CLUB HISTORY

In the late 1800's Hans Gamper and ten other enthusiasts were playing an unknown sport called 'foot-ball'. When Gamper went on to found Barcelona Football Club on 29 November 1899, he could hardly have imagined the momentous events that would follow!

Throughout some of Catalonia's most difficult years, the flag represented the people's hopes for freedom, and today that very flag is the symbolic link which continues to represent the ties between a very special club and its' supporters.

Over the course of 100 years, the club has lived through moments of glory and tragedy, through good times and bad, through epic victories and crushing defeats. Each one of these moments has contributed to shaping Barcelona into the absolutely unique club that it is today.

Barcelona's renown can be attributed, in part, to impressive statistics but another factor is certainly that Barcelona is one of the most highly decorated teams in the world. With the exception of the International Cup, the showcases of the Barcelona museum contain every trophy possible. Topping off the impressive collection is the European Cup, the crowning glory of a Wembley final that went into the history books.

Quite apart from winning the supreme continental prize, Barcelona is also in the extremely enviable position of being the only team in Europe to have participated in every European Cup since 1955 the first year the tournament began. Their massive European trophy collection also includes the Cup Winners' Cup, which the club has won no less than four times - making it undisputed king. In addition, Barca accumulated three Fairs Cups (nowadays know as the UEFA Cup) in the 1958, 1960 and 1966 seasons. The Club retained the trophy in perpetuity after winning a special final in 1971, which paired together the first winner of the competition, FC Barcelona, against the last winner, Leeds United. However, Barca does not just reign in Europe but also in Spain, specifically in the Kings Cup, leading the ranking of winners in this competition with 24 titles.

Of course, Barcelona reigns in Spain as well as in Europe and no other Spanish team can equal Barcelona's 24 championship titles in the Copa del Rey.

As for the Spanish championship league (historically one of the toughest competition grounds for the club), Barcelona celebrates the centenary birthday with 16 league titles to its name. Six of these were amassed over the last ten years alone.