The current era

After the disappointment of the Gaspart era, a combination of a new young president Joan Laporta and a relatively young new manager Frank Rijkaard saw the club bounce back. On the field an influx of talented players, such as Ronaldinho, Deco, Ludovic Giuly, and Samuel Eto'o, and experienced professionals, such as Rafael Márquez and Giovanni van Bronckhorst combined with a nucleus of home grown players, Carles Puyol, Andrés Iniesta, Xavi, Lionel Messi and Víctor Valdés saw the club return to success. Barça won La Liga/Supercopa de España doubles in both 2005 and 2006. In 2006 they also won the UEFA Champions League.
For the 2006/07 season, FC Barcelona has been reinforced with the arrival of Eidur Gudjohnsen, Gianluca Zambrotta, Lilian Thuram, and the return of Javier Saviola.On 14 July 2006 the club announced a five year agreement with UNICEF, which includes having the UNICEF logo on their shirts. The agreement will see FC Barcelona donating US$1.9 million per year to UNICEF, and rejecting significant commercial offers to be the first shirt sponsor of the football team. They took part in the FIFA Club World Cup 2006, making it to the final, only to be beaten by a late goal against Internacionl

Development of the 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 two rival regions in Spain, Catalonia and Castile, as well as of the two cities themselves. The rivalry projects what many regard as the political and cultural tensions felt between Catalans and the Castilleans. These include the ideals of a unified Spain (Castilleans) and a separate/independent Catalan nation.
During the Franco years (1939 - 1975) the rivalry reached a new level when Franco tried to capitalize upon Real Madrid's international success, while his regime was openly suppressing all regional identities (e.g. the Catalan language was officially banned). In 1936 FC Barcelona president, Josep Sunyol, a Republican, was murdered by Franco's forces. However, during the Spanish Civil War itself, members of Real Madrid (then Madrid FC) also suffered at the hands of Franco supporters. Real Madrid president Rafa el 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.
During the 1950s the rivalry was exacerbated significantly when the clubs disputed the signing of Alfredo Di Stefano, who finally played for Real Madrid and was key in the subsequent success achieved by the club. The 1960s saw the rivalry reach the European stage when they met twice at the semi-final stage of the European Cup.
As nowadays FC Barcelona and Real Madrid are the two biggest and most successful clubs in Spain, the rivalry is renewed on an almost annual basis with both teams often challenging each other for the league championship.

FC Barcelona Early years (1899-1908)

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, Lluís d'Ossó, Bartomeu Terradas, Otto Kunzle, Otto Maier, Enric Ducal, Pere Cabot, 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.
FC Barcelona quickly emerged as one of the leading clubs both Catalonia and Spain as they competed in both the Campionat de Catalunya and the Copa del Rey. In 1901 they won their first trophy when they won the Copa Macaya and in 1902 they also played in the first Copa del Rey final, losing 2-1 to Club Vizcaya

About My Self

My name is Rami Ali AlQubati. I'm 23 years old. I live in Abu Dhabi, UAE. I study Finance in Higher Colleges Of Technology. My hobbies are playing football, Traveling, playing computer games and watching movies. My favourite movies are horror, Mystery and Science fiction movies such as : Harry Potter, The Lord OF The Rings Trilogy, The Exorcist, The Omen, Star Wars and many more. I traveled to many countries around the world, because i like exploring new places and meeting new cultures. Some of the countries and cities i went to are : Canada, Amsterdam, Paris, London, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Egypt, Turkey, and Iran. I like watching programmes about cars such as Top Gear and Fifth Gear. My car is Mazda 6 2005 model and my dream car is Pagani Zonda S roadster, and i hope one day i will be able to purchase one ! I liked playing and watching football since i was young and my favourite national team is Germany. My favourite club is FC Barcelona the holders of the Champions League title and in my opinion the best team around the world. Now i will talk briefly about the history of FC Barcelona.