Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A Cultural Force
The story starts on 29 November 1899, when Swiss Hans Gamper founded FC Barcelona,
four years after English residents had first played the game here. His choice of club colours
- the blue and maroon of his home town Winterthur - has stuck. By 1910 FC Barcelona
was the premier club in a rapidly growing league and had picked up its first Spanish Cup.
When Spain's La Liga was founded in 1929, Barcelona ran away with the first title, though
its playing record became patchier as the decades wore on and the Franco regime sup-
pressed all manifestations of Catalan-ness.
FC Barça's reemergence as a footballing and cultural force coincided with the death of
Franco and an influx of foreign players, starting with Dutch midfield ace Johann Cruyff in
1973. More legends followed, with Diego Maradona arriving in 1982, the Brazilian Ron-
aldo in 1996 and Ronaldinho in 2003. Fortunes went from good to better. FC Barça won La
Liga four years in a row in the early '90s, took the Champions League in 2006, and in 2009
won an unprecedented 'treble' of La Liga, Spanish Cup and Champions League. They are
led by the formidable talents of vertically challenged Argentine midfielder Lionel Messi,
who is the club's all-time highest goal scorer and is widely considered one of the best act-
ive players on the planet.
Places to See a Game
1 CAMP NOU ( CLICK HERE )
2 POLAROID ( CLICK HERE )
 
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