l Fútbol Club Barcelona (en catalán, Futbol Club Barcelona) es una entidad polideportiva de Barcelona (España). Fue fundado como club de fútbol9 el 29 de noviembre de 1899.
Una de las principales características del F. C. Barcelona es su carácter polideportivo. Además de su sección principal, la de fútbol, el club cuenta con otras cuatro secciones profesionales: las de baloncesto, balonmano, hockey sobre patines y fútbol sala. Entre las cinco secciones profesionales, el F. C. Barcelona suma 39 Ligas de Campeones (o Euroligas en el caso del baloncesto)nota 1 lo cual le convierte en el club polideportivo más laureado de Europa y, junto aDinamo de Moscú y CSKA de Moscú (este con 7), el único que ha conseguido el máximo título continental en 5 deportes diferentes.15 Tuvo el hito de haber ganado la Liga de Campeones consecutivamente, durante 17 años, desde la temporada 1995/96 hasta la 2011/12 con alguna de sus secciones profesionales y ha conseguido, hasta la actualidad, 1 «triplete» europeo con las secciones de Fútbol, Balonmano y Hockey Patines en la temporada 2014/15 y 6 «dobletes» europeos con las secciones de Balonmano y Hockey Patines en las temporadas 1996/97, 1999/00 y 2004/05 con las secciones de Baloncesto y Hockey Patines en la temporada 2009/10, con las secciones de Fútbol y Balonmano en la temporada 2010/11 y con las secciones de Fútbol Sala y Hockey Patines en la temporada 2013/14. Destaca también el hecho que desde la temporada 1988/89 que se inicia con la victoria del equipo de fútbol, en la final de la Recopa de Europa en Berna contra la Sampdoria hasta la 2011/12, cada temporada durante 24 años, alguno de los deportes del club levantó algún título europeo.16 En cuanto a temporadas se refiere, en el cómputo global de títulos conseguidos por todas las secciones sin contar los regionales, la temporada 2011-12 es la más exitosa del club, con 16 títulos (15 si contamos secciones profesionales). Le sigue la temporada 2010-11 con 14 títulos y la 2009-10 con 13.
On 22 October 1899, Hans Gamper placed an advertisement in Los Deportes 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 — Walter Wild (the first director of the club), Lluís d'Ossó, Bartomeu Terradas, Otto Kunzle, Otto Maier, Enric Ducal, Pere Cabot, Carles Pujol, Josep Llobet, John Parsons, and William Parsons — and Foot-Ball Club Barcelona was born.[17]
FC Barcelona had a successful start in regional and national cups, competing in the Campionat de Catalunya and the Copa del Rey. In 1902, the club won its first trophy, the Copa Macaya, and participated in the first Copa del Rey, losing 1–2 to Bizcaya in the final.[18]Hans Gamper — now known as Joan Gamper — became club president in 1908, finding the club in financial difficulty after not winning a competition since the Campionat de Catalunya in 1905. Club president on five separate occasions between 1908 and 1925, he spent 25 years in total at the helm. One of his main achievements was ensuring Barça acquire its own stadium and thus generate a stable income.[19]
On 14 March 1909 the team moved into the Camp de la Indústria, a stadium with a capacity of 8,000. To celebrate their new surroundings, the club conducted a logo contest the following year. Carles Comamala won the contest, and his suggestion became the crest that the club still wears – with some minor changes – as of the present day.[20]
With the new stadium, Barcelona participated in the inaugural version of the Pyrenees Cup, which, at the time, consisted of the best teams of Languedoc, Midi and Aquitaine (Southern France), the Basque Country and Catalonia; all were former members of theMarca Hispanica region. The contest was the most prestigious in that era.[21] 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 Jack Greenwell. The latter became the club's first full-time coach in 1917.[22] The last edition was held in 1914 in the city of Barcelona, which local rivals Espanyol won.[23]
During the same period, the club changed its official language from Castilian to Catalan 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.[24] On 4 February 1917, the club held its firsttestimonial match to honour Ramón Torralba, who played from 1913 to 1928. The match was against local side Terrassa: Barcelona won 6–2.[25]
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 Les Cortes, which they inaugurated the same year.[26] Les Cortes had an initial capacity of 30,000, and in the 1940s it was expanded to 60,000.[27]
Club de Fútbol Barcelona (1957–1978)
With Helenio Herrera as coach, a young Luis Suárez, the European Footballer of the Year in 1960, and two influential Hungariansrecommended by Kubala, Sándor Kocsis and Zoltán Czibor, 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 European Cup play-off. However, they lost 2–3 toBenfica in the final.[47][48]
The 1960s were less successful for the club, with Real Madrid monopolising La Liga. The completion of the Camp Nou, finished in 1957, meant the club had little money to spend on new players.[48] The 1960s saw the emergence of Josep Maria Fusté and Carles Rexach, 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 Bernabéu in front of Franco, with coach Salvador Artigas, a former republican pilot in the civil war. With the end of Franco's dictatorship in 1974, the club changed its official name back to Futbol Club Barcelona and reverted the crest to its original design, including the original letters once again.[49][50]
The 1973–74 season saw the arrival of Johan Cruyff, who was bought for a world record £920,000 from Ajax.[51] 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 Francisco Franco. He further endeared himself when he named his son Jordi, after the local Catalan Saint George.[52] Next to champions like Juan Manuel Asensi, Carles Rexach and Hugo Sotil, he helped the club win the 1973–74 season for the first time since 1960,[18] defeating Real Madrid 5–0 at the Santiago Bernabéu along the way. He was crowned European Footballer of the Year 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.[53]
