A symbol of Catalan independence
If Barça is "more than a club", it's above all because it has always played a major political role in Barcelona and throughout Catalonia. Founded in 1899, the then small soccer club took less than a decade to enter politics. As early as 1908, club founder Joan Gamper brought Barça closer to the Catalanist parties and adopted Catalan instead of Castilian. Little by little, the Blaugrana became a figurehead of regional identity, until Gamper finally supported Catalonia's demand for autonomous status. Since then, supporting Barça has also been a political issue. It was for this reason that a rivalry developed with the city's other club, Espanyol Barcelona (Real Club Deportivo Español de Barcelona to be exact), a working-class club that pledged its allegiance to the King of Spain. Today, Espanyol's Pericos play in the 40,500-seat Cornellà-El Prat stadium, on the road to the airport. A rivalry with the "King's Club", Real Madrid, was also to emerge, becoming one of the pinnacles of world soccer. The Clasico, which attracts almost as many fans worldwide as a Champions League final, is one of the highlights of this rivalry.
Throughout its history, Barça has opposed the central power of Madrid. During the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera (1923-1930), the club was suspended for six months after the Spanish anthem was whistled in the ancient Estadio de los Corts. Under Franco, club president and left-wing nationalist Josep Sunyol was shot at the start of the Civil War (1936). In 1940, the dictator even imposed one of his collaborators as president.
Today, the FCB's political dimension is as strong as ever. As well as appearing on the club crest, the Catalan flag is a regular feature on the club's various blue and garnet shirts. Above all, many fans shout " Independencia! " at the 14th second of the 17th minute of every home game, in reference to the year of the city's siege (1714), which brought Barcelona under the yoke of the Bourbons during the War of Spanish Succession. Recently, many of the club's leading figures, from Guardiola and Xavi to Piqué and Puyol, have publicly declared their support for the independence cause. In 120 years, nothing has really changed on the Ramblas..
Apostle of the beautiful game
Nevertheless, Barça's political activism has not prevented the club from filling its trophy cabinet. Indeed, the Blaugrana institution has possessed the greatest ball-handlers in the history of the game (Cruyff, Maradona, Romario, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Messi...) and perhaps even the two greatest 11s in the history of club soccer. Coach Johan Cruyff's famous "Dream Team" won four championships in a row (from 1990 to 1994) and the first Champions League in Catalan history (1992) with the famous "tiki-taka", the polished one-touch game that was to become the Camp Nou's trademark. Zubizarreta, Guardiola, Begiristain, Laudrup, Koeman, Stoichkov, Romario, Eusebio and others would forever leave their mark on soccer history, turning Barcelona's stadium into a cathedral of the beautiful game.
It was a legacy that coach Pep Guardiola set about reviving when he took over the Catalan bench in the summer of 2008. Adored by the socios even before his appointment, the former midfielder did not disappoint the stadium's faithful. In his very first season, he brought the city a historic... sextuple! Every title at stake, whether in Spain or Europe, would fall into the Catalan lap, and the team of Messi, Puyol, Xavi and Iniesta would go on to punish Real Madrid at the Bernabeu... 6 goals to 2 for a firework display around the Sagrada Familia in the spring. In all, during his four years at the helm of the Blaugrana (2008-2012), the Santpedor native lifted 14 trophies out of a possible 19. Legendary!
At the Camp Nou or in town, "Olé-lé, Ola-la"
The following was valid prior to the closure of Camp Nou for construction work, and will certainly be subject to change between now and the reopening in 2026.
Over the years, the Camp Nou has become one of the city's major tourist attractions (closed until the works are completed, scheduled for 2026), particularly since the adjoining FCB museum opened its doors in 1984. With over a million visitors a year, the Barça museum is quite simply one of the most visited in the country. Photographs, trophies, records and audiovisual montages retrace the institution's more than one-hundred-year history over almost 3,550 m². The exhibition also includes paintings and sculptures by illustrious Catalan artists inspired by the sport, such as Dalí, Miró and Tàpies. Naturally, the visit continues with access to the stands of the Camp Nou, built in 1954 on the site of the former Estadio des Corts. It's a sight to behold, as it is (excuse the pun) the largest stadium in Europe, and the third largest in the world, with a seating capacity of almost 100,000 (98,787 to be exact before construction work, and 10,000 more by 2026). During the tour, you can enter the bowels of the stadium, tread (a little) on the pitch, visit the changing rooms, admire the trophy room and, in addition to the classic audioguide, you can now be equipped with virtual reality goggles to relive the club's legendary goals from the stands, as if you were there!
Finally, when it's time for a Barça match, there's no shortage of places to see the players wearing the blaugrana colors. As soon as the whistle blows, you can watch them multiply their passes in a small pro-independence bar on the outskirts of town, such as the Sotavent, or in a more traditional pub near the Ramblas. Among the most popular is the Taverna de Barcelona, where the atmosphere is on a par with that of the city's biggest Irish pub, The George Payne, right in the middle of the Barri Gòtic. But generally speaking, you'll have no trouble finding a screen in any of the city's establishments. One thing's for sure: at the final whistle of a Clasico or Champions League final, head for the Plaça de Catalunya to sing the " Cant del Barça ". Olé-lé, Ola-la (...) Barça, Barça, Baaarçaaa!
