History Of Barcelona Football Club

FC Barcelona, founded in 1899 by a group of young foreigners living in Barcelona, was the result of the increasing popularity of football, and other British sports, across Europe. These origins have conferred upon the Club its intercultural identity, multi-sport focus and its deeply-rooted allegiance to Barcelona and Catalonia.

In November 1908, the Club was struggling, with 38 of its members about to abandon it. Gamper was determined to keep the Club afloat and for the first time he became president of the organisation. This marked a new stage in the Club's history, which consolidated it within the football panorama and social milieu of the city and country.

During the 1960s, FC Barcelona saw a relentless increase in membership numbers. Paradoxically, this did not go hand in hand with sporting success. At the same time, Catalonia received a large number of migrants and it was in this context that Barça became an important mechanism for integration in Catalan society.

In 1969, Agustí Montal Costa won the elections and became president of the Club. His programme insisted on member involvement, and was committed to the idea that all members would see their opinions reflected through their votes.

In 1973, Montal was re-elected president; his election slogan was “Barça is more than a club”. During his presidency, Montal avidly defended the restoration of Catalanism and was firmly opposed to centralism in football, as exercised by the Spanish Football Federation and the National Sports Delegation. His influence led Futbol Club Barcelona to begin to recover its symbols, starting with the organisation’s name that had been changed to sound more Spanish after the Civil War.

The incredible victory in Basel in May 1979, when Barça won the European Cup Winners’ Cup for the first time ever, returned FC Barcelona to the top ranking positions of the great world clubs. It was the first victory during Josep Lluís Núñez’s presidency.
During the 1980s, FC Barcelona experienced alternating highs and lows, influenced by match results, star players’ performances and other matters, unrelated to sport. FC Barcelona managed to secure four consecutive Spanish League championships, between 1990 and 1994. Winning the European Cup in 1992 was the pinnacle of this period, which was characterised by the team’s one touch play and attacking style and the winning mentality of Cruyff’s players. On May 17, 2006, Barça had its name engraved on the Champions League trophy for the second time after overcoming Arsenal 2-1 in Paris. Under Josep Guardiola, the team improved even further. Playing with the same style that Cruyff had introduced, Guardiola was a firm supporter of basing his team around the club's own youth system and promoted several young talents to the first team, and the result was the greatest Barça team ever. On May 27, 2009 Barça not only won the Champions League against the defending champions, but also became the first Spanish club to win the League, Copa del Rey and Champions League in the same season.