FC Bacelona
The Legend of Barcelona
Author: Tiger Law
The Legent of Bacelona
Patrick Stephan Kluivert
(Credit : http://www.shbarcelona.com)
The Legend of Barcelona
Patrick Stephan Kluivert
Patrick Kluivert (Amsterdam, Holland, 1976) came through the youth ranks at Ajax, reaching the first team before leaving to play in Serie A with AC Milan. After just a year in Italy, he signed for Barça in the summer of 1998. He was described by coach Louis van Gaal as the “perfect striker”, a good summation of an extraordinary forward who stood out for his agility and vision. He was excellent with his back to goal also, a talent that allowed to create as well as score goals. In fact, he was more of a creative midfielder who played as a striker than anything else.Kluivert loved to drop deep and link up with his team-mates as well as being an excellent finisher. Technically and physically he was a complete player who spent six seasons as a blaugrana before leaving for Newscastle United in 2004.
CAREER
Temporades al Club: 1998-2004
Partits jugats: 308
Gols marcats: 145
HONOURS
1 Lliga (1998/99)
2 Copes Catalunya (1999/00 i 2003/04)
(Credit : http://www.shbarcelona.com)
Ernesto Valverde
(Credit : http://www.shbarcelona.com)
The Legend of Barcelona
Ernesto Valverde
Ernesto Valverde (9 February 1964, Viandar de la Vera, Cáceres) was presented as the new FC Barcelona coach on 1 June 2017 after leaving Athletic Club Bilbao where he coached the team in more matches than anyone else in its history.After three seasons with Luis Enrique Martínez as coach, FC Barcelona decided to acquire the services of the a coach who is well known for his man management skills, his attacking style and his extensive experience.
Valverde began his coaching career in the youth system at Athletic Club, beginning in 1997/98 with the U16B side. He moved up through the coaching ranks at the Basque club and between 2003 and 2005 he enjoyed his first spell in charge of the first team.After a sabbatical year, Valverde returned to coaching at Barcelona’s other club, Espanyol. He took the team to the final of the UEFA Cup on 2007 where they were beaten by fellow Spanish club Sevilla before departing in the summer of 2008.
Valverde went to coach other La Liga sides, Villarreal (2009/10) and Valencia (2012/13) as well as two separate spells at Greek club Olympiakos between 2008-09 and then 2010-2012 where he won the Greek league on no less than three occasions and the Greek Cup twice.In 2013 he returned to Athletic Club for his final coaching job before joining the blaugranes. In each of his four seasons in charge he took the club into Europe and in 2016 he led the team to their first trophy in 31 years when they beat Barça in the Spanish Super Cup.(Credit : http://www.shbarcelona.com)
Josep Guardiola
(Credit : http://www.shbarcelona.com)
The Legend of Barcelona
Josep Guardiola
Josep Guardiola, one of the most important players in Barcelona’s history, took over as first team manager on 17 June 2008 after a brilliant season as coach of Barça Atlètic with whom he won promotion to Second Division B. “I can’t promise you silverware, but I can say that we’ll keep on battling to the end and you’ll be proud of us,” he said on the day of his first Gamper Trophy. And he was right.
The fifteenth Catalan manager in the history of the club arrived with the mission to end a two-season long trophy drought. To do that he used the same 4-3-3 system he had experienced as a Barça player and which had brought him success at Barça Atlètic.
Guardiola only understood one way of playing football which is to attack, keep possession and move the ball around so that the other team has to run after it. That’s the way his Barça side played, as did his Barça Atlètic, and they had more possession and more shots on goal than virtually every team they played. He appreciated the talent of his players but he put hard work and individual sacrifice for the common cause first. He saw football as a team sport in which he has ultimate responsibility for results and was therefore also the leader of the squad.
Josep Guardiola was a meticulous manager who saw to the tiniest of details. He got ready for every game with videos of the opposition and never thinks beyond the next match. He was a brilliant motivator who brought the best out of each player in his squad. This philosophy of football led to his success as first team boss, when the team had their best year in the history of the Club winning the Spanish League and Copa double, the Champions League, both the European and Spanish Super Cups and the Club World Cup in the year of the six titles.
This excellent campaign means that Guardiola was the third manager after Cruyff and Samitier to pick up the league title as coach after having won it as a player at Barça. He became the sixth man to win the Champions League as a manager having previously done so as a player, and the first manager to win the treble in the 21st century and the first ever to win six titles in a single year.In the 2009/10 season, Guardiola’s second in charge, the Liga title was won for the second year in a row, and the twentieth on club history, setting a new record of 99 points in the process. The title was not decided until the very last day, with a 4-0 win against Valladolid at Camp Nou, Barça claiming the league title at home for the first time in front of their own fans since 1993/94.
The avalanche of titles did not stop there. In 2010/11 the team won the Spanish Super Cup, the league and the Champions League. The following campaign they won the Spanish Super Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, the Club World Cup and the Copa del Rey. In the final of the latter, the last game with Guardiola in charge, the team produced an opening half hour in the 3-0 win over Athletic Club that many consider to be amongst the finest passages of football played by Pep’s Barça side.During Guardiola’s time, Barça did not just triumph, they collected records and trophies like other collect stamps. In those four years they broke more than 40 national, European and World footballing records and won 14 out of a possible 19 trophies, an unprecedented achievement in footballing history.(Credit : http://www.shbarcelona.com)
Luis Enrique Martínez
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The Legend of Barcelona
Luis Enrique Martínez
At 36 years of age, he took a football coaching course alongside such illustrious names as Josep Guardiola, Guillermo Amor, Albert Ferrer, and Sergi Barjuán, amongst others. In June 2008 he took charge of Barça Athletic, former name of Barca B, a team that had been promoted the previous season from the Third Division to Second Division B. He took over from Pep Guardiola, who was to take charge of the first team alongside Tito Vilanova.Lucho had a lot of success coaching the Barça B. In the 2008/09 season they finished in fifth place in their group in Second Division B, although they didn’t gain the desired promotion, something they did achieve a season later thanks to a great generation of players like Sergi Roberto, Marc Bartra, Martín Montoya, Thiago Alcántara, and Jonathan Soriano. With these players the team cames second in the regular season, and then gained promotion to Second Division A, beating Jaén and Sant Andreu in the play-offs.The icing on the cake came in the 2010/11 season, when Luis Enrique achieved the highest position in the history of Barça reserves in the second division of Spanish football, with 71 points (20 wins, 11 draws, and 11 defeats) coming third in the championship behind Betis and Rayo Vallecano, who both won direct promotion to the top flight, and ahead of Granada, who also gained promotion that season
After this milestone, Luis Enrique decided to try his luck outside of Spain and made the leap to become coach of AS Roma, one of the most important teams in the ‘calcio’, where he had Bojan Krkic in his team, on loan from FC Barcelona. He finished the season in seventh place in the League, and was knocked-out in the semi-finals of the Italian Cup, and the qualifying rounds of the Europa League 2011/12.After a season out of football, in the 2013/14 season Luis Enrique returned to Spanish football to manage Celta Vigo, where he coincided with Rafinha, on loan from FC Barcelona, and Nolito and Fontàs, both former Barça players. Lucho’s season was pretty impressive: Celta ended La Liga season in a dignified ninth place and he received praise from everyone for his strong methodical and winning character.The season 2014/15, his first as FC Barcelona coach, was the sporting highlight. The competitive spirit of the Asturian infected the blaugrana squad who recorded the domestic treble for the second time in the Club’s history. Barça claimed the league title by two points from second placed Real Madrid; in the Copa del Rey they defeated Athletic Club 3-1 in the final at Camp Nou and in the Champions League they saw off Juventus in the final also by a 3-1 scoreline.
The following season the successes continued, this time with the double. La Liga was won following a sprint to the finish line with five consecutive victories, while the Copa del Rey arrived after an epic 2-0 victory in extra-time over Sevilla. Finally, in the 2016/17 season, which was Luis Enrique’s last, Barça won the Copa del Rey again with a 3-1 win over Alavés in the final. In the end, Luis Enrique’s time as FC Barcelona’s manager ended with a fantastic record of nine trophies (a Club World Cup, a Champions League, two Spanish Super Cups, two league titles and three Copa del Rey trophies) from a possible thirteen.
(Credit : http://www.shbarcelona.com)
Victor Valdés
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The Legend of Barcelona
Valdés was always a fine guarantee between the posts, good with both his hands and feet and an authoritative presence in the area. For many seasons, he was an absolute unconditional between the nets and a huge favourite with the fans.The Catalan was excellent at reading the opposition, and was especially cool in one-on-one situations, especially considering that he’d have to make relatively few interventions during many games. He was the ideal goalkeeper for a big team like Barça.
Valdés had it all: security, agility, reflexes, cold blood, courage, intuition, authority and vision.He was promoted up from Barça B in August 2002, but spent his first year alternating in the number one role with Roberto Bonano of Argentina.But the following season he became the regular first choice and things would stay that way until 26 March 2014, the day he suffered a serious injury that meant he sat out the rest of what he had already announced was going to be his final season at the club.His stats speak for themselves: he donned the FC Barcelona gloves more than any keeper before him, and also won more titles. In 535 official matches he conceded just 441 goals and won the Zamora Trophy for the best goalkeeping record in the league five times (2004/05, 2008/09, 2009/10, 2010/11 and 2011/12), a record only matched by another FCB legend, Antoni Ramallets.In 2011/12, he also set a club record by going unbeaten in an astonishing 896 minutes of official football.
CAREER
Seasons at the Club: 2002-14
Matches played: 602
HONOURS
2 FIFA Club World Cup (09/10 and 11/12)
3 Champions League (05/06, 08/09 and 10/11)
2 European Supercups (09/10 and 11/12)
6 Leagues (04/05, 05/06, 08/09, 09/10, 10/11 and 12/13)
2 Copas del Rey (08/09 and 11/12)
6 Spanish Supercups (05/06, 06/07, 09/10, 10/11, 11/12 and 13/14)
5 Copas Catalunya (03/04, 04/05, 06/07, 12/13 and 13/14)
(Credit : http://www.shbarcelona.com)
Ronaldinho
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The Legend of Barcelona
Ronaldo de Assís Moreira ‘Ronaldinho’
The Brazilian striker (Porto Alegre,1980) joined the Club in 2003 and changed its history forever. In his five seasons at the club he became one its greatest ever footballers
Ronaldinho celebrating a goal at Santiago Bernabéu. | Ronaldinho came to Barcelona in the summer of 2003 to head the new club project which began with Frank Rijkaard as manager. The man who was to wear the number 10 shirt for Barça for five seasons immediately thrilled fans with his imaginative play which led to moves that very few footballers could aspire to.
Samuel Eto’o
(Credit : http://www.shbarcelona.com)
The Legend of Barcelona
Samuel Eto’o celebrating a goal at Camp Nou | He was on target in both the Champions League finals of Paris 2006 and Rome 2009.Eto’o (Nkon, Cameroon, 1981) signed for Barça in August 2004 from Mallorca after a long tug of war with Real Madrid, who held the rights to the player. It was not long before it became evident just what an astute buy he was, as he became a nightmare for opposing goalkeepers. A fighter until the end, and a man for whom goalscoring was an art that ran in his blood.Thanks to assists from the likes of Deco, Ronaldinho, Iniesta, Xavi and Messi, the African scored 152 goals in his 232 games in a Barça jersey. An astounding figure that makes him one of the most prolific strikers in club history. His 108 goals in 144 league outings make him one of the highest league goalscorer on the club records.With 130 goals in 199 games, he is also ranked amongst the best in official matches. He was league top scorer in 2004/05 (with 25 goals, hence tied with Forlán) and 2005/06 (with 26 goals).
CAREER
Seasons at club: 2004-2009
Games played: 232
Goals scored: 152
HONOURS
2 Champions League (2005/06 i 2008/09)
3 Leagues (2004/05, 2005/06 i 2008/09)
1 Copa del Rey (2008/09)
2 Spanish Super Cups (2005/06 i 2006/07)
2 Copa Catalunya (2004/05 i 2006/07)
(Credit : http://www.shbarcelona.com)
Carles Puyol
The Legend of Barcelona
(Credit : http://www.shbarcelona.com)
Carles Puyol with the captain’s armband before a game against Osasuna |
Carles Puyol carried out his entire professional career at Barça but his beginnings were with his local side La Pobla de Segur. In his early years he showed great promise and in 1995 when he was 17 he joined the FC Barcelona youth system and moved into La Masia. He very quickly became a regular at the back for Barça B and on 2 October 1999 he made his long awaited debut for the first team.
From that moment on, Puyol began to make regular appearances in the first team squad, often initially starting at right back. Thanks to his versatility and his appetite for hard work, he also adapted to playing at centre half, the position in which he would eventually establish himself both at Barça and in the national side.
Puyol had to wait until the season 2004/05 to win his first major trophy with the balugranes. He was the club captain and a key member of Frank Rijkaard’s side that claimed the league title that season, Puyol holding aloft the trophy in front of the Camp Nou crowd. Success continued as the following season with Barça retaining their league title and claiming the Champions League title in Paris. During Josep Guardiola’s time as coach Puyol continued to play a vital role in the Barça back four before injury finally caught up with him in his final two campaigns as a player. When he finally decided to hang up his boots, only Xavi Hernández had played more games for the Club in official competition.
Aside from trophies and individual accolade, Carles Puyol’s career will also be remembered for iconic gestures. Two in particular stand out in the memory: kissing the captain’s armband during the historic 6-2 victory in 2009 at the Santiago Bernabéu and allowing Éric Abidal to lift up the Champions League trophy in 2011 at Wembley.
CAREER
Seasons at the club: 1999-2014
Games: 663
Goals: 20
HONOURS
2 World Club Cups (2009/10 and 2011/12)
3 Champions League (2005/06, 2008/09 and 2010/11)
2 European Super Cups (2009/10 and 2011/12)
6 League trophies (2004/05, 2005/06, 2008/09, 2009/10, 2010/11 and 2012/13)
2 Spanish Cups (2008/09 and 2011/12)
6 Spanish Super Cups (2005/06, 2006/07, 2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12 and 2013/14)
6 Catalan Cups (1999/2000, 2003/04, 2004/05, 2006/07, 2012/13 and 2013/14)
(Credit : http://www.shbarcelona.com)
N. YOSSANON 
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