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005%E2%80%9306_FC_Barcelona_season" title="2005–06 FC Barcelona season">2005–06 season</a>, Barcelona repeated their Liga and Supercupa successes. The pinnacle of the league season arrived at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in a 3–0 win over Real Madrid. It was Rijkaard's second victory at 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-54"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-54">[54]</a></sup> In the Champions League, Barcelona beat <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenal_F.C." title="Arsenal F.C.">Arsenal</a> 2–1 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 the club, setting up goals for Samuel Eto'o and fellow substitute <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juliano_Belletti" title="Juliano Belletti">Juliano Belletti</a>, for the club's first European Cup victory in 14 years.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-55"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-55">[55]</a></sup><br /> Despite being the favourites and starting strongly, Barcelona finished the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006%E2%80%9307_FC_Barcelona_season" title="2006–07 FC Barcelona season">2006–07 season</a> without any trophies won. A pre-season United States tour was later blamed for a string of injuries to key players, including leading scorer Samuel Eto'o and rising star <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel_Messi" title="Lionel Messi">Lionel Messi</a>. There was open feuding as Eto'o publicly criticized coach Rijkaard and Ronaldinho.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-56"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-56">[56]</a></sup> Ronaldinho also admitted that a lack of fitness affected his form.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-57"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-57">[57]</a></sup> 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 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getafe_CF" title="Getafe CF">Getafe</a> 5–2, with 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 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_FIFA_Club_World_Cup" title="2006 FIFA Club World Cup">2006 FIFA Club World Cup</a>, but were beaten by a late goal in the final against Brazilian side <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport_Club_Internacional" title="Sport Club Internacional">Internacional</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-58"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-58">[58]</a></sup> In the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006%E2%80%9307_UEFA_Champions_League" title="2006–07 UEFA Champions League">Champions League</a>, Barcelona were knocked out of the competition in the last 16 by eventual runners-up <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpool_F.C." title="Liverpool F.C.">Liverpool</a> on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Away_goals_rule" title="Away goals rule">away goals rule</a>.<br /> Barcelona finished the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007%E2%80%9308_FC_Barcelona_season" title="2007–08 FC Barcelona season">2007–08 season</a> third in La Liga and reached the semi-finals of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007%E2%80%9308_UEFA_Champions_League" title="2007–08 UEFA Champions League">Champions League</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007%E2%80%9308_Copa_del_Rey" title="2007–08 Copa del Rey">Copa del Rey</a>, both times losing to the eventual champions, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_United_F.C." title="Manchester United F.C.">Manchester United</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valencia_CF" title="Valencia CF">Valencia</a>, respectively. The day after a 4–1 defeat to Real Madrid, Joan Laporta announced that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Barcelona_B" title="FC Barcelona B">Barcelona B</a> coach Pep Guardiola would take over Rijkaard's duties on 30 June 2008.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-59"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-59">[59]</a></sup><br /> In the pre-season of <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Liga_2008%E2%80%9309" title="La Liga 2008–09">2008–09</a>, a motion of no confidence was raised against club president Joan Laporta. This motion received 60 percent support, just short of the 66 percent required to oust him, prompting eight of the directors to resign. Continuing as president, Laporta made large changes to the playing staff, spending nearly €90 million rebuilding the squad.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-60"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-60">[60]</a></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-61"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-61">[61]</a></sup><br /> For the second time that season, Barcelona played Real Madrid in <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Cl%C3%A1sico" title="El Clásico">El Clásico</a></i>, this time at the Santiago Bernabéu. Barcelona won the historic match 2–6, which was the largest margin of victory by which Barcelona had won in Madrid since the 1970s, when Johan Cruyff led Barcelona to win 0–5.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-62"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-62">[62]</a></sup> On 6 May 2009, Barcelona played against <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea_F.C." title="Chelsea F.C.">Chelsea</a> in the second leg of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008%E2%80%9309_UEFA_Champions_League" title="2008–09 UEFA Champions League">Champions League</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008%E2%80%9309_UEFA_Champions_League_knockout_phase#Semi-finals" title="2008–09 UEFA Champions League knockout phase">semi-finals</a>. Following a goalless first leg, Chelsea led the second leg at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stamford_Bridge_%28stadium%29" title="Stamford Bridge (stadium)">Stamford Bridge</a> 1–0, from the eighth minute until injury time, when Andrés Iniesta scored an equaliser in the 93rd minute from the edge of the penalty area, sending Barcelona through to the final on the away goals rule.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-63"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-63">[63]</a></sup> On 13 May, Barcelona beat <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletic_Bilbao" title="Athletic Bilbao">Athletic Bilbao</a> 4–1 to win the Copa del Rey for a record 25th time.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-64"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-64">[64]</a></sup> Three days later, Real Madrid lost a league match and Barcelona was crowned La Liga champions for the 2008–09 season.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-65"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-65">[65]</a></sup><br /> With a largely homegrown squad, in which seven players of the starting 11 were products of their youth academy, La Masia, Barcelona defeated the defending champions Manchester United 2–0 at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stadio_Olimpico" title="Stadio Olimpico">Stadio Olimpico</a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome" title="Rome">Rome</a> on 27 May 2009, to earn their third Champions League title. This completed the first ever treble won by a Spanish side, having already won the La Liga and Copa del Rey in that season.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-66"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-66">[66]</a></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-67"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-67">[67]</a></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-68"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-68">[68]</a></sup><br /> Barcelona went on to win the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Supercopa_de_Espa%C3%B1a" title="2009 Supercopa de España">2009 Supercopa de España</a> against Athletic Bilbao,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-69"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-69">[69]</a></sup> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_UEFA_Super_Cup" title="2009 UEFA Super Cup">2009 UEFA Super Cup</a> against <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Shakhtar_Donetsk" title="FC Shakhtar Donetsk">Shakhtar Donetsk</a>,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-70"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-70">[70]</a></sup> becoming the first European club to win both domestic and European Super Cups following a treble. In December 2009, Barcelona won the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_FIFA_Club_World_Cup" title="2009 FIFA Club World Cup">2009 Club World Cup</a>,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-71"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-71">[71]</a></sup> thus becoming the first team ever to accomplish <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_sextuple" title="The sextuple">the sextuple</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-72"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-72">[72]</a></sup> In May 2010, Barcelona won La Liga for the second consecutive time with a record Spanish league tally of 99 points out of 114 possible.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-73"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-73">[73]</a></sup> In August, Barcelona won their ninth Supercup, beating the previous record of eight, which they shared with Real Madrid.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-74"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-74">[74]</a></sup><br /> <h2> <span class="mw-headline" id="2011.E2.80.93present">2011–present</span></h2> Barcelona begin start off the season with the traditional curtain raiser, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Supercopa_de_Espa%C3%B1a" title="2011 Supercopa de España">Supercopa de España</a>, against <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sevilla_FC" title="Sevilla FC">Sevilla</a>, losing the first leg 3–1 at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram%C3%B3n_S%C3%A1nchez_Pizju%C3%A1n_Stadium" title="Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium">Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium</a>. In the return leg at the Camp Nou, however, the team would win 4–0, thus claiming the Supercopa 5–3 on aggregate. In the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010%E2%80%9311_La_Liga" title="2010–11 La Liga">2010–11 season</a>, Barcelona would endure a slow start to the campaign, despite a victory over <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racing_de_Santander" title="Racing de Santander">Racing de Santander</a> (3–0) on the opening day of the season; they would go on to be defeated 2–0 at the Camp Nou by newly promoted minnows <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A9rcules_CF" title="Hércules CF">Hércules</a>. Nevertheless, Barça would recover and go on to magnificent 5–0 win over Real Madrid at home. In the Champions League semi-finals against Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu, Lionel Messi scored two goals to ensure a 0–2 win for Barcelona, with the second leg at home ending in a 1–1 draw, sending Barça through to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_UEFA_Champions_League_Final" title="2011 UEFA Champions League Final">Final</a> to take on Manchester United. In the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010%E2%80%9311_Copa_del_Rey" title="2010–11 Copa del Rey">Copa del Rey Final</a> at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mestalla_Stadium" title="Mestalla Stadium">Mestalla Stadium</a> against Real Madrid, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristiano_Ronaldo" title="Cristiano Ronaldo">Cristiano Ronaldo</a> would convert a header on the 100th minute to win the Copa for Madrid, 1–0. Barça, however, would end up beating Manchester United 3–1 with goals from Pedro, Messi and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Villa" title="David Villa">David Villa</a> to win them the Champions League for the fourth time in club history. Barcelona would also claim La Liga with 96 points to Real Madrid's 92 for the third time in a row to round off a very successful season.<br /> The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011%E2%80%9312_FC_Barcelona_season" title="2011–12 FC Barcelona season">2011–12 season</a> would kick off with the Supercopa de España, this time against reigning Copa del Rey champions Real Madrid. In Madrid, Barcelona would play to a 2–2 draw, but would seal the Supercup with a 3–2 win at the Camp Nou. The first kick of a ball in La Liga for Barça would be at the Camp Nou against <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villarreal_CF" title="Villarreal CF">Villarreal</a>, with the Catalans easily winning 5–0. In the first Liga <i>Clásico</i> of the season, Barcelona would win 1–3 in Madrid to level on points with Madrid heading into the Christmas break. Nevertheless, Barcelona would drop two points away to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCD_Espanyol" title="RCD Espanyol">Espanyol</a>, which ended 1–1, to go two points behind their archrivals Madrid. In the Copa del Rey semi-finals, in the first leg against Real Madrid, the <i>Blaugrana</i> would win 1–2 in Madrid, later sealing their place in the semi-finals after a 2–2 draw at the Camp Nou. In the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League, the then-defending champions would defeat <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayer_04_Leverkusen" title="Bayer 04 Leverkusen">Bayer Leverkusen</a> 1–3 in Germany and rout them 7–1 at the Camp Nou. The quarter-finals against <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A.C._Milan" title="A.C. Milan">Milan</a> would begin slowly for the Catalan club, playing to a 0–0 draw in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milan" title="Milan">Milan</a>, only to sweep the Italian club aside 3–1 at the Camp Nou with two strikes from Lionel Messi. In the semi-finals against Chelsea, Barcelona would be defeated 1–0 in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London" title="London">London</a> after a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didier_Drogba" title="Didier Drogba">Didier Drogba</a> strike in the 45th minute. The second leg, meanwhile, at the Nou Camp finished 2–2, thus eliminating Barcelona from European contention. In the penultimate game of the season at home to Real Madrid, perhaps the most important game of the Catalan club's season, Barça would collapse 1–2 to Real Madrid with a strike each from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sami_Khedira" title="Sami Khedira">Sami Khedira</a> and Cristiano Ronaldo, winning <i>Los Blancos</i> the match. On 27 April, coach Pep Guardiola announced in a tearful press conference in Barcelona that he would be stepping down as coach of the Catalan club at the end of the season, citing that he needed a break from football; he was to be replaced by Tito Vilanova. In Barcelona's final game of the season, the Copa del Rey finals against <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletic_Bilbao" title="Athletic Bilbao">Athletic Bilbao</a>, Barça would win 3–0 with a brace from Pedro and a strike from Messi, winning the club the trophy. That season, Barça would also win the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_UEFA_Super_Cup" title="2011 UEFA Super Cup">2011 UEFA Super Cup</a>, 2–0 against <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Porto" title="FC Porto">Porto</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_FIFA_Club_World_Cup" title="2011 FIFA Club World Cup">2011 FIFA Club World Cup</a>, 4–0 against <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santos_FC" title="Santos FC">Santos</a>.<br /> Barça's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012%E2%80%9313_FC_Barcelona_season" title="2012–13 FC Barcelona season">2012–13 season</a> yet again began with a Supercopa contention, this time another incarnation of <i>El Clásico</i>. Barcelona would win the first leg at home 3–2 with goals from Messi, Pedro and Xavi, but in the second leg, despite a wonderfully-struck free kick from Messi from 35 yards out, Barcelona would succumb 2–1 to their fiercest foes with goals from Ronaldo and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonzalo_Higua%C3%ADn" title="Gonzalo Higuaín">Gonzalo Higuaín</a>. In <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012%E2%80%9313_La_Liga" title="2012–13 La Liga">La Liga</a>, Barcelona would shoot straight up to the top of the league table with a 5–1 win over Real Sociedad. In the most-hyped game of the season so far, Barcelona and Real Madrid would play out what many regard as the best <i>Clásico</i> in recent memory, ending in a 2–2 draw at the Camp Nou with both Messi and Ronaldo netting twice for their respective clubs. Barça would also kick of their Copa del Rey defence with a 3–0 win over <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deportivo_Alav%C3%A9s" title="Deportivo Alavés">Alavés</a>. In the Champions League on 7 November 2012, Barcelona would fall 2–1 to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_F.C." title="Celtic F.C.">Celtic</a>, with Messi grabbing his third Champions League goal of the 2012–13 season in the 90th minute in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasgow" title="Glasgow">Glasgow</a>. Barcelona were eliminated from Europe 0–7 on aggregate in the semi-finals against eventual champions <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Bayern_Munich" title="FC Bayern Munich">Bayern Munich</a>, the worst-ever aggregate loss in any European competition for the club.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-75"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-75">[75]</a></sup><br /> <br /> On 22 July 2013, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerardo_Martino" title="Gerardo Martino">Gerardo Martino</a> was confirmed as manager of Barcelona for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013%E2%80%9314_FC_Barcelona_season" title="2013–14 FC Barcelona season">2013–14 season</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-76"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_FC_Barcelona#cite_note-76">[76]</a></sup> Barcelona's first official games under Martino were the home and away legs of the 2013 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Supercopa_de_Espa%C3%B1a" title="2013 Supercopa de España">Supercopa de España</a>, which Barça won 1–1 on away goals. On 23 January 2014, Sandro Rosell resigned as president by the admissibility of the complaint for alleged misappropriation following the transfer of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neymar" title="Neymar">Neymar</a>. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josep_Maria_Bartomeu" title="Josep Maria Bartomeu">Josep Maria Bartomeu</a> replaced him to finish the term in 2016<br /> <br /> In April 2014, FIFA banned the club from buying players for the next two transfer windows following the violation of the FIFA's rules about the transfer of footballers aged under 18.[77] A statement on FIFA's website read, "With regard to the case in question, FC Barcelona has been found to be in breach of art. 19 of the Regulations in the case of ten minor players and to have committed several other concurrent infringements in the context of other players, including under Annexe 2 of the Regulations. The Disciplinary Committee regarded the infringements as serious and decided to sanction the club with a transfer ban at both national and international level for two complete and consecutive transfer periods, together with a fine of CHF 450,000. Additionally, the club was granted a period of 90 days in which to regularise the situation of all minor players concerned."[78] FIFA rejected an appeal in August but the pending appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) allowed Barcelona to sign players during the summer of 2014.[79]<br /> <br /> On 17 May, in a game where they needed to defeat Atlético Madrid (who had eliminated them from the Champions League in the quarter-finals earlier in the year) to be crowned champions of La Liga for the 23rd time, they drew after Atlético defender Diego Godín headed in the equalizer in the 49th minute, giving Atlético the championship.[80]<br /> <br /> On 19 May 2014, it was announced that Luis Enrique would return to Barcelona as head coach after he agreed to a two-year deal. He was recommended by sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta, his former Spain national teammate.[81][82] Following Luis Enrique's arrival, Barcelona broke their transfer record when they paid Liverpool between €81 to €94 million for striker Luis Suárez,[83][84] who at the time was serving a four-month ban from all football-related activity imposed by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee after biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini during his appearance for Uruguay in a World Cup group stage match.[85][86][87]<br /> <br /> In late December 2014, Barcelona's appeal to the CAS was unsuccessful and the original transfer ban was reinstated, leaving the club unable to utilise the 2015 winter and summer transfer windows.[79] On 5 January 2015, Zubizareta was sacked by the board after 4 years as director of football.[88] On 12 February 2015, Barcelona announced the formation of a new Football Area Technical Commission, made up of vice-president Jordi Mestre, board member Javier Bordas, Carles Rexach and Ariedo Braida.[89]<br /> <br /> Barcelona won the treble in the 2014–15 season, winning La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League titles, and became the first European team to have won the treble twice.[90] On 17 May, the club clinched their 23rd La Liga title after defeating Atlético Madrid.[91] This was Barcelona's seventh La Liga title in the last ten years.[92] On 30 May, the club defeated Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey final at Camp Nou.[93] On 6 June, Barcelona won the Champions League final with a 3–1 win against Juventus, which completed the treble, the club's second in six years.[94]<br /> References<br /> <br /> Bibliography<br /> <br />     Arnaud, Pierre; Riordan, James (1998). Sport and international politics. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-419-21440-3.<br />     Ball, Phill (2003). Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football. WSC Books Limited. ISBN 0-9540134-6-8.<br />     Burns, Jimmy (1998). Barça: A People's Passion. Bloomsbury. ISBN 0-7475-4554-5.<br />     Closa, Antoni; Rius, Jaume; Vidal, Joan (2001). Un Segle de futbol català: 1900–2000 (in Catalan). Barcelona: Federació Catalana de Futbol.<br />     Desbordes, Michael (2007). Marketing and football: an international perspective. Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 0-7506-8204-3.<br />     Dobson, Stephen; Goddard, John A. (2001). The economics of football. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-66158-7.<br />     Eaude, Michael (2008). Catalonia: a cultural history. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-532797-7.<br />     Ferrand, Alain; McCarthy, Scott (2008). Marketing the Sports Organisation: Building Networks and Relationships. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0-415-45329-1.<br />     Fisk, Peter (2008). Business Genius: A More Inspired Approach to Business Growth. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 1-84112-790-6.<br />     Ghemawat, Pankaj (2007). Redefining global strategy: crossing borders in a world where differences still matter. Harvard Business Press. p. 2. ISBN 1-59139-866-5.<br />     Graham, Helen (2002). The Spanish republic at war, 1936–1939. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-45932-X.<br />     Farred, Grant (2008). Long distance love: a passion for football. Temple University Press. ISBN 1-59213-374-6.<br />     Ferrand, Alain; McCarthy, Scott (2008). Marketing the Sports Organisation: Building Networks and Relationships. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0-415-45329-1.<br />     King, Anthony (2003). The European ritual: football in the new Europe. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 0-7546-3652-6.<br />     Kleiner-Liebau, Désirée (2009). Migration and the Construction of National Identity in Spain. 15. Iberoamericana Editorial. ISBN 84-8489-476-2.<br />     Murray, Bill; Murray, William J. (1998). The world's game: a history of soccer. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-06718-5.<br />     Peterson, Marc (2009). The Integrity of the Game and Shareholdings in European Football Clubs. GRIN Verlag. ISBN 3-640-43109-X.<br />     Raguer, Hilari (2007). The Catholic Church and the Spanish Civil War. 11. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-31889-0.<br />     Shubert, Adrian (1990). A social history of modern Spain. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-09083-0.<br />     Snyder, John (2001). Soccer's most wanted: the top 10 book of clumsy keepers, clever crosses, and outlandish oddities. Brassey's. ISBN 1-57488-365-8.<br />     Spaaij, Ramón (2006). Understanding football hooliganism: a comparison of six Western European football clubs. Amsterdam University Press. ISBN 90-5629-445-8.<br />     Witzig, Richard (2006). The Global Art of Soccer. CusiBoy Publishing. ISBN 0-9776688-0-0.<br /> <br /> Notes<br /> <br /> Ball, Phil p. 89<br /> Ball, Phil pp. 90–91<br /> Carnicero, José Vicente Tejedor (21 May 2010). "Spain – List of Cup Finals". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Retrieved 9 March 2010.<br /> "History part I". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 11 March 2010.<br /> "The crest". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 30 July 2010.<br /> Murray, Bill; Murray, William J. p. 30<br /> Closa et al. p. 62–63<br /> Ferrer , Carles Lozano (19 June 2001). "Coupe des Pyrenées – Copa de los Pirineos". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Retrieved 12 June 2010.<br /> Spaaij, Ramón. p. 279<br /> "Partidos de homenaje a jugadores" (PDF) (in Catalan). Center for Documentation, FC Barcelona. Retrieved 24 August 2010.<br /> Arnaud, Pierre; Riordan, James. p. 103<br /> "History part II". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 11 March 2010.<br /> Shubert, Adrian. p. 200<br /> Roy, Joaquín (2001). "Football, European Integration, National Identity: The Case of FC Barcelona". European Community Studies Association (paper). p. 4.<br /> Burns, Jimmy. pp. 111–112<br /> Arnaud, Pierre; Riordan, James. p. 104<br /> Spaaij, Ramón. pp. 280<br /> Ball, Phil. pp. 116–117<br /> Murray, Bill; Murray, William. p. 70<br /> Ball, Phil. pp. 118–120<br /> Raguer, Hilari. pp. 223–225<br /> Graham, Helen. p. 351<br /> Burns, Jimmy. pp. 80–83<br /> Aguilar, Paco (10 December 1998). "Barca—Much more than just a Club". FIFA. Archived from the original on 7 May 2009. Retrieved 10 May 2009.<br /> "Evolution 1929–2010". Liga de Fútbol Profesional. Retrieved 6 August 2010.<br /> Stokkermans, Karel; Gorgazzi, Osvaldo José (23 November 2006). "Latin Cup". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Retrieved 12 June 2010.<br /> "Kubala". FC Barcelona. 17 May 2002. Retrieved 5 October 2010.<br /> Ferrand, Alain; McCarthy, Scott. p. 90<br /> Witzig, Richard. p. 408<br /> Stokkermans, Karel (2 June 2010). "European Champions' Cup". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation(RSSSF). Retrieved 11 August 2010.<br /> Ross, James M. (27 June 2007). "European Competitions 1960–61". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Retrieved 11 August 2010.<br /> "History part III". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 15 March 2010.<br /> "The Crest". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 11 April 2010.<br /> "FC Barcelona—European football clubs & squads". Eufo.de. Retrieved 12 July 2008.<br /> MacWilliam, Rab; MacDonald, Tom. p. 180<br /> Ball, Phil. pp. 83–85<br /> Moore, Rob; Stokkermans, Karel (11 December 2009). "European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or")". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Retrieved 11 April 2010.<br /> "History part IV". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 15 March 2010.<br /> Ball, Phil p. 85<br /> "La Masia". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 30 July 2010.<br /> Dobson, Stephen; Goddard, John A. p. 180<br /> Spaaij, Ramón p. 291-292<br /> Spaaij, Ramón p. 293<br /> Duff, Alex (18 May 2006). "Barcelona Emulates `Dream Team' to Win European Title". Bloomberg. Retrieved 5 October 2010.<br /> Fritz, Barend (et al) (1999). Ajax, Barcelona, Cruyff. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC. ISBN 0-7475-4305-4.<br /> Hawkey, Ian (22 March 2009). "Novelty factor adds spice to clash of giants". London: The Times. Retrieved 30 July 2010.<br /> "Honours". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 12 March 2010.<br /> King, Anthony pp. 185–186<br /> Ball, Phil pp. 110–111<br /> "History part V". FC Barcelona. 15 June 2003. Retrieved 12 March 2010.<br /> Ball, Phil. p. 19<br /> Ball, Phil. pp. 109–110<br /> "Ronaldinho wins world award again". BBC News. 19 December 2005. Retrieved 11 August 2010.<br /> McCurdy, Patrick (21 November 2005). "Real Madrid 0 Barcelona 3: Bernabeu forced to pay homage as Ronaldinho soars above the galacticos". London: The Independent. Retrieved 11 August 2010.<br /> "Barcelona 2–1 Arsenal". BBC News. 17 May 2006. Retrieved 11 August 2010.<br /> "Barcelona will not punish Eto'o". BBC News. 14 February 2007. Retrieved 11 August 2010.<br /> "Barcelona defends Asian tour". AFP. soccerway.com. Retrieved 11 March 2010.<br /> "Internacional make it big in Japan". FIFA. 17 December 2006. Retrieved 11 August 2010.<br /> "Rijkaard until 30 June; Guardiola to take over". FC Barcelona. 8 May 2008. Retrieved 8 May 2009.<br /> Reuters (26 August 2008). "Barca rebuild to try to prevent Real hat-trick". ESPN. Retrieved 11 August 2010.<br /> Barnes, Joe (11 July 2008). "Barcelona Transfer Analysis: Blaugrana Moving Wisely?". Goal.com. Retrieved 11 August 2010.<br /> Estepa, Javier (5 May 2009). "La afición cree que el 2–6 del Bernabéu es la derrota más dolorosa de la historia" (in Spanish). MARCA. Retrieved 11 August 2010.<br /> "Iniesta sparks Barcelona joy". FIFA.<br /> "Barcelona defeat Athletic Bilbao to win Copa del Rey". London: Telegraph. 14 May 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2010.<br /> "Barcelona reign supreme". FIFA. 1 June 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2010.<br /> Alvarez, Eduardo (14 May 2009). "One title closer to the treble". ESPN. Retrieved 30 May 2009.<br /> McNulty, Phil (27 May 2009). "Barcelona 2–0 Man Utd". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 May 2009.<br /> "Pep Guardiola's love affair with Barcelona continues". Thesportreview.com. 19 May 2009. Retrieved 31 May 2009.<br /> "Messi leads Barcelona to Spanish Supercup win". CNN Sports Illustrated. Associated Press. 23 August 2009. Retrieved 25 December 2009.<br /> "Barcelona vs Shakhtar Donetsk". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 13 March 2010.<br /> Barcelona beat Estudiantes to win the Club World Cup. BBC Sport. 19 December 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2010.<br /> "The year in pictures". FIFA. 13 December 2009. Retrieved 13 March 2010.<br /> "Messi, Barcelona set records in Spanish league title repeat". USA Today. 16 May 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2010.<br /> Associated, The (21 August 2010). "The Canadian Press: Messi's three goals as Barcelono wins record ninth Spanish Supercup". Canadian Press. Retrieved 27 August 2010.<br /> "Bayern Munich Demolish Barcelona on Path to All German Final".<br /> Marca [marca] (22 July 2013). "ÚLTIMA HORA | Tata Martino ya es entrenador del FC Barcelona ow.ly/ncFeH" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 July 2015 – via Twitter.<br /> "Barcelona hit with a year-long transfer ban for breaching rules on youngsters". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 April 2014.<br /> "Spanish FA, FC Barcelona sanctioned for international transfers of minors".". FIFA. Retrieved 2 April 2014.<br /> "Barcelona transfer ban appeal rejected by Court". BBC. Retrieved 30 December 2014<br /> Martin, Richard (17 May 2014). "Barcelona 1 Atletico Madrid 1, La Liga: match report". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 17 May 2014.<br /> "Luis Enrique signs two year deal as new FC Barcelona manager". FC Barcelona. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.<br /> "Barcelona appoint Luis Enrique as first-team coach". BBC Sport. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.<br /> "Luis Suarez: Liverpool & Barcelona agree deal for striker". BBC Sport. 11 July 2014. Archived from the original on 12 July 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014.<br /> "FC Barcelona and Liverpool FC have reached an agreement for the transfer of Luis Suárez". FC Barcelona. 11 July 2014. Archived from the original on 12 July 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014.<br /> "Luis Suárez suspended for nine matches and banned for four months from any football-related activity". FIFA. 26 June 2014. Archived from the original on 3 July 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.<br /> De Menezes, Jack (26 June 2014). "Luis Suarez banned: Fifa hand striker record nine-game ban AND a four month football ban for biting Giorgio Chiellini in biggest ever World Cup suspension". The Independent. Archived from the original on 12 July 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2014.<br /> "FIFA Suspends and Fines Suarez for 9 Games and 4 Months After Biting Player". ABC News. 26 June 2014.<br /> "Barcelona sack Andoni Zubizarreta as director of football". BBC. Retrieved 5 January 2015<br /> "New Football Area Technical Commission presented". FCBarcelona.com. 12 February 2015.<br /> "Johan Cruyff's influence endures as Barcelona complete the 'double-treble". ESPN. Retrieved 8 June 2015<br /> "Barcelona are La Liga Champions". FCBarcelona.com. 17 May 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.<br /> "Seventh La Liga title in last ten years". FCBarcelona.com. 17 May 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.<br /> "Barca won 27th title of Copa Del Rey". FCBarcelona.com. 30 May 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015.<br /> "Barcelona crush Juventus in Champions League final: as it happened". Daily Telegraph. 6 June 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2015.<br /> source: wikipedia.org<a href="http://wikipedia.org/" target="_blank">wikipedia.org</a></span></div> </div>

History of FC Barcelona

The history of Futbol Club Barcelona goes from the football club 's founding in 1899 and up to current time. FC Barcelona, also known s...

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History of Football - The Origins

<div class="article-top-content"> <div class="credits"> </div> </div> <div class="article-sidebar"> <div class="dcm-icons clearfix hidden-print" data-move-top="369.98333740234375" data-top="687.0166625976562" style="position: relative; top: 369.983px;"> <ul> <li class="dcm-icons-share"><div class="sharebtn-wrap"> <a class="article-share icon-share" data-fb-layout="box_count" data-g-annotation="bubble" data-g-size="tall" data-share-orientation="vertical" data-share-type="article" data-twitter-count="vertical" href="http://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/who-we-are/the-game/#"> </a></div> </li> <li><a class="icon-print" href="http://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/who-we-are/the-game/#"> </a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div class="article-body" id="article-body"> The contemporary history of the world's favourite game spans more than 100 years. It all began in 1863 in England, when rugby football and association football branched off on their different courses and the Football Association in England was formed - becoming the sport's first governing body. <br /> Both codes stemmed from a common root and both have a long and intricately branched ancestral tree. A search down the centuries reveals at least half a dozen different games, varying to different degrees, and to which the historical development of football has been traced back. Whether this can be justified in some instances is disputable. Nevertheless, the fact remains that people have enjoyed kicking a ball about for thousands of years and there is absolutely no reason to consider it an aberration of the more 'natural' form of playing a ball with the hands. <br /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtHTRvqDq8vlCDtbWqDy64a48em8ZnqA_EJDBor2p5sQJYfMyvQdhUL0G3B7ZYuulaJxQeVRUeGTApI2uoON95-uqACPayOwY0w9eKxfAquZiLvOeyu6csLsO8HpWalMb5FTFZwyIa5XY/s1600/his.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtHTRvqDq8vlCDtbWqDy64a48em8ZnqA_EJDBor2p5sQJYfMyvQdhUL0G3B7ZYuulaJxQeVRUeGTApI2uoON95-uqACPayOwY0w9eKxfAquZiLvOeyu6csLsO8HpWalMb5FTFZwyIa5XY/s320/his.jpg" width="320" /></a>On the contrary, apart from the need to employ the legs and feet in tough tussles for the ball, often without any laws for protection, it was recognised right at the outset that the art of controlling the ball with the feet was not easy and, as such, required no small measure of skill. The very earliest form of the game for which there is scientific evidence was an exercise from a military manual dating back to the second and third centuries BC in China. <br /> This Han Dynasty forebear of football was called Tsu' Chu and it consisted of kicking a leather ball filled with feathers and hair through an opening, measuring only 30-40cm in width, into a small net fixed onto long bamboo canes. According to one variation of this exercise, the player was not permitted to aim at his target unimpeded, but had to use his feet, chest, back and shoulders while trying to withstand the attacks of his opponents. Use of the hands was not permitted. <br /> <br /> Another form of the game, also originating from the Far East, was the Japanese Kemari, which began some 500-600 years later and is still played today. This is a sport lacking the competitive element of Tsu' Chu with no struggle for possession involved. Standing in a circle, the players had to pass the ball to each other, in a relatively small space, trying not to let it touch the ground. </div> <div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> The Greek 'Episkyros' - of which few concrete details survive - was much livelier, as was the Roman 'Harpastum'. The latter was played out with a smaller ball by two teams on a rectangular field marked by boundary lines and a centre line. The objective was to get the ball over the opposition's boundary lines and as players passed it between themselves, trickery was the order of the day. The game remained popular for 700-800 years, but, although the Romans took it to Britain with them, the use of feet was so small as to scarcely be of consequence.</div> <div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="panel-pane pane-entity-field pane-node-field-quote"> <div class="pane-content"> <div class="field-collection-container clearfix"> <div class="field field-name-field-quote field-type-field-collection field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"> <div class="field-collection-view clearfix view-mode-full field-collection-view-final"> <div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-quote clearfix"> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-name-field-quote- field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"> Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that.</div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-name-field-quote-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"> Bill Shankly</div> <div class="field-item even"> <div class="col-md-8"> <div class="panel-pane pane-entity-field pane-node-body"> <div class="pane-content"> <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"> It may come as a surprise to many, but football has a long and interesting history; sources suggest that the sport was first introduced in England as early as 1170 when an account describes youths going to the fields for a ‘game of ball’. Aspects of the game can even be traced back to as early as the second and third century BC in China. Sources taken from military manuals at the time describe an exercise called Tsu’ Chu, in which opponents used a leather ball filled with feathers and hair. The aim was to get the ball into a small net fixed on to bamboo canes while also defending themselves from attacks. Variations of the game are also documented in Egyptian and Greek society, proving that the sport has a long tradition throughout history.<br /> In comparison to China’s advanced version of the football itself, the English equivalent was made using an inflated animal bladder. The game’s appeal continued to increase in England so much so that in the 1300s, its popularity became a bone of contention for Edward II. The king became increasingly concerned that football was distracting people from practising archery, at a time when he was preparing to go to <a href="http://www.history.co.uk/shows/battle-of-kings-bannockburn">war with Scotland</a>. The solution to this problem was to enforce a ban on everyone playing football. This was to be the first of many bans to be instituted by leading figures such as Edward III, Henry IV and <a href="http://www.history.co.uk/biographies/oliver-cromwell">Oliver Cromwell</a>.<br /> Nevertheless, football re-emerged and continued to increase in popularity, particularly amongst the working classes, who saw the game as an opportunity to channel their grievances and socialise with people from similar backgrounds. But these matches did not always end in a civilised manner; with limited rules and no referees at the time, the pitch often became violent. It was acceptable to beat or punch opposing team players including destroying their personal property and even, on occasion, their homes or businesses. Volumes of players also varied in some circumstances to as many as 1000 people at any one time, so it wasn't surprising that football matches often spiralled out of control. It became such a problem in the 1800s that a highway act was eventually introduced in 1830, stating that those who played football on highways would be required to pay a fine.<br /> Football's appeal transcended the class divisions, becoming extremely popular at public schools during the 18th century. This provided the context for specific rules to be created for the game. An 1848 meeting at Cambridge drew up rules outlining goal kicks, throw ins and goalies' rights, all of which are still included today. These small stepspaved the way for the rise of football club teams and national and international games and championships.<br /> The British have also been considered instrumental at spreading the game, in its modern inception, across the world. The first ever match recorded outside of Europe was in Argentina in 1867, led by several Englishmen working abroad at the time.<br /> Though football was considered a male sport, it was not exclusively played by men; women have been involved in the game since the late nineteenth century. It became increasingly popular during <a href="http://www.history.co.uk/h2locations">World War I</a> when women had taken on the jobs traditionally done by men. Those in industrial labour regularly met to play. A ladies team from Preston was one of the first to compete in an international game against Paris. There was a brief ban after World War I made by the Football Association who deemed women’s football to be inappropriate. However, the formation of the English Women’s FA saw the ban eventually lifted in 1971. Since then women’s football has continued to grow in Britain and abroad. Some of the largest football clubs such as Arsenal, Everton and Chelsea all have female teams which compete at home and internationally.<br /> Football has become a much loved part of British culture, and has been instrumental in causing change. Possibly the strangest match took place during World War I, a period of history epitomised by bloodshed and death on massive scales. On Christmas eve of 1914, upon hearing German troops singing carols, both sides walked on to no mans land and played a game of football. While it is not known who won that day, this was to be the only time in the trenches where artillery fire ceased. <a href="http://www.history.co.uk/locations/ploegsteert">The Christmas Day Truce</a> of 1914, as it became known, highlights the impact football has had in this country, and indeed the world, and helps explain why it is the nation’s favourite pasttime.<br /> Football has also been mired by both tragedy and controversy, as seen by the Hillsborough Disaster of 1989, in which 96 people were crushed to death. In another incident, referred to as the Heysel Stadium Disaster (1985), a large group of Liverpool fans breached a fence separating them from Juventus fans; the resultant death of 32 people led to English football clubs being banned by UEFA from all European competitions until the early 1990s and a number of Liverpool fans being prosecuted for manslaughter.<br /> The 2010 World Cup in <a href="http://www.history.co.uk/study-topics/history-of-south-africa">South Africa</a> was a defining moment for a nation that until 1994 was under a regime of apartheid. It was hoped that the biggest sports event in the world would bring prosperity to the host country and show the rest of the world a different side of Africa. Football has certainly come a long way from its humble beginnings hundreds of years ago.<br /> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="panel-separator"> </div> <div class="panel-pane pane-entity-field pane-node-field-pagination-next"> <div class="pane-content"> <div class="field field-name-field-pagination-next field-type-node-reference field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"> <a href="http://www.history.co.uk/study-topics/history-of-football-tennis/history-of-tennis">History of Tennis</a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="col-md-4"> <div class="panel-pane pane-entity-field pane-node-field-did-you-know"> <h2 class="pane-title"> Did you Know</h2> <div class="pane-content"> <div class="field field-name-field-did-you-know field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"> Only three teams have won the FA Cup without conceding a single goal during the entire competition. Don't expect to see any footage though. The Wanderers, who won it in 1873, Preston North End in 1889, and Bury in 1903.</div> <div class="field-item odd"> In 1954 Turkey knocked out Spain from during a World Cup qualifier by drawing straws. Blindfolded Italian boy Luigi Franco Gemma picked the straws to decide the winner.</div> <div class="field-item even"> Andrew Watson was the world's first black international player. Born in British Guiana, he was a celebrity in the Victorian era, winning three caps for Scotland in the 1880s. He also became the first non-white player to feature in the FA Cup.</div> <div class="field-item odd"> The first World Cup was held in the South American country of Uruguay back in 1930. Thirteen nations took part in the event which saw four European teams make a 15 day boat ride only for three to get knocked out in the 1st round. Uruguay would go on to become world champions, beating Argentina 4-2 in the final.</div> <div class="field-item even"> William Shakespeare refered to football in many of his plays. For example, in King Lear Kent insults Oswald by calling him a ‘base football player’. In Comedy of Errors, Shakespeare writes: 'Am I so round with you as you with me, that like a football you do spurn me thus? You spurn me hence, and he will spurn me hither if I last in this service you must case me in leather.'</div> <div class="field-item odd"> The largest known win in professional football was 36-0 when Arbroath beat Bon Accord in a Scottish Cup match in 1885. More recently, Australia beat American Samoa 31-0 in a 2002 World Cup qualifying match on April 11, 2001. Archie Thompson scored 13 individual goals, an international record.</div> <div class="field-item even"> The Football Association was established in October, 1863. The first meeting took place at the Freeman's Tavern in London. The clubs represented at the meeting included Barnes, Blackheath, Perceval House, Kensington School, the War Office, Crystal Palace, Forest, the Crusaders and No Names of Kilburn.</div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="panel-separator"> </div> <div class="panel-pane pane-block pane-block-56"> <div class="pane-content"> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field-item even"> <br /></div> <div class="field-item even"> source:<a href="http://www.history.co.uk/study-topics/history-of-football-tennis/history-of-football" target="_blank"> history.co.uk/</a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div>

History of Football - The Origins

The contemporary history of the world's favourite game spans more than 100 years. It all began in 1863 in England, when...

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Korea DPR into final as USA sunk in extra time

<div class="article-sidebar"> <div class="dcm-icons clearfix hidden-print" data-move-top="351.9166259765625" data-top="1067.0833740234375" style="position: relative; top: 351.917px;"> <ul> <li><a class="icon-comments" href="http://www.fifa.com/u20womensworldcup/matches/round=276001/match=300353177/match-report.html#c_comments_2855901"></a></li> <li class="dcm-icons-share"><div class="sharebtn-wrap"> <a class="article-share icon-share" data-fb-layout="box_count" data-g-annotation="bubble" data-g-size="tall" data-share-orientation="vertical" data-share-type="article" data-twitter-count="vertical" href="http://www.fifa.com/u20womensworldcup/matches/round=276001/match=300353177/match-report.html#"> </a></div> </li> <li><a class="icon-print" href="http://www.fifa.com/u20womensworldcup/matches/round=276001/match=300353177/match-report.html#"> </a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div class="article-body" id="article-body"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtqy6gjq8fJ4YjvPAnZ7n3R3-tEiUEBfRkC5VHEk5qddR3gTcBDAcWYicZWtoT52_OnXzy7v0tUwfcoATN5f62OnanJI44tzRad7jMb7Q6nywd6oP1DcgZbpk9WpMFplLzTz-HPL2UVF4/s1600/korea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtqy6gjq8fJ4YjvPAnZ7n3R3-tEiUEBfRkC5VHEk5qddR3gTcBDAcWYicZWtoT52_OnXzy7v0tUwfcoATN5f62OnanJI44tzRad7jMb7Q6nywd6oP1DcgZbpk9WpMFplLzTz-HPL2UVF4/s320/korea.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> Korea DPR are into their third FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup final after a 2-1 semi-final win, though they needed extra time to see off some brave resistance from three-time winners USA. Korea DPR seemed set for victory after a penalty was converted by Jon So Yun early in the second half, only for Natalie Jacobs to equalise in the final minute of an at-times physical encounter. <br /> It was a match featuring lots of intent, but little in the way of attacking cohesion or creativity until the latter stages, though it was Korea DPR who clearly had the better openings. One of USA’s few sights of goal came on the quarter-hour mark as Mallory Pugh burst into the penalty area with a trademark driving run, only to pull her shot wide. <br /> Perhaps the best chance of the half fell to Korea DPR as WI Jong Sim created a yard of space at the top of the penalty area, only to fire her low shot just wide. The Koreans finished the half stronger than the three-time champions and Kim Un Hwa saw her shot narrowly deflected over, while Kim Phyong Hwa pushed a header into the side-netting from the resultant corner. <br /> Five minutes after the break came a pivotal moment, and it was an unfortunate one for USA. Midfielder Katie Cousins was penalised for handball after sliding in for a tackle and Jon So Yun easily converted the spot-kick. The match became stretched in the final stages as USA pushed hard for an equaliser, with previous goalscoring substitutes Ally Watt and Kelcie Hedge adding an extra dimension in attack. <br /> USA had registered just one shot on target approaching the final minute of the match, yet the Stars and Stripes have proved they can never be written off. Pugh saw her close-range shot blocked and Jacobs, making a first start in the tournament, perfectly pushed a volley over the head of the goalkeeper with her instep. <br /> Ri Hyang Sim saw her fierce shot pushed wide by a diving Casey Murphy, while Kim Phyong Hwa had a gilt-edged chance to win in the last moments of regulation time only to direct a free header at the back-post over the bar. Korea DPR, however, hit back within seconds of the restart as Sung Hyang Sim teed up Ri Hyang Sim who easily slotted after her run into the penalty box went unchecked. <br /> USA were surviving on slim margins and they needed a last-gasp Maddie Elliston goalline clearance from Ri Hyang Sim after goalkeeper Murphy’s initial block. <br /> <em>Live Your Goals Player of the Match: Ri Hyang Sim (Korea DPR) </em> <br /> <em>source:</em><i>fifa.com<a href="http://www.fifa.com/u20womensworldcup/matches/round=276001/match=300353177/match-report.html" target="_blank">http://www.fifa.com/u20womensworldcup/matches/round=276001/match=300353177/match-report.html</a></i></div>

Korea DPR into final as USA sunk in extra time

Korea DPR are into their third FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup final after a 2-1 semi-final win, though they needed extra time...

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