FC Barcelona are one of the most successful clubs in European football history. They are the second most successful club in Spain having won 26 La Liga titles and five UEFA Champions League trophies. The club is arguably one of the greatest football clubs in the world. They are famous for producing incredible players with jaw-dropping abilities....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
Hans Gamper, a Swiss settler in Barcelona, founded the club we know today through an announcement in a newspaper in 1899. In a meeting in a Barcelona gymnasium, 11 people of different nationalities founded the club on November 29 1899. From very early on the club represented much more than just a sports team, but a symbol of Catalan identity and pride.
Upon retirement as a footballer, Gamper took up the role of the club’s president, serving five times between 1908 and 1923 and, with the help of Jack Greenwell as manager, the Catalans won the Campeonato de Cataluna eleven times, the Copa del Rey six times.
In the 1900s, Gamper changed the official language of the club from royal Castilian Spanish to that of Catalonia, a bold political statement. During a match in 1925, Barcelona fans booed the Spanish national anthem, this act angered the Spanish government.
In 1928, Barcelona co-founded the La-liga. Joan Gamper’s time at Barcelona came to an abrupt end as he was deported from Spain. On 30 July 1930, he committed suicide after a period of depression brought on by financial problems.
