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Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Barcelona Football Club Current Squad & It's Glorious Achievement -
For the basketball team, see FC Barcelona Bàsquet. For the reserve team, see FC Barcelona B.
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| Full name | Futbol Club Barcelona | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | L'equip blaugrana (team) Culers or Culés (supporters) Blaugranes or Azulgranas (supporters) | |||
| Founded | November 29, 1899 as Foot-Ball Club Barcelona | |||
| Ground | Camp Nou, Barcelona (Capacity: 98,772) | |||
| President | Sandro Rosell | |||
| Manager | Josep Guardiola | |||
| League | La Liga | |||
| 2009–10 | La Liga, 1st | |||
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Current season | ||||
Futbol Club Barcelona (Catalan pronunciation: [fudˈbɔɫ ˌklup bəɾsəˈlonə], Spanish: [ˈfuðβol kluβ βarθeˈlona]), (often known simply as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça (Catalan: [ˈbaɾsə], Spanish: [ˈbarsa])), is a Spanish professional football club, based in Barcelona, Spain. They play in La Liga, and is one of the only three clubs to have never been relegated.
Founded as Foot-Ball Club Barcelona in 1899 by a group of Swiss, English, and Spanish footballers led by Joan Gamper, the club has become a symbol of Catalan culture and Catalanism, hence the motto "Més que un club" (English: More than a club). The official Barça anthem is the "Cant del Barça" written by Jaume Picas and Josep Maria Espinàs. Unlike many other football clubs, the supporters own and operate Barcelona. It is the world's second richest football club in terms of revenue, with an annual turn-over of €366 million. The club holds a long-standing rivalry with Real Madrid, and matches between the two teams are referred to as "El Clásico".
FC Barcelona is the most successful club in Spanish football in terms of overall trophies, having won twenty La Liga titles, a record twenty-five Spanish Cups, nine Spanish Super Cups, and two League Cups. They are also one of the most successful clubs in European football, having won ten UEFA competitions. It is the only European club to have played continental football every season since 1954. In 2009, Barcelona became the first club in Spain to win the treble consisting of La Liga, Copa del Rey, and the Champions League. That same year, they also became the first football club ever to win six out of six competitions in a single year, thus completing the sextuple, comprising the aforementioned treble and the Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
Exit Núñez, enter Laporta (2000–2010):
The marketing department of the club redefined their strategy around the popular Ronaldinho.
The departures of Núñez and van Gaal were nothing compared to that of Luís Figo. As well as club vice-captain, Figo had become a cult hero and was considered by Catalans to be one of their own. Barça fans were distraught by Figo's decision to join arch-rivals Real Madrid, and during subsequent visits to the Camp Nou, he 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. President Núñez was replaced by Joan Gaspart in 2000, and the three years he was in charge, saw the club decline and managers came and went; van Gaal served a second term. Gaspart did not inspire confidence off the field either and in 2003, he and van Gaal resigned.
After the disappointment of the Gaspart era, the club bounced back with the combination of a new young president, Joan Laporta, and a young new manager, former Dutch player Frank Rijkaard. On the field, an influx of international players combined with home-grown Spanish players led to the club's return to success. Barça won La Liga and the Supercopa de España in 2004–05, and the team's midfielder, Ronaldinho, won the FIFA World Player of the Year award.
The sextuple, which Barcelona won in 2009.
In the 2005–06 season, Barcelona repeated their league and Supercup successes. In the Champions League, Barça beat English club Arsenal 2–1 in the final. Trailing 1–0 to a 10-man Arsenal and with less than 15 minutes left, they came back to win 2–1 for the club's first European Cup victory in 14 years. They took part in the 2006 FIFA Club World Cup, but were beaten by a late goal in the final against Brazilian side Internacional. Despite being the favourites and starting strongly, Barcelona finished the 2006–07 season without trophies. A pre-season U.S. tour and open feud between the player Samuel Eto'o and Rijkaard was later blamed for the lack of trophies. In La Liga, Barça were in first place for much of the season, but their inconsistency in the new year allowed Real Madrid to overtake them to become champions. The 2007–08 season was unsuccessful, and as Barça failed to emulate the success of previous years Barça BJosep Guardiola took over Rijkaard's duties at the conclusion of the season. youth manager
Barça beat Athletic Bilbao 4–1 in the 2009 Copa del Rey Final, winning the competition for a record-breaking 25th time. A defeat by Real Madrid three days later ensured that Barcelona were La Liga champions for the 2008–09 season. Barça finished the season by beating last year's Champions League winners Manchester United 2–0 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome to win their third Champions League title and complete the first ever treble won by a Spanish side. The team went on to win the 2009 Supercopa de España against Athletic Bilbao and the 2009 UEFA Super Cup against Shakhtar Donetsk,2009 FIFA Club World Cup, and became the first team ever to accomplish the sextuple. Barcelona recorded two new records in Spanish football in 2010 as they retained the La Liga trophy with 99 points and winning the Spanish Super Cup trophy for a ninth time. becoming the first European club to win both domestic and European Super Cups following a treble. In December 2009, Barcelona won the
Support-
Main article: Supporters of FC Barcelona
The nickname culé for a Barcelona supporter is derived from the Catalan cul (English: arse), as the spectators at the first stadium, Camp de la Indústria, sat with their culs over the stand. In Spain, about 25% of the population are said to be Barça sympathisers, second behind Real Madrid, supported by 32% of the population. Valencia is third, with 5%. Throughout Europe, Barcelona is the favourite second-choice club. The club's membership figures have seen a significant increase from 100,000 in the 2003–04 season to 170,000 in September 2009, the sharp rise being attributed to the influence of Ronaldinho and then-president Joan Laporta's media strategy that focused on Spanish and English online media.
In addition to membership, as of June 2010 there are 1,335 officially registered fan clubs, called penyes, around the world. The fan clubs promote Barcelona in their locality and receive beneficial offers when visiting Barcelona. The club has had many prominent persons among its supporters, including Pope John Paul II, who was an honorary member, and current prime minister of Spain José Zapatero.
Finances and ownership-
In 2010, Forbes evaluated Barcelona's worth to be around €752 million (USD $1,000 million), ranking them fourth after Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Arsenal, based on figures from the 2008–09 season.Deloitte, Barcelona had a recorded revenue of €366 million in the same period, ranking second to Real Madrid, who generated €401 million in revenue. According to
Along with Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, and Osasuna, Barcelona is organised as a registered association. Unlike a limited company, it is not possible to purchase shares in the club, but only membership. The members of Barcelona, called socis, form an assembly of delegates which is the highest governing body of the club. As of 2010 the club has 170,000 socis.
An audit by Deloitte in July 2010 showed that Barcelona had a net debt of €442 million, currently 58% of net worth as evaluated by Forbes. The new management of Barcelona, which had ordered the audit, cited "structural problems" as the cause of the debt. News had emerged that the club had recored a loss of €79 million over the course of the year, despite having defended their La Liga title.
Records-
For more details on this topic, see List of FC Barcelona records and statistics.
Migueli presently holds the team records for number of total games played (548) and La Liga appearances (391). Xavi, the player with the most international caps, as of 9 May 2010 has played 352 league games and 527 games in all competitions.
FC Barcelona's all-time highest goalscorer in all competitions (including friendlies) is Paulino Alcántara with 357 goals. The record league scorer is Cesár Rodriguez, who scored 195 goals in La Liga between 1942 and 1955, a record not likely to be broken soon, as the current leading league scorer Lionel Messi has scored 88 goals. Only three people have managed to score over 100 league goals at Barcelona: Cesár Rodriguez (195), Ladislao Kubala (131), and the recently departed Samuel Eto'o (108).
On 2 February 2009, Barcelona reached a total of 5,000 La Liga goals. The goal was converted by Messi in a game against Racing Santander, which Barça won 2–1. On 18 December 2009 Barcelona beat Estudiantes 2–1 to win their sixth title in a year and became the first ever football team to complete the sextuple. Barcelona holds the record for most Copa del Rey titles (25) and a joint record with Real Madrid for the most Spanish Supercups with 8 titles.
Barcelona's highest home attendance was 120,000, for a European Cup quarter-final against Juventus on 3 March 1986. The modernisation of Camp Nou during the 1990s and the introduction of all-seater stands means the record will not be broken for the foreseeable future as the current legal capacity of the stadium is 98,772.
The Barcelona 2010 Organising and Executive Committee as well as the LOC Staff want to thank all the participants of this year’s European Athletics Championships. Without their collaboration, help and effort it would not have been possible to successfully host this big international event.
We also want to thank the many volunteers of the event, who made it possible to reach the finish line.
Muchas gracias!
Barcelona 2010 has been a big success, something that has been recognized by all observers and critics. The city is not resting on its laurels, but getting ready for the next big athletics event, the World Junior Championships 2012. We can all look forward to another great experience where we will most likely meet each other again.
Players-
Main article: List of FC Barcelona players
For a list of all former and current FC Barcelona players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:FC Barcelona footballers.
Spanish teams are limited to three players without EU citizenship. The squad list includes only the principal nationality of each player; several non-European players on the squad have dual citizenship with an EU country. Also, players from the ACP countries—countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific that are signatories to the Cotonou Agreement—are not counted against non-EU quotas due to the Kolpak ruling.
Current squad-
See Barcelona squad 2010–11
As of 31 August 2010.
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Crest and shirt-
The first crest worn by Barcelona
The club crest is derived from the St George's Cross, the Catalan flag, and the colours of Barcelona. Since its foundation the club has played with a crest. The first was a quartered diamond-shaped crest topped by the Crown of Aragon and the bat of King James, and surrounded by two branches, one of a laurel tree and the other a palm. In 1910 the club held a competition among its members to design a new crest. The winner was Carles Comamala, who at the time played for the club. Comamala's suggestion became the crest that the club wears today, with some minor variations. The crest consists of the St George Cross in the upper-left corner with the Catalan flag beside it, and the colours of Barcelona at the bottom.
The blue and red colours of the shirt were first worn in a match against Hispania in 1900. Several competing theories have been put forth for the blue and red design of the Barcelona shirt. The son of the first president, Arthur Witty, claimed it was the idea of his father as the colours were the same as the Merchant Taylor's school team. Another explanation, according to author Toni Strubell, is that the colours are from Robespierre's First Republic. In Catalonia the common perception is that the colours were chosen by Joan Gamper and are those of his home team, FC Basel.
Since its founding, Barcelona has never worn corporate advertisements on their shirt. On 14 July 2006, the club announced a five year agreement with UNICEF, which includes having the UNICEF logo on their shirts. The agreement has the club donate €1.5 million per year to UNICEF (0.7 percent of its ordinary income, equal to the UN International Aid Target, cf. ODA) via the FC Barcelona Foundation. The FC Barcelona Foundation is an entity set up in 1994 on the suggestion of then-chairman of the Economical-Statutory Committee, Jaime Gil-Aluja. The idea was to set up a foundation that could attract financial sponsorships to support a non-profit sport company. In 2004, a company could become one of 25 "Honorary members" by contributing between £40,000–60,000 (£45,800–68,700) per year. There are also 48 associate memberships available for an annual fee of £14,000 (£16,000) and an unlimited number of "patronages" for the cost of £4,000 per year (£4,600). It is unclear whether the honorary members have any formal say in club policy, but according to the author Anthony King, it is "unlikely that Honorary Membership would not involve at least some informal influence over the club".
FC Barcelona in Europe-
Lionel Messi is the current Barcelona player with the highest goal tally in international competitions, with 27 scored as of 1 July 2010.
FC Barcelona, also known simply as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Spain. The club first participated in a European competition in 1910, and from 1955 onwards spent every season in one or more European competitions. The first international cup they took part in was the Pyrenees Cup. The competition lasted from 1910 to 1914 and Barcelona won four out of five editions. From 1914 to the beginning of the Latin Cup in 1949, Barcelona did not participate in any international competitions.
Barcelona has won the now defunct Cup Winners' Cup four times and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup three times, which is more than any other club for both trophies. They also took part in the Latin Cup twice as champions of Spain, winning on both occasions. Though their early participation in the European Cup, now Champions League, was largely unsuccessful, they have since won the trophy three times, with their first win in 1992.
In the tables (H) denotes home ground, (A) denotes away ground and (N) symbolises neutral ground. The first score is always Barcelona's.
Stadium-
Main articles: Camp de la Indústria, Camp de Les Corts, and Camp Nou
An elevated view of a full Camp Nou
Barcelona initially played in the Camp de la Indústria. The capacity was about 10,000, and club officials deemed the facilities inadequate for a club with growing membership.
In 1922, the number of supporters had surpassed 20,000 and by lending money to the club, Barça was able to build the larger Camp de Les Corts, which had an initial capacity of 20,000 spectators. After the Spanish Civil War the club started attracting more members and a larger number of spectators at matches. This led to several expansion projects: the grandstand in 1944, the southern stand in 1946, and finally the northern stand in 1950. After the last expansion, Les Corts could hold 60,000 spectators.
One of the stands displaying Barcelona's motto, "Més que un club", meaning 'More than a club'
After the construction was complete there was no further room for expansion at Les Corts. Back-to-back La Liga titles in 1948 and 1949 and the signing of in June 1950 of László Kubala, who would later go on to score 196 goals in 256 matches, drew larger crowds to the games. The club began to make plans for a new stadium. The building of Camp Nou commenced on 28 March 1954, before a crowd of 60,000 Barça fans. The first stone of the future stadium was laid in place under the auspices of Governor Felipe Acedo Colunga and with the blessing of Archbishop of Barcelona Gregorio Modrego. Construction took three years and ended on 24 September 1957 with a final cost of 288 million pesetas, 336% over budget.
In 1980, when the stadium was in need of redesign to meet UEFA criteria, the club raised money by offering supporters the opportunity to inscribe their name on the bricks for a small fee. The idea was popular with supporters, and thousands of people paid the fee. Later this became the centre of controversy when media in Madrid picked up reports that one of the stones was inscribed with the name of long-time Real Madrid chairman and Franco supporter Santiago Bernabéu. In preparation for the 1992 Summer Games two tiers of seating were installed above the previous roofline. It has a current capacity of 98,787 making it the largest stadium in Europe.
From Wikipedia-
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