SECOND TROPHIE OF THIS SEASON : JOAN GAMPER (F.C. BARCELONA 4 - BAYERN MUNICH 0 )
|
Posted:Aug 23, 2006 1:47 am
Last Updated:Aug 24, 2006 6:09 am 5296 Views
|
2006 AUGUST 22
Our great soccer team F.C. Barcelona won his second trophie this season 2006-2007: the Joan Gamper (founder of the club).
Here are some facts of it:
FC BARCELONA, 4
BAYERN DE MUNICH, 0
FC Barcelona: Valdés, Zambrotta, Márquez, Oleguer, Sylvinho, Xavi, Motta, Deco, Ronaldinho, Messi and Eto'o. Second half, Jorquera, Belletti, Gudjohnsen, Giuly, Gio, Edmilson, Van Bommel, Ezquerro, Thuram, Iniesta and Saviola.
Bayern Munich: Kahn, Sagnol, Van Buyten, Hummels, Salihamidzic (Lahm 66'), Demichelis, Otti, Karimi (Schweinsteiger 70'), Dos Santos, Podolski and Pizarro.
Goals: 1-0, Ronaldinho (29'); 2-0, Eto'o (32'); 3-0, Eto'o (39'); 4-0, Saviola (50').
An incredible victory because the german team is one of the best teams in Europe too.
Now lets see what happens on friday when we will play against SEVILLA C.F. for the European Super Cup.
That will be the third trophie and the season has just begin 
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
FIRST TITLE WON BY F.C. BARCELONA THIS SEASON : THE SUPER CUP (2006 AUGUST 20
|
Posted:Aug 21, 2006 1:06 am
Last Updated:May 14, 2024 6:54 am 5308 Views
|
FC Barcelona have won their first trophy of the new season as they defeated RCD Espanyol in the second leg of the Super Cup in Camp Nou with another strong performance and some stunning goals.
After winning the first encounter, Barça looked confident and were close to their best as they entertained the supporters in the first official home game of the new campaign. Frank Rijkaard's side dominated the match and were outstanding going forward as the attacking game was back in full swing. Barça are now ready to fight for their second piece of silverware when they meet Sevilla in the European Super Cup on Friday against Sevilla.
GOALS:
1-0, Xavi (2')
2-0, Deco (12')
3-0, Deco (61')
So this is tHe first of many trophies we will win for sure this 2006-2007 season
CONGRATULATIONS BARÇA!!!
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
F.C. BARCELONA AMERICAN TOUR : SCORES AND STATS
|
Posted:Aug 13, 2006 2:26 pm
Last Updated:May 14, 2024 6:54 am 5250 Views
|
The American tour ended today in New York after a week of hard work and great success.
Here there are some facts about the four matches played :
MONTERREY :
TIGRES, 0
FC BARCELONA, 3
TIGRES: Hernández, Balderas, Briceño (Campos 73'), Sánchez, Saritama (Escudero 79'), Méndez, Montano (Cerda 51'), Lozano (Ribas 79'), Restrepo, Gaitán y Zárate (González 76').
FC BARCELONA: Valdés (Rubén 45'), Belletti (Sylvinho 45'), Oleguer (Puyol 63'), Olmo, Márquez (EdmÃlson 31', Motta 45'), Jordi Gómez (Ronaldinho 63'), Marc Crosas, Iniesta (Sastre 33'), Giovani (Saviola 45', Riera 77'), Eto'o (Gudjohnsen 45') y Ezquerro (Guily 45').
Referee: Arnando Archundia (Mèxic)
Goals: 0-1, Balderas (p.p.) (7'); 0-2, Ronaldinho (70'); 0-3, Gudjohnsen (77').
Assistance: 43.000 espectadors
LOS ANGELES :
CD GUADALAJARA CHIVAS, 1
FC BARCELONA, 1
Chivas Guadalajara: Sánchez (Talavera, m.46); Ledesma, MejÃa, Maza, MartÃnez; Sol, RodrÃguez, Morales; Santana, Bravo, Bautista.
FC Barcelona: Valdés (Rubén, m.46); Sylvinho (Gio, m.62), Puyol (m.42, Olmo), Márquez (Oleguer, m.46), Belletti (Iniesta, m.62); Edmilson (Crosas, m.46), Van Bommel (m.35, Sastre), Gómez (Motta, m.46); Ezquerro (Ronaldinho.46), Eto'o (Gudjohnsen, m.46), Giuly (Giovanni, m.62).
Goals. 0-1. M.74: Gudjohnsen. 1-1. M.83: Diego MartÃnez.
Referee: Mark Geiger (Estados Unidos). Yellow Card to Bautista (m.14).
HOUSTON :
NASA opened its doors to FC Barcelona's touring party including a live link-up between three astronauts and first team stars.
Alongside the celebrated trip to see Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles, this has been the outstanding extra-curricular trip of On Tour 2006. The entire first team and staff were welcomed to the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center.
Frank Rijkaard and the three club captains made contact with astronauts Jeff Williams, Pavel Vinogradov and Thomas Reiter of the International Space Station via video link the first time representatives of a football team have spoken to anyone in space.
CLUB AMÈRICA, 4
FC BARCELONA, 4
Club Amèrica: Ochoa, Castro, Davino, Óscar Rojas, Ricardo Rojas, Mendoza (Salinas 80'), Peña (Sánchez 78'), Cabañas (Vuoso 60'), Villa (Arguello 82'), Cuevas (Infante 69') i López (Mosqueda (87').
FC Barcelona: Valdés (Jorquera 46'), Belletti, Márquez (Oleguer 46'), Olmo, Gio (Sylvinho 46'), EdmÃlson (Saviola 68'), Van Bommel (Deco 46'), Giuly (Ronadinho 46'), Iniesta (Motta 46'), Ezquerro (Messi 62') i Gudjohnsen (Eto'o 46').
Goals: 1-0, Cuevas (3'); 1-1, Márquez (5'), 2-1, Cuevas (30'); 3-1, Cuevas (44'); 4-1, Oleguer, p.p. (64'); 4-2, Saviola (84'); 4-3, Ronaldinho (88'); 4-4, Eto'o (91').
Referee: Terry Vaughn.
Attendance: 70.550 spectators
NEW YORK RED BULLS, 1
FC BARCELONA, 3
NEW YORK RED BULLS: Meola (Conway 46), Mendes, Parke (Jolley 72'), Dunivant (Stammler), Wynne, O'Rourke (Ikangu 66'), Henderson, Guevara, Djorkaeff (Magee 59'), Buddle i Kovalenko.
FC BARCELONA: Valdés (Jorquera 46'), Oleguer (Ezquerro 63'), Márquez (Thuram 46'), Olmo (Zambrotta 46'), Sylvinho (Gio 46'), Motta (EdmÃlson 46'), Van Bommel (Deco 46'), Iniesta (Xavi 46'), Giuly (Messi 46'), Ronaldinho (Saviola 75') i Eto'o (Gudjohnsen 46').
Goals: 0-1, Ronaldinho, penalty (12'); 1-1, Djorkaeff (38'); 1-2, Ronaldinho (50'); 1-3, Messi (60'); 1-4, Saviola (86').
Referee: Kevin Stott.
Attendance: 79.002
And so ended this 2006 American tour.
For sure it will be remembered in America for a long time!
VISCA EL BARÇA!
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
SOCCER : F. C. BARCELONA IN AMERICA U.S. tour ( August 6 to 12 )
|
Posted:Aug 5, 2006 2:18 pm
Last Updated:Aug 9, 2006 1:46 pm 5386 Views
|
Our glorious team just arrived US on an American tour that began in Mexico.
Los Angeles Coliseum sells out for Barça !!
Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Messi, Márquez, Puyol and co are attracting crowds wherever they go in North America. Three days before kick off, there were already no seats left in the stadium where Barça will play CD Chivas of Guadalajara, the Los Angeles Coliseum, something the organisers claim has never happened before.
ITINERARY AND MATCHES :
Frank Rijkaard's side start the tour on Sunday, August 6, when they take on Copa Libertadores semi finalists, Club Deportivo Guadalajara. The game will take place in the Coliseum on day that will see the fans able to watch a double header as Barça play after Chivas USA have played New England Revolution. The event also marks the centenary of CD Guadalajara.
On Wednesday, August 9, will play Club América, the current CONCACAF champions, in Houston. That will also be a double-header as Houston Dynamo are set to take on Los Angeles Galaxy. The game between Barça and América will be a dress rehearsal for the FIFA Club World Cup in which both teams will be competing in December.
The tour culminates on Saturday, August 12,in New York when FC Barcelona face the New York Red Bulls in Giants Stadium. The game will see Bruce Arena, the former head coach of the USA national team, make his debut as the trainer of the Red Bulls
I hope all enjoy watching our great team live as at the moment is the best soccer team in Europe
VISCA EL BARÇA!
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
F. C. BARCELONA HISTORY ( 1 OF 2 )
|
Posted:Aug 2, 2006 1:57 am
Last Updated:Aug 2, 2006 2:19 am 5276 Views
|
Futbol Club Barcelona, popularly known as Barça, is a sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, British and Catalan footballers led by Joan Gamper. The club has become a Catalan institution, hence the motto El Barça és més que un club (Barça is more than a club) .
The fans of FC Barcelona are known as culers (or culés). In July 2006, the number of socis (club members) reached 144,892 [1], while the number of penyes (officially-registered supporters clubs) reached 1782 worldwide as of June 2006.
The club's main stadium is the Camp Nou and it is best known for its La Liga football team and the reserve football team FC Barcelona B. The senior team were founding members of La Liga in 1928 and, together with Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao, they have never been relegated from the Primera División. The club were also the first La Liga champions and are currently champions of both Spain and Europe.
The club includes three other professional sports teams, that compete at basketball (Winterthur FC , handball (FC Barcelona-Cifec) and roller hockey. There are also a number of prominent amateur sports teams that compete at futsal, rugby union, women's basketball, women's football and wheelchair basketball. These include FCB Rugby, UB-Barça and FC Barcelona-Institut Guttman. Other amateur teams represent the club at ice hockey, athletics, baseball, cycling, field hockey, figure skating, and volleyball.
Barça have to date refused to allow commercial sponsorship logos on their football shirts, although since 2005 they have worn the TV3 logo of Televisió de Catalunya on the left arm. On 14 July 2006 the club announced a five year agreement with UNICEF which will see the UNICEF logo on their shirts.
HISTORY
EARLY YEARS
On 22 October 1899 Joan Gamper placed an advert in Los Deportes declaring his wish to form a football club. A positive response resulted in a meeting at the Gimnasio Sole on November 29. Eleven players attended : Gualteri Wild, LluÃs d'Ossó, Bartomeu Terradas, Otto Kunzle, Otto Maier, Enric Ducal, Pere Cabot, Carles Pujol, Josep Llobet, John Parsons, and William Parsons. As a result Foot-Ball Club Barcelona was born. Several other Spanish football clubs, most notably Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao, also had British founders, and as a result they initially adopted English-style names.
Legend has it that Gamper chose the club colours, blaugrana / azulgrana, after FC Basel, his former club. However other Swiss teams Gamper played for, the Canton of Zürich and Merchant Taylors' School in Merseyside have all been credited and/or claimed to be the inspiration. Initially the club used the same coat of arms as the city of Barcelona, but in 1910 the club organized a competition to design their own. It was won by an anonymous entrant who produced the present model.
FC Barcelona quickly emerged as one of the leading clubs in Spain and they participated in the first Campionat de Catalunya and the first Copa del Rey. They won their first trophy when they won the Copa Macaya in 1901. In 1902 the club also played in the first Copa del Rey final, losing 2-1 to Club Vizcaya.
The Gamper years
In 1908 Joan Gamper became club president for the first time. Gamper took over the presidency as the club was on the verge of folding. The club had not won anything since the Championat de Catalunya of 1905 and its finances suffered as a result. Gamper was subsequently club president on five separate occasions between 1908 and 1925 and spent 25 years at the helm. One of his main achievements was to help Barça acquire their own stadium. On March 14 1909, they moved into the Carrer Industria, a stadium with a capacity of 6,000. Gamper also launched a campaign to recruit more club members and by 1922 the club had over 10,000. This led to the club moving again, this time to Les Corts. This stadium had an initial capacity of 20,000, later expanded to an impressive 60,000.
Gamper also recruited Paulino Alcántara, the clubs all time top-scorer, and in 1917 appointed Jack Greenwell as manager. This saw the clubs fortunes begin to improve on the field. During the Gamper era FC Barcelona won eleven Championat de Catalunya, six Copa del Rey and four Coupe de Pyrenées and enjoyed its first golden age. As well as Alcántara the Barça team under Greenwall also included Sagibarbá, Ricardo Zamora, Josep Samitier, Félix Sesúmaga and Franz Platko.
Rivalry with Real Madrid
There is often a fierce rivalry between the two strongest teams in a national league and this is particularly the case in La Liga, between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. From the start the clubs were seen as representatives of the two rival regions of Spain, Catalonia and Castile, as well as the two cities themselves. However the rivalry reached a new level during the Franco years when Real Madrid was considered to be the "regime team" while FC Barcelona was regarded as the team of the opposition.
Although following the Spanish Civil War Real Madrid received considerable institutional assistance from the Franco regime, as he saw the club as the sporting embodiment of the Spain he wanted to create, during the war itself members of both clubs suffered at the hands of Franco supporters. FC Barcelona president Josep Sunyol was murdered while Real Madrid president Rafael Sánchez Guerra, a prominent Republican, was imprisoned and tortured. They also arrested and murdered a Real vice-president and club treasurer and an acting president disappeared. In 1940 Enric Pineyro, a Franco collaborator, was appointed club president. The rivalry with Real intensified further after the 1943 Copa del GeneralÃsimo semi-final between the two clubs. The first leg at Les Corts ended in a 3-0 victory to Barça, but the return leg saw them defeated 11-1. It has been alleged by some that the FC Barcelona players were pressured into losing the game and even Pineyro resigned in protest. The rivalry with Real also surfaced again in the 1950s after the dispute over Alfredo Di Stefano
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
|
|
SOCCER : F.C. BARCELONA HISTORY ( 2 OF 2)
|
Posted:Jul 29, 2006 5:04 am
Last Updated:Aug 2, 2006 2:22 am 5141 Views
|
HISTORY
After the Spanish Civil War, the Catalan language and flag were banned and football clubs were prohibited from using non-Spanish names. These measures led to the club having its name changed to Club de Fútbol Barcelona and the removal of the Catalan flag from the club shield. During the Franco era one of the few places that Catalan could be spoken freely was within the club's ground. Despite these restrictions, CF Barcelona enjoyed considerable success during the 1940s and 1950s.
In 1945, with Josep Samitier as coach and players like César, Ramallets and Velasco, they won La Liga for first time since 1929. They added two more titles in 1948 and 1949. In 1949 they also won the first Copa Latina. Coach Fernando Daucik and Ladislao Kubala, regarded by many as the club's best ever player, inspired the team to win five different trophies including La Liga, the Copa del Generalisimo, the Copa Latina and the Copa Eva Duarte in 1952. In 1953 they helped the club win La Liga and the Copa del Generalisimo again. The club also won the Copa del Generalisimo in 1957 and the Fairs Cup in 1958.
With Helenio Herrera as coach, a young Luis Suárez, the European Footballer of the Year in 1960, and two influential Hungarians recommended by Kubala, Sandor Kocsis and Zoltán Czibor, the team won another national double in 1959 and a La Liga/Fairs Cup double in 1958. In 1961 they became the first club to beat Real Madrid in a European Cup game, thus ending their monopoly of the competition.
The 1960s were less successful for the club, with Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid monopolising La Liga. The completion of the Camp Nou, finished in 1957, meant the club had little money to spend on new players. However the decade also saw the emergence of Josep Fuste and Carles Rexach and the club winning the Copa del Generalisimo in 1963 and the Fairs Cup in 1966. The club restored some pride by beating Real Madrid 1-0 in the 1968 Copa del Generalisimo final at the Bernabéu.
The Cruyff years
The 1973/74 season saw the arrival of a new Barça legend – Johan Cruyff. Already an established player with Ajax, Cruyff quickly won over the Barça fans when he told the European press he chose Barça over Real because he could not play for a club associated with Franco. He further endeared himself when he chose a Catalan name, Jordi, for his . He helped the club win La Liga for the first time since 1960, along the way defeating Real Madrid 5-0 at the Bernabéu. He was also crowned European Footballer of the Year twice in a row while at club.
Cruyff returned to the club as manager in 1988, assembling the so-called Dream Team, named after the US basketball team that played at the 1992 Olympic Games hosted by Barcelona. He introduced players like Josep Guardiola, José Mari Bakero, Txiki Beguiristain, Goikoetxea, Ronald Koeman, Michael Laudrup, Romário and Hristo Stoichkov. This team won La Liga four times between 1991 and 1994 and beat Sampdoria in both the 1989 European Cup Winners' Cup final and the 1992 European Cup final at Wembley. They also won a Copa del Rey in 1990, the European Super Cup in 1992 and three Supercopa de España. With 11 trophies, Cruyff has been the club's most successful manager to date. He is also the club's longest serving manager. However, in his final two seasons, he failed to win any trophies and fell out with Josep LluÃs Nuñez. This resulted in his departure
THE NUÑEZ YEARS
Josep LluÃs Nuñez was elected president of FC Barcelona in 1978. His main objectives were to establish Barça as a world-class sports club and to give the club financial stability.
In 1979 and 1982 the club won two of four European Cup Winners' Cups won in the Nuñez era. In 1982 Diego Maradona was signed for a world record from Boca Juniors. However his time with Barça was short-lived and unsuccessful and he soon left for Napoli. In 1985 under Terry Venables Barça won La Liga and in 1986 he took the team to their second European Cup final, only to lose on penalties to Steaua Bucharest.
In 1988 Nuñez appointed Johan Cruyff as manager. Despite the latter's success with the Dream Team, personal differences saw Nuñez sacking him in 1996. He was temporarily replaced by Bobby Robson who took charge of the club for a single season in 1996/97. He recruited Ronaldo from his previous club, PSV Eindhoven and delivered a cup treble winning the Copa del Rey, European Cup Winners Cup and the Supercopa de España. Among Robson’s non-playing staff was José Mourinho who assisted with training and acted as translator.
Despite his success, Robson was only ever seen as a short-term solution while the club waited for Louis van Gaal to become available. Like Maradona, Ronaldo only stayed a short time and he left for Internazionale. However, new heroes like LuÃs Figo, LuÃs Enrique and Rivaldo emerged and the team won a Copa del Rey/La Liga double in 1998. In 1999 they retained the La Liga and Rivaldo became the fourth Barça player to be awarded European Footballer of the Year. Despite this domestic success, the failure to emulate Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League led to Van Gaal and Nuñez resigning in 2000.
THE LAPORTA YEARS
After the disappointment of the Gaspart era, a combination of a new president, Joan Laporta and a new manager, Frank Rijkaard saw the club bounce back. On the field an influx of talented players (Ronaldinho, Deco, Ludovic Giuly and Samuel Eto'o) and experienced professionals (Henrik Larsson, Rafael Márquez and Giovanni van Bronckhorst) combined with a nucleus of home grown players (Carles Puyol, Andrés Iniesta, Xavi and VÃctor Valdés) saw the club win La Liga and the Supercopa de España in 2005. Ronaldinho was also added to the list of Barça players voted European Footballer of the Year. The only disappointment was the defeat against Chelsea in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League. For 2005/06 the team was strengthened with arrival of Mark van Bommel and the emergence of Lionel Messi. They subsequently retained the La Liga title and won the UEFA Champions League.
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
DESCRIPTION OF THE CITY OF BARCELONA
|
Posted:Jul 29, 2006 1:17 am
Last Updated:Aug 7, 2006 11:02 pm 5125 Views
|
Barcelona is located in the coast, facing the Mediterranean sea, in a plateau of about 5km width limited by the mountain range of Collserola, the Llobregat river on the south and the Besòs river on the north. It is 160 km (100 mi) south of the Pyrenees mountain range.
Collserola, part of the coastal mountain range, forms a soft rounded backdrop to the city. Its highest point, the mountain of Tibidabo, 512 m high and toped by the 288.4 m telecommunications tower of Collserolla, is visible from most of the city. The city is peppered with small hills, most of them urbanized: Carmel (267 m.), Monterols (121 m.), Putxet (181 m.), Rovira (261 m.) and Peira (133 m.). Near the coast, there's the mountain of Montjuic (173 m.), that houses sport and cultural venues, and some well-known gardens.
To its north, the city borders the municipalities of Santa Coloma de Gramenet and Sant Adrià de Besòs; to the south it borders L'Hospitalet de Llobregat and Esplugues de Llobregat; to the east is the Mediterranean; and to the west are Montcada i Reixach and Sant Cugat del Vallès.
Barcelona has a Mediterranean climate, with mild winters and hot, dry summers. January and February are the coldest months, averaging temperatures of 10ºC. July and August are the hottest months, averaging temperatures of 25ºC.
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
CATALONIA : MY BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY
|
Posted:Jul 29, 2006 12:58 am
Last Updated:Aug 7, 2006 11:00 pm 4967 Views
|
The Autonomous Community of Catalonia (Catalan: Comunitat Autònoma de Catalunya; Spanish: Comunidad Autónoma de Cataluña; Aranese: Comunautat Autonoma de Catalonha), known informally as Catalonia, is today one of the 17 autonomous communities that constitute Spain. Its territory corresponds to most of the historic territory of the former Principality of Catalonia. The autonomous community of Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² with an official population of 7.083.600 (2006). Immigrants from outside Spain represent 12.2% of the total population [1].
Catalonia was officially recognised as a nationality in the Catalan Statute of Autonomy enacted in 1979 pursuant to the Spanish Constitution of 1978.
As of June 18, 2006, Catalonia voted to adopt a new Statute of Autonomy, including a provision defining Catalonia as a nation (albeit without legal value).
Official languages are Catalan, Spanish (also known as Castilian), and (in Val d'Aran) Aranese.
LANGUAGE:
Catalonia is the original heartland of the Catalan language, and remains the most important and largest territory where the language is spoken.
Catalan is one of the two official languages of Catalonia, as established in the Catalan Statute of Autonomy [2]: the other is Castilian, which is the language throughout Spain (its official status confirmed by the 1978 Spanish Constitution). Catalonia has regulated its institutions and their various jurisdictions within the framework provided by the Spanish constitution in the "Sau Statute."
The Catalan Government has a policy of promoting the Catalan language. Thus, state education is partly given in Catalan and partly in Spanish, and government bureaucracy is entirely in Catalan, Catalan media is heavily subsidised and business are required to display all information (e.g. menus, posters) at least in Catalan. Whilst these efforts have ensured that Catalan is increasingly dominant at an official and academic level, there is no evidence that they have changed the social use of the language, with people whose mother tongue is Spanish still using Spanish as their everyday language. Some Catalan speakers argue that this policy is necessary to protect their language in the face of residents and immigrants who fail to learn or use Catalan.
Catalan is properly regarded by most linguists as being an Ibero-Romance language (the group that includes Spanish). It has many features of Gallo-Romance languages such as French.
Occitan, in its Aranese variety (a dialect of Gascon) is official and subject to special protection in the Val d'Aran (Aran Valley). This small region of 7,000 is the only place where Occitan (spoken mainly in France and some Italian valleys) has full official status
GOVERNMENT :
The Government of Catalonia is known as the Generalitat in the Catalan language. It consists of a Parliament, a President and an Executive Council. Local governments include comarques (roughly equivalent to counties), as well as smaller forms of municipal administration. Catalonia is divided into four provinces: Barcelona, Girona (Gerona in Spanish), Lleida (Lérida in Spanish, Lhèida in Aranese), Tarragona
The capital of Catalonia is the city of Barcelona
the second biggest in Spain.
As a great seaside resort lots of people around the world like to spend his vacation here.
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
|
|
