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Trump-Taiwan call breaks US policy stance

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US President-elect Donald Trump has spoken directly with the president of Taiwan - breaking with US policy set in 1979, when formal relations were cut.</div>
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Mr Trump's transition team said he and Tsai Ing-wen noted "close economic, political, and security ties" between the US and Taiwan in a phone call.</div>
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The move risks angering China, which sees Taiwan as a breakaway province.</div>
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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has reportedly dismissed the call as a "petty trick" by Taiwan.</div>
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What happened?</h2>
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Mr Trump tweeted on Friday that Ms Tsai had called him to congratulate him on winning the US election.</div>
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His team said that the US president-elect had also congratulated Ms Tsai on becoming the president of Taiwan last January.</div>
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It is highly unusual for a US president or president-elect to speak to a Taiwanese leader directly.</div>
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Following media reports pointing out the risks of angering China, <a class="story-body__link-external" href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/804863098138005504" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(17, 103, 168, 0.298039); border-bottom-color: rgb(220, 220, 220); border-bottom-style: solid; border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: inherit; line-height: 1.375; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mr Trump tweeted</a>: "Interesting how the US sells Taiwan billions of dollars of military equipment but I should not accept a congratulatory call."</div>
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The White House has said Mr Trump's conversation did not signal any change in US policy.</div>
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Mr Trump's spokeswoman said he was "well aware" of what US policy has been on Taiwan.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; letter-spacing: inherit; line-height: 1.375; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Read more</strong>: <a class="story-body__link" href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34729538" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(17, 103, 168, 0.298039); border-bottom-color: rgb(220, 220, 220); border-bottom-style: solid; border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: inherit; line-height: 1.375; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What's behind the China-Taiwan divide?</a></div>
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Why the concern?</h2>
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Washington cut formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1979, expressing its support for Beijing's "One China" concept, which states that Taiwan is part of China.</div>
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China has hundreds of missiles pointing towards Taiwan, and has threatened to use force if it seeks independence.</div>
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President Tsai, Taiwan's first female leader, led the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to a landslide <a class="story-body__link" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-35333647" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(17, 103, 168, 0.298039); border-bottom-color: rgb(220, 220, 220); border-bottom-style: solid; border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: inherit; line-height: 1.375; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">victory in January's poll.</a></div>
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The DPP has traditionally leaned towards independence from China and President Tsai's administration does not accept One China policy.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; letter-spacing: inherit; line-height: 1.375; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Read more</strong>: <a class="story-body__link" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16464515" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(17, 103, 168, 0.298039); border-bottom-color: rgb(220, 220, 220); border-bottom-style: solid; border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: inherit; line-height: 1.375; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan's shy but steely leader</a></div>
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From concern to alarm and anger - Carrie Gracie, BBC China editor, Beijing</h2>
<figure class="media-landscape has-caption full-width" style="background-color: #111111; border: 0px; clear: both; color: #404040; font-family: Helmet, Freesans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 24px -24.6406px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="image-and-copyright-container" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="off-screen" style="border: 0px !important; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 1px !important; letter-spacing: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px !important; position: absolute !important; vertical-align: baseline; width: 1px !important;">Image copyright</span><span class="story-image-copyright" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6); border: 0px; bottom: 0px; color: #ececec; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.75rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.25px; line-height: 1.33333; margin: 0px; padding: 3px 8px 1px; position: absolute; right: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: baseline;">REUTERS</span></span><figcaption class="media-caption" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible;"><span class="off-screen" style="border: 0px !important; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 1px !important; letter-spacing: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px !important; position: absolute !important; vertical-align: baseline; width: 1px !important;">Image caption</span><span class="media-caption__text" style="border: 0px; color: #ececec; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.8125rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: inherit; line-height: 1.23077; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In an image released by her office, Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen is seen speaking on the phone to Mr Trump</span></figcaption></figure><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #404040; font-family: Helmet, Freesans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.375; margin-top: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Mr Trump's decision to turn his back on four decades of US protocol on Taiwan and speak directly to a president of Taiwan will stun policymakers in Beijing.</div>
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Since his election last month, they have struggled to understand who is advising Donald Trump on Asia and what his China policy will look like.</div>
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This move will turn concern into alarm and anger.</div>
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Beijing sees Taiwan as a province. Denying it any of the trappings of an independent state is one of the key priorities of Chinese foreign policy.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; letter-spacing: inherit; line-height: 1.375; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Read more from Carrie: </strong><a class="story-body__link" href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-38193666" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(17, 103, 168, 0.298039); border-bottom-color: rgb(220, 220, 220); border-bottom-style: solid; border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: inherit; line-height: 1.375; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Trump phone call that will stun Beijing</a></div>
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How has China responded?</h2>
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The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it opposed any official interaction or military contact between the US and Taiwan, according to Communist Party mouthpiece the People's Daily.</div>
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Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the conversation between Mr Trump and Ms Tsai was "just a petty trick by Taiwan" that he believed would not change US policy toward China, according to Hong Kong's Phoenix TV.</div>
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"The One China policy is the cornerstone of the healthy development of China-US relations and we hope this political foundation will not be interfered with or damaged," he was quoted as saying.</div>
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Despite the formal ties being cut nearly four decades ago, the US has still maintained friendly non-official relations with Taiwan.</div>
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Following Mr Trump's telephone conversation, the White House said the US remained firmly committed to its "One China" policy.</div>
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"Our fundamental interest is in peaceful and stable cross-strait relations," said Ned Price, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council.</div>
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Meanwhile, Mr Trump is also reported to have invited President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines to the White House next year during a "very engaging, animated" phone conversation, according to one of Mr Duterte's aides.</div>
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But a statement issued by Trump's transition team made no mention of an invitation.</div>
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The Philippine leader has had disagreements with President Barack Obama and has in the past insulted him. Mr Obama cancelled a planned meeting with him in September.</div>
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source: bbc.com<a href="http://.bbc.com/" target="_blank">.bbc.com</a></div>
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An investigation into a charity run by ex-Chelsea striker Didier Drogba found "no evidence of fraud or corruption" but said it may have "misled" donors.</div>
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The Charity Commission began its inquiry into "serious regulatory concerns" at the Didier Drogba Foundation in April.</div>
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That followed a <a class="sp-story-body__external-link" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3538564/The-luvvies-football-hero-Drogba-s-charity-1-7million-s-never-reached-sick-Africans-meant-Foundation-probed-just-14-000-money-raised-UK-donated-good-causes.html" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(219, 219, 219); border-bottom-style: solid; border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #121212; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Daily Mail report <i aria-hidden="true" class="sp-story-body__external-link-icon gelicon gelicon--external" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: gelicons-core !important; font-size: 0.75rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: normal !important; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0px 4px; padding: 0px; speak: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></i></a>that only £14,115 of the £1.7m donated had gone to help causes in Africa.</div>
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Drogba, 38, said he is seeking damages and an apology from the newspaper.</div>
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The Commission, which used its powers to analyse the foundation's accounts, said it was satisfied there was no foul play.</div>
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But it was critical of the fact the foundation failed to separate its activities from those of an Africa-based arm of the organisation.</div>
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That meant funds collected in the UK were not being spent on hospitals or clinics, as donors were led to believe, but were being saved in a UK current account.</div>
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"Donors will have expected their donations to have been used for charitable purposes, not accumulated in a bank account," the report read.</div>
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"Donors to the English charity may also have been misled about the activities of the charity they were supporting.</div>
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"This is because the impression was given that the English charity had financed the activities of the Ivory Coast Foundation, which is clearly not the case."</div>
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The Commission has issued the Didier Drogba Foundation with an "action plan" to make improvements.</div>
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What did the Mail claim?</h3>
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The Didier Drogba Foundation was started in the UK in 2009 when the former Ivory Coast captain was playing for Chelsea.</div>
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The Mail claimed that since the foundation started, only £14,115 of £1.7m given by donors in the UK had been spent on charity projects.</div>
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It also claimed £439,321 was spent staging on lavish fundraising parties attended by celebrities, with one ball losing £71,000.</div>
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The newspaper also said supporters were told they were supporting the construction of a hospital and up to five clinics, but only one clinic had been built and it had no staff or medical equipment.</div>
<h3 class="sp-story-body__cross-head" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #121212; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.5rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.75rem; margin: 2rem 0px 1.5rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
What did the Charity Commission look at?</h3>
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The Charity Commission said it wanted to:</div>
<ul style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #252525; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 1.5rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 4px; vertical-align: baseline;">assess concerns about the administration of the charity and the oversight provided by trustees, all of whom appear to live abroad</li>
<li style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 4px; vertical-align: baseline;">investigate allegations that the charity has provided misleading information to donors and the public</li>
</ul>
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It added: "The charity has raised and accumulated significant sums of money that have not yet been spent and further information is required over the plans to spend those funds."</div>
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What are its findings?</h3>
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"We have been able to satisfy our most serious concerns in relation to the charity by confirming that funds have not been misapplied and that all funds raised in the English charity's name have been held by the English charity," the report read.</div>
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"We are also able to confirm that we found no evidence of fraud or corruption on behalf of the charity."</div>
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However, it continued: "We have issued the charity with an action plan to ensure that the outstanding concerns, particularly with regard to transparency to donors and the public, are addressed by the charity's trustees."</div>
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What does Drogba say?</h3>
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Drogba released a statement welcoming the findings that "no funds have been misapplied by my Foundation, and that there has been no financial wrongdoing, no fraud and no corruption".</div>
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He added: "I am pleased that this supports what we always said from the start, which is that the claims made by the Daily Mail back in April were entirely false.</div>
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"I have instructed my lawyers to seek a full apology and damages to be paid to my Foundation from the Daily Mail."</div>
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What is the Daily Mail's view?</h3>
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The Mail has always stood by its story and journalism - and stressed that at no point had it ever alleged fraud or corruption.</div>
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<table class="sp-story-body__table" style="border-spacing: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 546px;"><thead style="background: rgb(245, 245, 245); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.8125rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1rem; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<tr style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><th style="border-bottom-color: rgb(220, 220, 220); border-bottom-style: solid; border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 1rem 8px 0.25rem; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Drogba's Chelsea medal tally</th></tr>
</thead><tbody style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.875rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.125rem; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<tr style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td style="border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0.5rem 8px; vertical-align: middle;"><b style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Premier League (4):</b> 2004-05, 2005-06, 2009-10, 2014-15</td></tr>
<tr style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td style="border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0.5rem 8px; vertical-align: middle;"><b style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Champions League (1): </b>2011-12</td></tr>
<tr style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td style="border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0.5rem 8px; vertical-align: middle;"><b style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FA Cup (4): </b>2006-07, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2011-12</td></tr>
<tr style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td style="border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0.5rem 8px; vertical-align: middle;"><b style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">League Cup (3): </b>2004-05, 2006-07, 2014-15<br />source:<a href="http://bbc.com/" target="_blank">bbc.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>

Didier Drogba charity cleared of fraud but may have 'misled' donors

An investigation into a charity run by ex-Chelsea striker Didier Drogba found "no evidence of fraud or corruption" but said it ...

History of FC Barcelona

Unknown 0 6:02 AM

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 />
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source: wikipedia.org<a href="http://wikipedia.org/" target="_blank">wikipedia.org</a></span></div>
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History of FC Barcelona

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