FC Barcelona - FC Barcelona Is More than a Club

Unicef, which stands for United Nations Children's Fund, is the first name to appear on the Spanish and European champion's shirt.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta said, that this is an historic agreement. It shows the world that they're more than just a club. Barca has a future as it is helping the children around the world.

Also it's an honour to wear the Unicef 's logo, because it's an agreement without precedent for Unicef as well.

FC Barcelona will be supporting Unicef 's work by making and annual payment it's Foundation of 1,5 M euros.

Unicef had agreed to spend the money donated by the Fundacio del FC Barcelona on supporting the programmes and projects agreed in the plan activities. These programmes will benefit the most vulnearable children on the planet, with a special focus on children affected by HIV/ AIDS.

Barca will also support Unicef's work by allowing them to use the club as a source of publicity which includes in particularly emblematic form, the charity organisation's logo appearing on the football team's shirt, when in 107 years of history, no name has ever before appeared on the Barca football jersey.

Unicef has thus conceded FC Barcelona the right to use its name, logo and emblem on their football shirt, printed in yellow on the regular shirt, and in blue on the change strip. They are also committed to actively participating in the promotion and diffusion of the global alliance between the two institutions for the next five years.

Camp Nou means in Catalan language 'new field', often reversed in English to become Nou Camp. The stadium Nou Camp is the largest stadium in Europe with a capacity of 98,787. The stadium is the home ground of Football Club Barcelona and got a popular nick name in the year 2000. Its official name was Estadi del FC Barcelona.



The History Of The Stadium Nou Camp

On 20th of May 1922 The Les Corts ground was opened and it's also known as "The Cathedral of Football". That stadium had an initial capacity of 30,000 spectators but later doubled to 60,000. In 1924 the Club had already 12,207 members and a big number of supporters laid the foundations of the current social mass.



Francesco Miró-Sans promoted the building of the stadium Nou Camp, which got inaugurated on the 24th September 1957. The new stadium had a capacity of 90,000.

FC Barcelona won their first game at Camp Nou in impressive fashion, a 4-2 victory against Legia Warsaw with Eulogio Martínez scoring the first goal at the new stadium. Over 90,000 fans were present at this momentous occasion.



The capacity of the stadium Nou Camp has varied between 93,053 at its opening to 120,000 for the 1982 FIFA World Cup before the outlawing of standing sections at the stadium brought the capacity to below 99,000 in the late 1990s.

For the future of Nou Camp will take care the UK architect Lord Foster. He has made the design for re-construction of the stadium Nou Camp. He won the award among other architects in September 2007. The work will begin in 2009 and is due to be completed by the start of the 2011-2012 season. Because the work is mostly cosmetic, no fixtures will be affected.



The aim of the project is to turn the stadium Camp Nou into an integrated and highly visible urban environment. Minimum of 50% of seats must be under cover. There will be about 120,000 seats.

The iconic stadium has been graced by some of the greatest names in world football, from current Barca players like Ibrahimovic, Xavi and Messi to superstars of the past such as Johan Cruyff, Hristo Stoichkov and Diego Maradona.

The stadium capacity will be increased from 98,000 to 106,000 and it will have an outer shell composed of multi-coloured tiles, to reflect the style of Antoni Gaudi. The tiles will be able to change colour and could even be used as a giant television screen.

LA MASIA



La Masia is the name given to FC Barcelona training facilities. It's located near the Camp Nou in the Les Corts district of Barcelona. In 1957 the building was remodelled and extended for use as the clubs social headquarters. La Masia became in the year 1979 the residence of young players from outside of Barcelona. Many youngsters that lived at La Masia have gone on to play for the first team and/or had success at other clubs, including Guillermo Amor, Josep Guardiola, Sergi Barjuán, Iván de la Peña, Carles Puyol, Xavi Hernández, Gabri García, José Manuel Reina, Víctor Valdés, Gerard Piqué, Andrés Iniesta, Sergio García, Sergio Busquets, Bojan Krkic, Cesc Fàbregas, and Lionel Messi.

La Masia Facilities: kitchen, dining room, living room, library, office, bathrooms, showers and four large dormitories with dressing rooms.

MINIESTADI

Miniestadi is a ground used by Barca's reserve teams. It was opened on 23rd September 1982. In nine months the stadium with a capacity of 15.276 was completed. The pitch measures are 103 metres by 65 metres. The miniestadi normally hosts FC Barcelona B and FC Barcelona C matches.

One of the most fascinating evening at the Miniestadi was the broadcast of the 2006 Champions League Final. Saint-Denis in Paris was not the only stadium in Europe to be enraptured by FC Barcelona's victory. 11,000 people filled every seat to watch Barca on the giant screen as they came from behind to beat Arsenal and claim the trophy for the second time. It was yet another unforgettable evening for FC Barcelona's amazing supporters.

OTHER FACILITIES

Next to Miniestadi, which is also called »Mini« are two training pitches, called pitch 3 and 4. Pitch number 4 measures 100 metres by 70 metres and has seating for 1000 sprectators.

If Squidoo allowed me to put more than 9 links from the same domain, I'd put them all of them here. So, go to Barca's page and download wallpapers for free.

Click On This link: Official FC Barcelona Site

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There you have all 2009/10 FC Barcelona Player Wallpapers!

Thanks to fcbarcelona.com!

1 - GK - Victor Valdes Arribas


13 - GK - Jose Manuel Pinto Colorado

3 - DC - Gerard Piqué Bernabeu


4 - DC/DM - Rafael Marquez Alvarez


5 - DC/DR - Carles Puyol Saforcada


18 - DC - Gabriel Alejandro Milito


21 - DC - Dmytro Chygrynskiy


2 - DR/WBR/Wing - Daniel Alves da Silva


22 - DL - Eric Abidal


19 - DL/WBL/Wing - Scherrer Cabelino Maxwell Andrade

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6 - MC - Xavier Hernandez Creus


8 - MC - Andres Iniesta Lujan


15 - DM - Seydou Keita


24 - DM - Toure Yaya


16 - DM/MC - Sergio Busquets Burgos

10 - AMR/Wing/FW - Lionel Andres Messi


17 - AMR/Wing - Pedro Rodriguez Ledesma


14 - ST/FW - Thierry Henry


11 - ST - Bojan Krkic Perez


9 - ST - Zlatan Ibrahimovic


35 - ST - Jeffren Suarez Bermudez

Acronym Definition:

GK - Goalkeeper
DC - Defender Centre
DR - Defender Right
DL - Defender Left
WBR - Wing Back Right
WBL - Wing Back Left
DM - Defensive Midfielder
MC - Midfielder Center
AMR - Attacking Midfielder Right
FW - Forward
ST - Striker

EL CLASICO

There is often a fierce rivalry between the two strongest teams in a national league, and this is particularly the case in La Liga, El Clasico is the game between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. This is the biggest rivalry in the world and this game is the most important for spectators and the club itself.

Rivalry started when these two clubs represented two rival regions in Spain, Catalonia and Castile. There are many tensions felt between Catalns and the Castilians.



During the dictatorships of Primo de Rivera and Francisco Franco, all regional identities were openly. So FC Barcelona became more than a club (mes que un club) for Catalonia as a defender of freedom and one of its greatest ambassadors.

During the 1950's the rivalry was exacerbated significantly when the clubs disputed the signing of Alfredo Di Stefano, who finally played for Real Madrid. Franco transfered him to Real Madrid by "royal decree" after playing three games with Barcelona's shirt.

As nowadays FC Barcelona and Real Madrid are the two biggest and most successful clubs in Spain, the rivalry is renewed on an almost annual basis with both teams often challenging each other for the league championship. The last year El Clasico was played on the stadium Santiago Bernabeu and ended with a win of FC Barcelona (2:6), but the latest El Clasico was played on November 29, 2009 on the Camp Nou, which was won by Barcelona by 1-0 (goal from Ibrahimovic).

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Picture from: telegraph.co.uk

EL DERBI BARCELONES

This is the rivalry between FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol. They are the two major Barcelona clubs. Their match is know as El Derbi Barcelones.

Espanyol, the 'royalist' team of the city, were founded exclusively by Spanish fans of the game, on the contrary to the multinational nature of FC Barcelona's original board. The club's first home was in the well-off district of Sarrià and was formerly known with the Castilian spelling of its name, Real Club Deportivo Español.

Traditionally, especially in the years following the Spanish Civil War, Espanyol were seen as a club who cultivated a kind of compliance to the central authority, unlike FC Barcelona, who for the majority of Catalans, symbolised the ideal of autonomy. However, the Blanquiazules in 1995 attempted to have a go at getting their own part in Catalanism by 'catalanizing' their name in a move that generally did not earn them much respect at the Camp Nou.



The most known win of RCD Espanyol against FC Barcelona was in the season of 2008-2009 with the result of 0:2 on Nou Camp. Incidentally this was the first time in the history of La Liga that a side bottom of the standings had beaten a team at the top of the league.

The song was written in 1974 as part of Barcelona's 75th Anniversary Celebrations. It was written by Jaume Picas and Josep M. Espinàs and it is set to the music of Manuel Valls Gorina. It was sung for the first time by 3,500 voices conducted by Oriol Martorell. By tradition at the Camp Nou, the club anthem, called 'El Cant del Barca' is played on the stadium loudspeaker system, and all the fans sing along in unison.

Anthem of FC Barcelona in Catalan language:


Tot el camp
és un clam
som la gent blaugrana
Tant se val d'on venim
si del sud o del nord
ara estem d'acord, ara estem d'acord,
una bandera ens agermana.
Blaugrana al vent
un crit valent
tenim un nom el sap tothom:
Barça, Barça, Baaarça!

Jugadors, seguidors,
tots units fem força.
Son molt anys plens d'afanys,
son molts gols que hem cridat
i s'ha demostrat, i s'ha demostrat,
que mai ningu no ens podrà torcer.
Blaugrana al vent
un crit valent
tenim un nom el sap tothom:
Barça, Barça, Baaarça!

Anthem of FC Barcelona in English language:


The whole stadium
loudly cheers
We're the blue and claret supporters
It matters not where we hail from
Whether it's the south or the north
Now we all agree, we all agree,
One flag unites us in brotherhood.
Blue and claret blowing in the wind
One valiant cry
We've got a name that everyone knows:
Barça, Barça, Baaarça!

Players, Supporters
United we are strong.
We've achieved much over the years,
We've shouted many goals
And we have shown, we have shown,
That no one can ever break us.
Blue and claret blowing in the wind
One valiant cry
We've got a name that everyone knows:
Barça, Barça, Baaarça!

Here you can read the FC Barcelona history, from foundation of the club till nowadays.

THE FC BARCELONA - MORE THAN A CLUB (MES QUE UN CLUB)

Football Club Barcelona was discovered by Joan Gamper on the 29th of November 1899. Eleven sportsmen: Gualteri Wild, Lluís d'Ossó, Bartomeu Terrados, Otto Kunzle, Otto Maier, Enric Ducal, Pere Cabot, Carles Pujol, Josep Llobet, John Parsons and William Parsons gathered in order to found a football club. They met in Solé Gym office and choosed Gualteri Wild as president. Gamper was from Switzerland and so he choosed the famous blue and claret as the team colours. During the 20th century, Barca has become a Barcelona symbol, a symbol that represents the Catalan identity as a nation. That's why it is said that Barca is more than a Club.



The 1st match was played at the Bonanova Cycle Track and they competed against a group of English expatriates who were living in Barcelona. The Englishmen won 1-0.

On 20th of May 1922 The Les Corts ground was opened and it's also known as "The Cathedral of Football". That stadium had an initial capacity of 30,000 spectators but later doubled to 60,000. In 1924 the Club had already 12,207 members and a big number of supporters laid the foundations of the current social mass.

Joan Gamper died on the 30th of July 1930. The decade which was about to start had a horible beginning and the Club entered a period of decline: institutional crisis, many members left the Club, bad sports results and the Franco's supporters political pressure. The Civil War in 1936 had disastrous consequences for the FC Barcelona. Josep Suñol, President of the Club, was murdered by Franco's soldiers. However, the Barca kept alive and in 1936 decided to go on tour around Mexico and the USA. In March 1938 the fascists dropped a bomb on the FC Barcelona Social Club and caused serious damage.Tthe Franco's troops created many problems in 1939 to the Club, because it had already become a symbol to the Catalan people. The number of members also dropped to 3,486.

During the 40's, Barca gradually recovered despite their internal difficulties. In June 1943, the scandalous game against Madrid in the Chamartín ground, saw the Barca players threatened by referee and police and Piñeyro, a fascist supporter, but honestly disgusted at the treatment his team had received, resigned from the presidency of the Club. Better times were to come for Barca. In the time of César, Basora, Velasco, Curta, the Gonzalvo brothers, Seguer, Biosca o Ramallets they won a lot of competitions. Barca celebrated their 50th anniversary reaching member numbers of 24,893.

Ladislao Kubala arrived in Barcelona in June 1950 and made the FC Barcelona an unbeatable team. Thanks to their magic forward line: Basora, César, Kubala, Moreno and Manchón. Between 1951 and 1953, Barca won every competition on offer. From that golden period, it is important to emphasize the season 1951-52, in which they obtained the Five Cups: Spanish League, Spanish Cup, Latin Cup Eva Duarte and Martini Rossi trophies.

Francesco Miró-Sans promoted the building of the Camp Nou Stadium, which got inaugurated on the 24th September 1957. The new stadium had a capacity of 90,000.

Barca was coached in the 50's by Helenio Herrera with excellent players as Kocsis, Czibor, Evaristo, Kubala, Eulogio Martínez, Suárez, Villaverde, Olivella, Gensana, Segarra, Gràcia, Vergés and Tejada. In the late 50's this team won some trophies but then in the 60's came a period of crisis. However, it was then that the sentence "more than a Club" was born. Barca was over the sports level: the Club and its colours became a way to defend the Catalan national identity.

In 1973, the signing of Dutch Johan Cruyff put the finishing touches to a golden forward line of Rexach, Asensi, Cruyff, Sotil and Marcial, who led the league winning side of 1973-74. Coinciding with the Club's 75th anniversary, there were now 69,566 members, making it the most powerful sporting club in the World.

Josep Lluís Núñez became President of the FC Barcelona in 1978. The Club began a considerable period of social and financial expansion. The increase in member numbers reached the 100,000 and many supporter's clubs were founded. The FC Barcelona was becoming the sports most important entity in the world. Barca were also provided with emblematic sports facilities as the Camp Nou expansion, the building of the Miniestadi, the Palau Blaugrana, and so on.

The Núñez era constitutes without any doubt the most brilliant sports moment in the Barca history under manager Terry Venables. Then Johan Cruyff coached the Dream Team, from 1990 until 1994 they won four consecutive Spanish Leagues, the Cup Winners Cup, the Spanish Cup and the Spanish Super Cup, and their first European Champions Cup in the history of their club. The match was at the Wembley Stadium. Then came Bobby Robson, who won the Cup Winners Cup, the Spanish Cup and the Spanish Super Cup in the 1996-97 season and Louis van Gaal consecutive League Titles in 1997-98 and 1998-99, when the team won the double for the first time in 39 years.

Current President -> Joan Laporta

On the 15th June 2003 Barcelona had Presidential elections and were won by a young lawyer, Joan Laporta, ahead of Lluís Bassat. This marked the beginning of a new era, defined by the excitement of a new project and the signings of world class stars such as Ronaldinho, Deco and Eto'o. This new team did not take long to achieve success, winning the league in 2004-2005, and then again in the following season under the coach Frank Rijkaard. These successes, which culminated in the second European Cup, were combined with a determined effort to relaunch and renew the involvement of the fans and membership under the slogan "More than a Club". This led to new records in the level of membership, which in 2006, thanks to the "Great Challenge" campaign, exceeded 150,000 members.

A Dream Year -> 2006

In the history of Barca, year 2006 was very special for them, because the Club won it's second European Cup, beating Arsenal with 2:1 in Paris.

It was also the year that the Joan Gamper Sports Centre in Sant Joan Despí was inaugurated and the agreement was signed with UNICEF in September in New York. This agreement projects Barca's humanitarian side around the world and gives a definitive global dimension to "More than a Club".

The Best Season Ever -> 2008-2009

The appointment of first team manager Josep Guardiola brought renewed energy to the senior squad and led to the most successful season in the entire history of the Club. They became treble winners (this was the first time a Spanish team had won the three competitions in the same season); they won the Spanish Cup, the Spanish League and the Champions League, all of which were won with authority and a universal recognition of the superiority on the pitch of a team that included a group of players forged in the Club's youth academy, such as Messi, Iniesta and Xavi, as its foundation. The 2-6 win in the Santiago Bernabéu and the Rome final against Manchester United (2-0) became reference points for Barca fans. Naturally, these sporting successes enormously reinforced the social and media projection of the Club, which at the end of that season reached a record 163,763 members.


Picture from: Wikipedia.com

After the Treble (2009-2010)

The club then competed in the Supercopa de España against Athletic Bilbao, winning the cup 5-1 on aggregate. On August 19, 2009 Barcelona played their annual friendly match for the Joan Gamper Trophy against Manchester City of the Premier League. Finally, on August 28, 2009 the club defeated Shaktar Donetsk in the UEFA Super Cup by a score of 1-0 in extra time. This is the first time a European club won both domestic and European Super Cups following a treble. The club began the new league campaign by equalling their best start ever of six consecutive wins. Record new signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored in his first five league games which was also a new record, beating the previous record held by Hristo Stoichkov.

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In the pre-season of 2008-09, a motion of no confidence was raised against club president Joan Laporta. The no-confidence motion received 60% support, just short of the 66% required to oust him, prompting eight of the directors to resign.

On 17 January 2009, Barça set the record for the most points obtained in the first half of a La Liga season (50) after winning 16, drawing two and losing just one of their first 19 league games. The club also reached the Copa del Rey final for the first time since 1998 after defeating Mallorca in the semi-finals. Six days later, on 23 January, the International organisation IFFHS ranked Barça first in their list of the greatest football clubs of the last 18 years. The All-time Club World Ranking was determined by taking into account all the results of the national championships, the national cup competitions, the club competitions of the six continental confederations and the FIFA.

On 13 May, Barça beat Athletic Bilbao 4-1 at the Mestalla to win the Copa del Rey for a record 25th time. Just days later, as Real Madrid lost to Villarreal, the domestic double was confirmed for Barcelona and the club was crowned La Liga champions for the 2008-09 season.

With a largely homegrown squad in which seven players of the starting 11 were products of their youth system, Barça defeated the defending champions Manchester United 2-0 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on 27 May 2009, to earn their third UEFA Champions League title and achieve The Treble, having already won the La Liga and Copa del Rey in the same season. This was the first time a Spanish team had won the three competitions in the same season.

Barça went on to win the 2009 Supercopa de España against Athletic Bilbao (5-1 on aggregate) and the 2009 UEFA Super Cup against FC Shakhtar Donetsk (1-0), becoming the first European club to win both domestic and European Super Cups following a treble. In December 2009, Barça won the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, thus become the first team ever to accomplish the 'Sextuple'.

To be continued!

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Spanish League Championship -> (19)

1928-1929, 1944-1945, 1947-1948, 1948-1949 , 1951-1952, 1952-1953, 1958-1959, 1959-1960, 1973-1974, 1984-1985, 1990-1991, 1991-1992, 1992-1993, 1993-1994, 1997-1998, 1998-1999, 2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2008-2009.

Spanish Cup -> (25) - Record

1909-1910 3-2 vs. Club Español de Madrid
1911-1912 2-0 vs. Gimnástica Madrid
1912-1913 2-1 vs. Real Sociedad
1919-1920 2-0 vs. Athletic Bilbao
1921-1922 5-1 vs. Real Unión
1924-1925 2-0 vs. Arenas Club de Getxo
1925-1926 3-2 vs. Atlético Madrid
1927-1928 3-1 vs. Real Sociedad
1941-1942 4-3 vs. Athletic Bilbao
1950-1951 3-0 vs. Real Sociedad
1951-1952 4-2 vs. Valencia
1952-1953 2-1 vs. Atlético Bilbao
1956-1957 1-0 vs. Espanyol
1958-1959 4-1 vs. Granada CF
1962-1963 3-1 vs. Real Zaragoza
1967-1968 1-0 vs. Real Madrid
1970-1971 4-3 vs. Valencia CF
1977-1978 3-1 vs. UD Las Palmas
1980-1981 3-1 vs. Sporting de Gijón
1982-1983 2-1 vs. Real Madrid
1987-1988 1-0 vs. Real Sociedad
1989-1090 2-0 vs. Real Madrid
1996-1997 3-2 vs. Betis
1997-1998 1-1 vs. Mallorca (5-4 pen.)
2008-2009 4-1 vs. Athletic Bilbao

Spanish League Cup -> (2) - Record

1982-1983 4-3 (2-2 / 2-1) vs. Real Madrid
1985-1986 2-1 (1-0 / 2-0) vs. Real Betis

Spanish Supercup -> (8) - Record

1983 4-1 (3-1 / 0-1) vs. Athletic Bilbao
1991 2-1 (0-1 / 1-1) vs. Atlético Madrid
1992 5-2 (3-1 / 1-2) vs. Atlético Madrid
1994 6-5 (0-2 / 4-5) vs. Real Zaragoza
1996 6-5 (5-2 / 3-1) vs. Atlético Madrid
2005 4-2 (0-3 / 1-2) vs. Real Betis
2006 4-0 (0-1 / 3-0) vs. Espanyol
2009 5-1 (1-2 / 3-0) vs. Athletic Bilbao

Champions League -> (3)

1991-1992 1-0 vs. U.C. Sampdoria
2005-2006 2-1 vs. Arsenal FC
2008-2009 2-0 vs. Manchester United

European Cup Winners Cup -> (4) - Record

1978-1979 4-3 vs. Fortuna Düsseldorf
1981-1982 2-1 vs. Standard Liège
1988-1989 2-0 vs. U.C. Sampdoria
1996-1997 1-0 vs. Paris Saint-Germain

European Super Cup -> (3)

1992 3-2 (1-1 / 2-1) vs. Werder Bremen
1997 3-1 (2-0 / 1-1) vs. Borussia Dortmund
2009 1-0 vs. Shakhtar Donetsk

Intercontinental Cup/ FIFA Club World Cup -> (1)

2009 2-1 vs. Estudiantes

Copa Eva Duarte -> (4) - Record (the forerunner to the Supercopa de España)

1945 5-4 vs. Athletic Bilbao
1948 1-0 vs. Sevilla FC
1952 Won Spanish Cup and La Liga
1953 Won Spanish Cup and La Liga