Consolidation in Europe. From Wembley to Rome (1992-2009)
The successes of the Dream Team that won the European Cup in 1992 set an extremely high standard but the defeat in the European Cup final in Athens in 1994 marked the end of a cycle.
Despite the successes on the pitch, Cruyff’s departure opened up a deep division amongst the fans and members which in turn had a great effect on the life of the Club. All this happened when the economic dimension of football changed gear: increased sponsorship, television and image rights deals, pay-per-view, get out clauses in the players’ contracts etc. All of this unstoppable dynamic was making the management of the big football clubs more and more complex. The counterpoint to this process was the Club’s Centenary celebrations, which once again illustrated the values of the Club. At the same time, the divisions among the fans and members continued and led to the end of the presidency of Josep Lluís Núñez, who was briefly succeeded by Joan Gaspart, until Joan Laporta took over in 2003.
Uneven progress
With Bobby Robson and Louis Van Gaal as managers, the team achieved notable success, especially in the 1996-97 season, with the Cup Winners Cup, and in the two following seasons with two consecutive league titles. However, the feeling that an era had ended remained and the split in the heart of the Club became wider. The sporting failures of the 1999-2000 season convinced President Núñez that it was time to resign.
Celebrating the Centenary
It isn’t easy for any organisation to reach the age of 100 years. Few achieve this level of constancy and continuity. For this reason the Club’s Centenary celebrations filled a busy year with activities of all types, from November 1998 to November 1999. The artist Antoni Tàpies created the official poster and the singer-songwriter Joan Manuel Serrat sang his 'Cant del Barça' from the Camp Nou pitch. The Centenary aimed to be the link between a glorious past and a future full of hope. In the historic centenary season Barça won the football, basketball, handball and roller hockey leagues.
Interregnum
The resignation of Club president Núñez led to elections (July 2000), which were won by Joan Gaspart, who had been the vice-president during the previous 22 years. The defeated candidate was Lluís Bassat. Gaspart’s presidency did not bring any silverware and so the crisis in the Club became even more intense. He resigned in February 2003 and opened up a period of provisionality that was not resolved until July, with the holding of new elections. However, this atmosphere of crisis did not prevent the various sections from winning some of their competitions, such as the European basketball league in May 2003.
Joan Laporta, president
Presidential elections were held on 15th June 2003 and were won by a young lawyer, Joan Laporta, ahead of the advertising executive Lluís Bassat. This marked the beginning of a new era, defined by the excitement of a new project and the signings of world class stars such as Ronaldinho, Deco and Eto'o. This new team did not take long to achieve success, winning the league in 2004-2005, and then again in the following season. These successes, which culminated in the second European Cup, were combined with a determined effort to relaunch and renew the involvement of the fans and membership under the slogan “More than a Club”. This led to new records in the level of membership, which in 2006, thanks to the “Great Challenge” campaign, exceeded 150,000 members.
2006, a dream year
There is no doubt that 2006 will go down in the history of Barça as a very special year. The Club won its second European Cup, beating Arsenal in Paris 2-1. But it was also the year that the Joan Gamper Sports Centre in Sant Joan Despí was inaugurated and the agreement was signed with UNICEF in September in New York. This agreement projects Barça’s humanitarian side around the world and gives a definitive global dimension to “More than a Club”.
The best season ever: 2008-2009
The appointment of first team manager Josep Guardiola brought renewed energy to the senior squad and led to the most successful season in the entire history of the Club: the Spanish Cup, the Spanish League and the Champions League, all of which were won with authority and a universal recognition of the superiority on the pitch of a team that included a group of players forged in the Club’s youth academy, such as Messi, Iniesta and Xavi, as its foundation. The 2-6 win in the Santiago Bernabéu and the Rome final against Manchester United (2-0) became reference points for Barça fans. Naturally, these sporting successes enormously reinforced the social and media projection of the Club, which at the end of that season reached a record 163,763 members.Sextuple winning season (2008–2009)
As well as appointing Guardiola, Laporta also made major changes to the playing staff, selling Gianluca Zambrotta, Deco, Edmílson and Ronaldinho. Nearly €90 million was spent rebuilding the squad, with Begiristain and Laporta purchasing Seydou Keita, Gerard Piqué, Martín Cáceres, Dani Alves, and Aliaksandr Hleb. Despite this, the club retained its home-grown nucleus of players, such as captain Carles Puyol, Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernández, Víctor Valdés and Andrés Iniesta.
On 17 January 2009, Barça set the record for the most points obtained in the first half of a La Liga season (50) after winning 16, drawing two and losing just one of their first 19 league games. The club also reached the Copa del Rey final for the first time since 1998 after defeating Mallorca in the semi-finals. Six days later, on 23 January, the International organisation IFFHS ranked Barça first in their list of the greatest football clubs of the last 18 years. The All-time Club World Ranking was determined by taking into account all the results of the national championships, the national cup competitions, the club competitions of the six continental confederations and the FIFA.
For the second time of the season, Barça played Real Madrid in El Clásico, this time at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Barça won the historic match 2–6, which amounted to the most goals ever scored in El Clásico by Barcelona and the biggest margin of victory for Barça at the Bernabéu since the 1970s, when Johan Cruyff led Barça to win 0–5. On 6 May 2009, just days after the comprehensive victory over their biggest rivals, Barcelona played against Chelsea in the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals. Following a goalless first leg, Chelsea led the second leg at Stamford Bridge 1–0 from the eighth minute, until injury time, when Andrés Iniesta scored a dramatic equaliser in the 93rd minute from the edge of the penalty area, sending Barcelona through to the final on away goals.
On 13 May, Barça beat Athletic Bilbao 4–1 at the Mestalla to win the Copa del Rey for a record 25th time. Just days later, as Real Madrid lost to Villarreal, the domestic double was confirmed for Barcelona and the club was crowned La Liga champions for the 2008–09 season.
With a largely homegrown squad in which seven players of the starting 11 were products of their youth system, Barça defeated the defending champions Manchester United 2–0 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on 27 May 2009, to earn their third UEFA Champions League title and achieve The Treble, having already won the La Liga and Copa del Rey in the same season. This was the first time a Spanish team had won the three competitions in the same season.
After signing Zlatan Ibrahimović, Barça went on to win the 2009 Supercopa de España against Athletic Bilbao (5–1 on aggregate) and the 2009 UEFA Super Cup against FC Shakhtar Donetsk (1–0), becoming the first European club to win both domestic and European Super Cups following a treble. In December 2009, Barça won the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, thus become the first team ever to accomplish the 'Sextuple'.
2009–2010 season
| V. Valdés Dani Alves Piqué Puyol (C) Abidal Xavi Busquets Keita Henry Messi Ibrahimović |
| 2009 FIFA Club World Cup Final starting lineup |
During the preseason of 2009–10, FC Barcelona completed another American tour, playing games versus the Seattle Sounders and Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer, and C.D. Guadalajara of the Primera Division de Mexico. The club also broke their transfer record by paying €46 million (+ Samuel Eto'o) for Zlatan Ibrahimović.
On August 19, 2009, Barcelona played their annual friendly match for the Joan Gamper Trophy against Manchester City of the Premier League. The club began the new league campaign by equalling their best start ever of six consecutive wins. Record new signing Zlatan Ibrahimović scored in his first five league games which was also a new record, beating the previous record held by Hristo Stoichkov.
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