Barça

BARÇA The Illustrated History of FC Barcelona

Guillem Balagué

Project editor Matt Lowing Editorial Conor Kilgallon, Caroline Curtis and Steve Dobell Picture Research Paul Langan and Steve Behan Translation Marc Joss Researcher Maribel Herruzo © 2014 Art Blume, S. L. Av. Mare de Déu de Lorda, 20 08034 Barcelona Tel. 93 205 40 00 Fax 93 205 14 41 e-mail: info@blume.net © 2014 Text and design layout FC Barcelona and Carlton Books Limited

ISBN: 978-84-9801-811-0 Printed in Slovenia All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any printed or electronic form without the permission of the publisher and the author.

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BARÇA The Illustrated History of FC Barcelona

Guillem Balagué

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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CHAPTER 1: THE BIRTH OF A LEGENDARY CLUB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10

CHAPTER 2: 1920–1960: MORE THAN A CLUB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

26

CHAPTER 3: 1960–1988: MICHELS, CRUYFF AND MARADONA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

44

CHAPTER 4: 1988–1995: CRUYFF RETURNS AS COACH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

74

CHAPTER 5: 1996–2008: POST-CRUYFF, PRE-GUARDIOLA . . .

110

CHAPTER 6: 2008–2014: GUARDIOLA AND THE GLORY YEARS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

148

CLUB HONOURS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

188

INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

190

CREDITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

192

LEFT: The 2010–11 Barcelona team created history. They changed football when we all thought everything had been invented. It had the best player in the world, the best midfielders in the world, the ideal defenders, the best manager. The team finished the season with three trophies – La Liga, the Champions League and the Supercopa de España.

INTRODUCTION

The Cant del Barça, the official hymn of FC Barcelona, is performed before every home match. Commissioned in 1974 to celebrate the club’s 75th anniversary, the hymn’s music was composed by Manuel Valls and features lyrics by Jaume Picas and Josep Maria Espinàs. The words of Cant del Barça give an insight into why FC Barcelona is “més que un club” (“more than a club”).

Tot el camp / és un clam The whole stadium loudly cheers [Industria, Les Corts and Camp Nou stadiums have all been the home to sporting triumphs, political declarations, cultural integration, emotional acts… and the place where some of the biggest stars in the history of football have been seen.]

Som la gent blaugrana We’re the Azulgrana people [One possible version of the origin of the blue and red on the kit is that the colours were inspired by a pencil that happened to be on a table at Solé gymnasium, where the club was founded in 1899. Supporters have always known that this is a different club, which is why even a victory won’t stop them from whistling and berating the team if they do not like the its style of play. They welcome big stars, but are terribly demanding – of the presidents, the star players, the coaches.]

LEFT: Few players represent the success, style and integrity of FC Barcelona as well as Lionel Messi does.

The Argentine striker has been a key factor in the club’s unparalleled success in recent years.

Tant se val d’on venim / si del sud o del nord It doesn’t matter where we come from, be it the north or the south [Founder Gamper was Swiss. Some of the first members, players and presidents were foreign.

Throughout its history, Catalan supporters have always been joined by those who arrive in

Catalonia seeking new opportunities. This is a club that integrates people, no matter what their culture or from where they come, and whose play and philosophy fascinate the masses.]

Ara, estem d’acord, estem d’acord / una bandera ens agermana Now we all agree, we all agree, one flag unites us in brotherhood [Origin does not matter when part of the same ideal – a common history and colours that are recognized the world over. Barça’s flag is not only football, it represents important values.]

Blaugrana al vent / un crit valent Azulgrana colours blowing in the wind, one valiant cry [Especially during the hard times: wars, dictatorships, repression and unfair convictions, losses, defeats … at a club which, let us not forget, has always belonged to its members.]

Tenim un nom, el sap tothom / ¡Barça, Barça, Baaaarça!

We have a name that everyone knows: Barça, Barça, Baaaarça!

[The origin of the shortened form Barça is unknown. It was first written down on November 30, 1922 in a weekly magazine called Xut!, and they say that the chant was used to encourage the team at the Les Corts ground. The word was banned in the media under Franco’s regime, but made a return in 1955 thanks to the rise to prominence of a Catalan magazine that went by the same name. In the 1960s and 70s the word spread and nowadays identifies FC Barcelona the world over.]

INTRODUCTION

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ABOVE: It is impossible not to be impressed by Barcelona’s Camp Nou. Not to feel something special is about to happen.

It is a place of pilgrimage for so many people all over the world...

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INTRODUCTION

Jugadors, seguidors / tots units fem força Players, supporters, united we are strong [This was the motto printed on the reverse of the crest for the 2010–11 shirt. Players have included: Luis Suárez, Ramallets, Samitier, Zamora, Basora, César Rodríguez, Kocsis, Kubala, Moreno and Manchón, Sadurní; Rexach, Cruyff, Neeskens, el Cholo Sotil, Asensi; Maradona, Schuster, Lineker, Koeman, Laudrup and Guardiola; Migueli, Alexanko, Zubizarreta, Amor, Begiristain, Simonsen, Quini; Stoichkov, Romário, Rivaldo and Ronaldo; Luis Enrique, Bakero, Lobo Carrasco; Ronaldinho, Deco, Eto’o, Rafa Márquez; Abidal, Alves. There have been eight World Cup winners: Valdés, Villa, Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta, Piqué, Pedro, Fábregas, Busquets. And, of course, Messi. Some of these players were home grown, others have

arrived from other clubs, countries and continents – much like their supporters. The members of Fan Club Barça Polska, for example, created a banner 2,000m² printed with the slogan and the faces of Guardiola, Messi, Puyol and Cruyff.]

Som molts anys plens d’afanys Many years of hard work [To grow, to become and to remain among the best top clubs in the world, to find a unique style, to demonstrate singularity, to construct a new model, to create something as essential as the much-admired football school La Masía. Furthermore, Barça have always tried to be both local and universal, political and apolitical, to demonstrate seny i rauxa (seny – a form of ancestral Catalan wisdom or sensibleness; rauxa – sudden determination or action).]

Són molts gols que hem cridat Many goals we have cheered [Exciting, at the death, spectacular, unrepeatable, celebrated, impossible, glory-clinching goals.

Goals by César and Kubala, Paulino Alcántara, Evaristo’s diving header, Ronaldo against Compostela, goals from Cruyff, Romário, Ronaldinho, the goal Puyol prevented with his chest; 5–0 and 6–2 at the Bernabéu; Bakero against Kaiserslautern, Koeman at Wembley, Eto’o and Belletti in Paris, Eto’o and Messi in Rome, Iniesta against Chelsea, Pedro, Messi and Villa at Wembley once again, Messi against Getafe and his four against Arsenal…]

I s’ha demostrat / que mai ningú no ens podrà tòrcer And we have shown that no one can ever break us [Not adversaries, nor impositions, nor furious criticism, nor attacks, nor misunderstandings, nor strange episodes behind the scenes.

Barça have been on the receiving end of attacks by politicians, governments, the media, rival teams, coaches – and proudly remain standing, among the best in the world.]

Azulgrana blowing in the wind, one valiant cry, the name of a club known the world over: Barça, Barça, Baaaarça.

This is its story.

INTRODUCTION

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FC Barcelona More than a club Barça is famed the world over for its legendary players, sublime football philosophy and for being més que un club – more than a club.

Capturing over a hundred years of heritage, this book chronicles the history and triumphs of this globally celebrated sporting institution.

ISBN 978-84-9801-811-0

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• We use paper from responsibly managed forests.

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