What is the population in barcelona. The best time to travel. General description, city landmarks

To the twelve exploits of Hercules known in mythology, the Catalans will gladly add one more - the founding of Barcelona. According to one of the most beautiful legends, the history of the city of Barcelona began during the search for the Golden Fleece. As you know, the ancient Greek strongman also participated in the campaign of the Argonauts. However, his ship went astray and unexpectedly landed on Montjuic. Hercules was impressed by her beauty and founded a city on the mountain with the name "Barka Nona". That is, the "ninth ship", the incident with which marked the beginning of the history of Barcelona in Spain. This happened 400 years before the founding of Rome.

Traces of Father Hannibal

The hero of another appearance myth was Hannibal's father. The famous commander from Carthage, Hamilcar Barca, founded the city on a narrow coastal strip and named it after his family - Barcino. This is evidenced by the chronicle of Barcelona, ​​which in 237 BC the commander himself began to keep. A little over a century later, the Romans made their contribution to the history of Barcelona, ​​​​who captured Barcino and made it a fortification centered on the current Saint James Square, where the city hall is located today.

History of Barcelona between the Franks and the Moors

The city grew, minted its own coins, but before the arrival of the Visigoths in the fifth century AD, it was inferior in importance to Tarragona. Three centuries later, the current capital of Catalonia was captured by the Moors. However, they did not settle here, preferring warmer southern cities, therefore, they did not have a special influence on the course of the history of the city of Barcelona. The absence of the Moors in Barcelona was skillfully used by the barbarians. The Carolingian dynasty made the city the capital of the Spanish March - a kind of buffer zone between the Franks and the Arabs. In the history of Barcelona, ​​this episode became a key one, marking the formation of an independent Catalonia.

Blooming alliance with Aragon

Double World Exhibition

The next turning point in the history of the city of Barcelona is laid by the World Industrial Exhibition of 1888. A new construction boom begins: especially for the exhibition, 115 hectares of the territory of the former fortress of Ciutadella are covered with modern infrastructure. The main attractions appear on the city map - the Arc de Triomphe and the monument to Columbus. The exhibition becomes a highlight in the history of Barcelona and ensures its reputation as a wealthy industrial center. The World Industrial Exhibition will be held in Barcelona again in 1929. Plaza de España will be built in the city National Palace, magical fountains of Montjuic .

Catalan identity

However, the development of Barcelona at the beginning of the 20th century is characterized not only by a new economic breakthrough. On the wave of financial well-being in the Catalan capital, national self-consciousness will seriously grow. In books on the history of Barcelona, ​​they will write about the appearance in 1914 of the first local government, the Catalan council - Mancommunitat. Barcelona will begin an active struggle for independence and in 1932 will receive autonomy. However, the history of autonomy in Barcelona will not last long. The civil war and the rise to power of General Franco will put dissent under a ban. For the next forty years, the Catalan language and culture will be outlawed.

1992 Olympics

Fate brought the air of freedom to Barcelona only after the departure of the dictator. The revived monarchy in 1979 returned the long-awaited autonomy to Catalonia. A year later, for the first time in history, parliamentary elections were held in Barcelona. A real explosion of economic, cultural and social activity in the Catalan capital was the preparation for the Summer Olympics. It was held in Barcelona in 1992 and contributed to a large-scale restructuring of the city. Kilometers of industrial zones on the Mediterranean coast have gone down in history. The factories were moved, and in their place they equipped the cleanest sandy beaches with modern infrastructure.

Cultural Forum

The World Cultural Forum produced a similar effect of the rapid development of the city. It took place in 2004. Thanks to the forum, along with investments, the Catalan capital received a new prestigious Forum district with amazing modern architecture.

You can learn more about the history of Barcelona at MUHBA, the Barcelona History Museum. Its expositions can be called one of the most entertaining and informative in the Catalan capital. In addition to the well-known archaeological finds - products made of clay, gold and silver - here you can see the ruins of the ancient city: fragments of walls, pavements, baths, plumbing and sewage systems. The Barcelona History Museum is built right on the site of the excavations on Plaça del Rei. You can get to it by the yellow metro line L4 (Jaume I station). An adult ticket costs 7 euros. For students and pensioners - 4 euros. Children are admitted to the Barcelona History Museum free of charge.

Robert Hughes "Barcelona: the history of the city"

Well, for those who have not yet been to Barcelona, ​​but are interested in its history, it will be interesting to read the book of the Australian Robert Hughes. One of the most influential, according to the newspaper The New York Times, art critics and art historians of the 20th century conducts a tour of the Catalan capital on 704 pages of printed text, sharing with the reader the most vivid impressions of the largest Mediterranean city. Leafing through the book "Barcelona: the history of the city" by Robert Hughes, you feel the aroma of coffee houses in the narrow streets of the Gothic Quarter, you imagine a majestic temple under construction

In the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, on the coast mediterranean sea, surrounded by picturesque mountains located one of most beautiful cities Europe - Barcelona. This heart Spanish Catalonia, as well as an important industrial, commercial and Cultural Center. The city of the famous Gaudí…

The first written sources about Barcelona date back to the 3rd century BC, although it is likely that a settlement existed here much earlier. There are two versions about the founding of the city, and both of them are associated with the Carthaginian Hamilcar Barca, the father of Hannibal. The first legend says that the city was first founded by the legendary hero of ancient Greek myths Hercules, and Hamilcar Barca only rebuilt it in the 3rd century BC. In the second version, it was Hamilcar Barca who became the founder of the city, naming it after his family - Barcino.

In the 2nd century BC. the city was conquered by the Romans. Largely due to its convenient location and excellent natural harbor, ancient Barcelona, ​​which did not initially have special significance and influence, soon became a very prosperous city with its own minting of coins, and later one of the most important trading centers in the Mediterranean, competing on equal terms with Genoa and Venice.

At the beginning of the 5th century, Barcelona was conquered by the Visigoths and for some time became the residence of King Ataulf. At the beginning of the 8th century, Barcelona came under the control of the Moors, and already in 801 it was conquered by the Frankish Carolingians, becoming the capital of the Spanish March and the county of the same name. It was only in 988 that the county of Barcelona was able to free itself from the rule of the Carolingians. Since that time, in fact, Catalonia has been officially conducting its history, the political and economic center of which was Barcelona. In the XII century, Catalonia became part of one of the most powerful maritime and trading powers of the Middle Ages - the Kingdom of Aragon.

The marriage of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile in the second half of the 15th century marked the beginning of the unification of the Spanish lands. Political center moved to Madrid, and Barcelona lost its influence and gradually fell into decay, which was greatly facilitated by the subsequent numerous wars.

A new era for Barcelona began with the industrial revolution in the 19th century. The city grew and developed rapidly. Many new enterprises appeared, and very soon Barcelona became a major center for the textile industry and engineering. By the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, there was a cultural renaissance in Barcelona. This period is also of exceptional importance for the architecture of Barcelona. The unique masterpieces of the famous architect Antonio Gaudi, so harmoniously combining the most incredible shapes and colors, have become calling card the Catalan capital and the pride of the locals.

Today Barcelona is one of the most popular tourist cities in Europe. Among the many sights of the city, perfectly illustrating the development of the history and culture of Barcelona, ​​it is worth noting Gothic Quarter, Montjuic, National Art Museum of Catalonia, Picasso Museum, Temple of the Sacred Heart, Gaudi's creations - Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, Casa Mila, Casa Batllo and Casa Calvet, Guell Palace, etc.

In which autonomous community is the city of Barcelona located?

A characteristic of an autonomous community or a subject of a country is the possession of the integrity and interconnection of its constituent elements, including cities and other settlements that are part of the autonomous community.

The Autonomous Community of Catalonia is an administrative unit of the State of Spain.

The population of the city of Barcelona.

What time zone is Barcelona in?

Phone code for Barcelona

Official website of the city of Barcelona.

Flag of the city of Barcelona.

Coat of arms of the city of Barcelona.

Metropolitan in the city of Barcelona.

The passenger traffic of the Barcelona Metro (Barcelona metro congestion) is 448.50 million people per year.

The number of metro lines in the city of Barcelona is 11 lines. The total number of metro stations in Barcelona is 165. The length of metro lines or metro tracks is: 123.66 km.

In 2017, according to official figures, there were 1.6 million people. It is the next largest city in Spain after Madrid and the 10th in the European Union. 3.2 million people live in the suburbs, including them, the population of Barcelona is about 5 million inhabitants.

According to the city council of the Catalan capital, on January 1, 2015, the population of Barcelona was 1,593,075 people, the population of greater Barcelona was 5,292,354 people (as of 2016). The population density is 15,779 people per km². 95 percent of the population understood it, 76.4 percent of the population spoke it, 75 percent of the population read Catalan, and 47 percent spoke it.

Population of Barcelona: religion

For the most part, the population of Barcelona is Catholic (there are 208 churches in the city). In the Catalan capital there are small groups of evangelists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Buddhists.

Catalonia has always been the most open Spanish region for foreigners.

The French prefer Catalonia for recreation, as it is budget and convenient here, and the resorts of Spain are extremely close to them. The Germans find here a separate rest without uncomfortable associations. Representatives of these countries appeared in a fairly long time and did not ask for special attention.

Despite all the historical troubles, they managed to preserve quite a lot of moral qualities in their disposition, which made it possible for them to always be friendly to foreigners. have a respectful attitude towards representatives of other nations living on their territory, they are also benevolent towards all tourists.

For all that, laws appear from time to time that try quite hard to regulate the position of foreigners in Catalonia, however, the Catalans have adapted to separate the domestic part of life from the political.

The inhabitants of the Italian nationality represent the largest foreign community in Barcelona. They are in the majority in the 4 regions with the highest per capita income: Sarria-Sant Gervasi, Les Corts, Eixample and Gracia.

14.2% of the population of Barcelona (273,121 people) were immigrants from (by number): Italy, Pakistan, China, Morocco, France, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Philippines.

HISTORY OF FC BARSALONA

1908-1926

In 1908, one of the club's co-founders and former striker Joan (Joan, Hans) Gamper became president of the club for the first time. This happened when the club was on the verge of collapse: after winning the 1905 Catalan championship, the club did not win any trophies for three years, and its financial situation also deteriorated sharply. Subsequently, Gamper was re-elected five times as president of the club. One of Gamper's greatest accomplishments was helping Barça acquire their own stadium. On March 14, 1909, the team "moved" to the Carrer Indústria stadium, with a capacity of 8,000 spectators.

Gamper also began a campaign to increase the number of club members, and by 1922 their number exceeded 10,000. In the same 1922, the team again changed their home arena, moving to the Camp de Les Corts (or simply Les Corts); the original capacity of this stadium was 22,000 seats, later expanded to an impressive 60,000 seats.

“FC Barcelona cannot die. And he won't die. If now no one wants to take care of the affairs of the club, I will do it myself. I am sure that I will be supported by those who did not doubt me even when football generally seemed abnormal. From this day on, I want to forget the injustice and deceit that made me retire from the affairs of the club, and I want to fight so that one day we, all together, get back on our feet ... ”(From the speech of Hans (Joan) Gamper at a meeting of the Board of Directors FC Barcelona December 2, 1908).

In 1912, Gamper invited the Filipino-Spanish striker Paulino Alcantara to the club, who would give this team 13 years of his career (1912-1916, 1918-1927), score 357 goals during this time, becoming the top scorer in the history of the club, and open a long series of world-famous football masters who have ever played for Barcelona.

In 1917, the ex-player of the team in 1912-1916, Englishman Jack Greenwell, who coached the team until 1924, became the coach of Barça at the suggestion of Gamper. These measures helped to improve the situation in the club. As a result, during the era of Gamper's presidency, Barcelona won eleven Catalan Championships, six Spanish Cups and four Pyrenean Cups, this was the first "golden age" of the club. In addition to Alcantara, the then Barça squad, under President Gamper and coach Greenwell, included the likes of Emilio Sagi Lignan (aka Sagi-Barba), Josep Samitier, Felix Sesumaga, Franz Platko and the great goalkeeper Ricardo Zamora. However, Zamora, after several years of playing at Barça, moved to the camp of her worst enemy - Espanyol.

1923-1939

In the middle of the club's glorious 1920s, Barcelona began to suffer from unsportsmanlike political conflicts that would mark decades of the club's history.

On June 14, 1925, the crowd during the game in honor of the Catalan Orpheus choir sang the Royal March - official anthem Kingdom of Spain, abolished under the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera. In retaliation, the Barcelona stadium was closed by the authorities for six months (then the period was reduced to three), and Gamper was forced to resign as president of the club. The founder of the club committed suicide on 30 July 1930 during a period of depression caused by personal and financial problems.

Although there were still many good players in the team, such as Josep Escola, the club entered a period of setbacks as political conflicts in the country pushed sport into the background in the eyes of society. Barca faced a crisis on three fronts at once: financial, social (the number of club members was constantly decreasing) and sports (although the team consistently won the Catalan championships (1930, 1931, 1932, 1934, 1936, 1938), but success at the all-Spanish level from eluded them, with the exception of the victory in the Mediterranean League in 1937, but this, however, was already wartime with all its features).

On August 6, 1936, soldiers from Francisco Franco's army arrested and killed club president Josep Sunol near Guadarrama. In the summer of 1937, the team, led by head coach Patrick O'Connell, went on a tour of the United States and Mexico, where they were considered ambassadors of the Second Spanish Republic. At this time, the Spanish Civil War was in full swing. This trip improved the financial situation of the club, but after it more than half of the team did not return to the war-torn Spain, remaining in search of asylum in Mexico and France.

On March 16, 1938, the aircraft of Franco's forces dropped a bomb on the Barca social club, causing great damage. A few months later, the city of Barcelona was occupied by the Francoists, and the club, as a symbol of the "unruly" Catalan nationalists, is facing a number of serious problems. By that time, the club's membership had dwindled to 3,486.

1939-1974

Upon completion civil war under the established Franco dictatorship, the Catalan language and the flag were banned (as part of the fight against separatism). Football clubs were also banned from using non-Hispanic names. As a result, the team in 1941 was forced to change its name from the old, English-language Football Club Barcelona to the "correct" Spanish Club de Fútbol Barcelona; under this name the club will exist for 33 years. At the same time, the Catalan flag was removed from the coat of arms.

In 1943, at the home stadium of Les Corts, in the first semi-final match of the Generalissimo Cup (Copa del Generalísimo - this is how the Spanish Cup was renamed by the new government, it is also the former King's Cup), the team defeated Real Madrid with a score of 3: 0. Madrid won the return match 11:1.

Despite the difficult political situation, Barcelona were able to achieve great success in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1945, the team won the Spanish championship for the first time since 1929, Josep Samitier was the coach of the winning squad, and such masters as Cesar Rodriguez, Antoni Ramallets and Juan Velasco played for the team at that time.

In 1948 and 1949, the team won two more league titles. Also in 1949, the Latin Cup was won.

Under the guidance of coach Ferdinand (Fernando) Dauchik and with the presence of Ladislao Kubala, who is considered by some experts to be the best Barça player of all time, in 1952 the team took five trophies: the Spanish Championship, the Spanish Cup (at that time officially called the Copa del Generalísimo , the Generalissimo Cup, that is, Franco), the Latin Cup, the Spanish Super Cup (“Eva Duarte Cup”, as it was called in those years in honor of Eva (Evita) Duarte de Peron) and the Martini and Rossi Cup. In 1953, the team made a double, winning the championship and the Spanish Cup. In the 1957 season, another victory was won in the Spanish Cup. In 1958 the Fairs Cup was taken.

In 1957, the newly commissioned Camp Nou became the club's new stadium.

The string of victories continued under the new coach Helenio Herrera.

The squad by that time was strengthened by the young Luis Suarez, who became the player of the year in Europe in 1960, and two Hungarians from the legendary "golden team", Sandor Kocsis and Zoltan Cibor, who left their homeland after the suppression of the USSR and the countries of the so-called. "people's democracy" of the uprising in Hungary (they were taken to the team on the recommendation of Kubala, who knew them closely). With such a line-up, Barça made a national double in 1959 (the championship and the Spanish Cup), and in 1960 took the second Fairs Cup in its history and again won the national championship. In 1961, they became the first club in history to knock out Real Madrid from the European Champion Clubs' Cup, breaking the six-year "monopoly" of Madrid on this title. In the final of the Champions Cup in Bern, the Spaniards lost to the Portuguese Benfica with a score of 2:3.

The 1960s were generally not very successful for a club of this level: two Copa del Rey (1963 and 1968) and the 1966 Fairs Cup. In those years, the draw of the championship of Spain became " internal affairs"Two Madrid giants - Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid," Barça could not then intervene in their rivalry.

In 1974, the team returned to its original name - Futbol Club Barcelona.

1974-1978

In the 1973-1974 season, the team was joined by the man who was destined to become the new legend of Barça - the Dutch forward Johan Cruyff (Cruyff). Having already established himself as a master of football during his time at Ajax, Cruyff immediately established himself in the first team and soon became the leader of the team. He quickly became a favorite of the Barça fans for his performance, but especially rose in their eyes after he told reporters that he had chosen Barça over Real Madrid (who were also interested in the services of the Dutchman). allegedly because, out of conviction, he could not play for the club associated with the name of Franco. In addition, he later named his son by the Catalan name Jordi. Largely thanks to Cruyff in 1974, Barcelona won the Spanish Primera for the first time since 1960, and at the same time defeated Real Madrid in El Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu with a score of 5: 0. Also in his first season with Barça, Cruyff was voted the best player of the year in Europe. In 1978, Cruyff left the club and went to play in the USA.

1978-1988

In 1978, Josep Luis Nunez was elected president of the club. His main goals as head of the club were to develop Barça into a world-class club and ensure financial stability.

During the Nunez era, Barca won two European Cup Winners' Cups - in 1978/79 (winning the final against Fortuna Düsseldorf in Extra time) and 1981/82 (in the final at the native Camp Nou, Liege Standard was beaten with a score of 2: 1) years; also the team at that time won three King's Cups (1980/81, 1982/83, 1987/88).

Before the start of the 1981/1982 season, the German Udo Lattek was appointed coach of the club, who managed to win the Cup Winners' Cup with the team. In June 1982, the team was reinforced by the Argentinean Diego Maradona, who moved from the Argentine team Boca Juniors for a then record transfer fee of £ 3 million. However, soon, in 1984, the superstar (who managed to "have a hand" in winning the Copa del Rey in 1983) was bought by the Italian club Napoli, breaking the world transfer record (£ 5 million).

Before the start of the 1984/1985 season, Englishman Terry Venables was appointed coach of the club. Also, the German midfielder Bernd Schuster came to the club. In the 1984/1985 season, the team confidently won the Spanish championship. And the following season, she reached the final of the Champions Cup, where she lost to the Romanian Steaua at the Ramon Sanchez Pisjuan stadium in Seville (0:2 in the penalty shootout).

In the summer of 1986, English striker Gary Lineker, Welsh striker Mark Hughes and promising Basque goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta joined the club. At the same time, Bernd Schuster left the team, moving into the camp of the worst enemy - Real Madrid. Before the start of the 1987/1988 season, Luis Aragones became the club's coach instead of Venables. That season ended with the club's victory in the Copa del Rey (in the final, Real Sociedad was beaten 1-0) and the uprising of the players against President Nunez, which is known as Motín del Esperia, which, however, did not prevent Nunez from continuing to stay in office (he was the head of the club until 2000), but many players were forced to leave the club after this event.

1988-1996

In 1988 Johan Cruyff returned to the club as head coach. The composition of the team that he led received a little later, in the early 90s, the nickname "Dream Team" ("Dream Team"), by analogy with the legendary US basketball team of those years, which won the 1992 Olympics, which took place just in Barcelona.

A galaxy of brilliant players came to Barça at that time: Amor, Guardiola, José Maria Baquero, Chiki Begiristain, Nadal, Eusebio, Goikoechea, Gheorghe Hadji (“Carpathian Maradona”), Ronald Koeman, Mikael Laudrup, Romario and Hristo Stoichkov.

Between 1991 and 1994, Barça won the Spanish Championship four times in a row. On the European arena, the team won the 1988/1989 Cup Winners' Cup (winning the final over Sampdoria 2: 0) and the 1991/92 Champions Cup (in a dramatic match at Wembley, the same Sampdoria was beaten, the decisive goal from a free kick Ronald Koeman scored in the 111th minute of the match). In addition, the collection of club trophies was replenished with the Spanish Cup (1990), the UEFA Super Cup (1992) and three Spanish Super Cups. In 1992 in Tokyo, the team lost in the final of the Intercontinental Cup to the Brazilian club Sao Paulo (1:2).

However, the winning streak soon came to an end. In the 1993/94 Champions League final in Athens, Barça were defeated 0-4 by Milan. This was the first serious, major defeat in several years. In 1996, after two not very successful seasons (1994/1995, 1995/1996), Cruyff left the team's coaching bridge. In this position, the Dutchman set two club coaching records: for the duration of his tenure and for the number of trophies won (11). Cruyff's departure is considered to be the end of the Dream Team era, most of the players from that legendary line-up also left the team by the beginning of 1997.

1996-2003

After the departure of Cruyff, Englishman Bobby Robson took his place, who spent only one season in this post (1996/97), but very successful: the team made a “cup hat-trick” (Spain Cup, Spanish Super Cup and Cup Winners' Cup). Also, during his stay at Barça, Robson managed to acquire the future superstar Ronaldo from the Dutch PSV and utter a phrase that has become a catch phrase: “Catalonia is a country, and FC Barcelona is its army.” However, Ronaldo played only one season for the club, leaving for Inter Milan. Robson was replaced as coach by the Dutchman Louis van Gaal. By this time the club had been strengthened by Luis Figo, Giovanni de Oliveira, Luis Enrique Martinez, Patrick Kluivert and Rivaldo.

In the 1997/98 season, the team made a "double", winning the championship and the Spanish Cup. True, the performance in the Champions League was unsuccessful, while Barcelona also suffered a major defeat at the Camp Nou stadium from Dynamo Kyiv 0:4. In 1999 the club celebrated its centenary. The best gift for the anniversary was another victory in the championship of Spain.

In the same year, one of the leaders of the club, Rivaldo, was recognized as the best football player in Europe, becoming the fourth Barça player to receive this award. However, Barça's loss in the Champions League semi-final to compatriots Valencia was seen as a failure, especially against the background of the victory in that tournament of the Catalans' main rivals - Real Madrid; and in the end, all this led to the fact that, despite the great success of the club in the domestic arena, both long-term president Josep Nunez and head coach Louis van Gaal had to resign from their posts. In the same unlucky year for the club, one of its key players, fan favorite Luis Figo, left for Real Madrid. The short time of the presidency of Joan Gaspar (2000-2003) was not marked by a single trophy won.

2003-2008

In 2003, after the resignation of Gaspard, the club was headed by a new young president, Joan Laporta, and a young coach, Frank Rijkaard, a former star of Ajax and Milan, took the helm of the team.

Under his leadership, the team began to gradually, step by step, return to its former glory. Players such as world champions Ronaldinho and Edmilson, Olympic champion Samuel Eto'o, leaders of the French Monaco Rafael Marquez and Ludovic Giuly, Champions League winner Deco, forward Henrik Larsson, defenders Belletti and Van Bronkhorst have also come to the club. this time, their talent and their own pupils who previously played for the club: goalkeeper Victor Valdes, defender Carles Puyol (who received the captain's armband), midfielders Xavi and Andres Iniesta and striker Lionel Messi.

In the first season of Rijkaard (2003/04), the team came second in the championship, and already in the second (2004/05) they confidently won the Example and took the Spanish Super Cup. In the same season, Ronaldinho, Barça's attacking leader, became the FIFA World Player of the Year and received the Ballon d'Or.

In the 2004/05 Champions League, the team was in for a failure: already in the first round of the playoffs, after a home win (2:1) over Chelsea, they were beaten by them away at Stamford Bridge 4:2.

In the 2005/06 season, the team was in for a triumph.

In November 2005, Barça beat Real Madrid 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu, that match was a benefit performance for Ronaldinho, who was even applauded by the hosts' fans. That match was also the second victory at the Bernabeu for Rijkaard, he became the first in the history of the blue garnet coach who defeated Real Madrid away twice.

In that season, Barca easily won the Spanish championship, then took the country's Super Cup, twice beating another irreconcilable rival, Espanyol, in it. But the apogee of success was May 17, 2006, when Barcelona in Paris at the Stade de France in the Champions League final defeated London's Arsenal 2:1. That match was at first unsuccessful for the Catalans (the score was opened by Gunner Saul Campbell in the 37th minute), but then the removal of London goalkeeper Jens Lehmann in the debut of the match affected, Arsenal went on the defensive, and towards the end of the match, Barça -taki put the squeeze on the opponent, Eto'o and Belletti distinguished themselves, both times they were assisted by Henrik Larsson, who replaced him.

At the 2006 Club World Cup, Barca finished second, losing in the final to the Brazilian Internacional 0-1 (Adriano Gabira scored a goal in the last minutes for the Brazilians). And in the European Super Cup, the team with a score of 0:3 was beaten by Sevilla.

The 2006/07 season was not so successful for Barca, even though the club was strengthened in the off-season by new players - world champion Gianluca Zambrotta, world vice-champion Lilian Thuram and Icelandic Chelsea striker Eidur Gudjohnsen. In the pre-season tour of the United States, the leading forwards Messi and Eto'o were injured and dropped out for a long time. The club could not find its game for a long time during the season, but in the end it still achieved second place in the championship (scoring the same number of points as the winner, but losing in additional indicators), which, however, against the backdrop of previous victories, was regarded by many as a failure. In the Champions League, Barca were eliminated already at the 1/8 stage, losing on the rule of goals scored in a foreign field to Liverpool (1:2, 0:1).

Before the 2007/08 season, the team was joined by striker Thierry Henry, bought from the London Arsenal for € 24 million, French Lyon defender Eric Abidal, Iuvarian midfielder Yaya Toure and central defender of the Spanish Zaragoza Gabriel Milito, which, coupled with those already in The composition of the masters gave great hopes for success. But, alas, the season was a failure. The team turned out to be uncompetitive in the national championship, losing not only to Real Madrid, but also to Villarreal and took only third place in the Example, and even then not without difficulty. In the Champions League, Barça lost in the semi-final to Manchester United (0:1 on aggregate). At the end of this unsuccessful season, Frank Rijkaard was sacked from the club.

2008-2012

In the summer of 2008, the team was headed by its legendary player Josep Guardiola, with his arrival, the renewal of the squad began. The team left Gianluca Zambrotta, Lilian Thuram, Edmilson, Deco, Esquerro, Ronaldinho. In exchange for the departed, Barca acquired six players, including Daniel Alves, Seydou Keita, Alexander Hleb, Gerard Pique.

At the end of the season, the team won the national title for the 19th time. In the final of the Copa del Rey, which took place on May 13, 2009 at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia, Barcelona won this title for the 25th time, defeating Athletic Bilbao 4-1. On the goal of Gaiska Toquero, scored in the 8th minute of the match, the Catalans responded with four - performed by Yaya Toure, Lionel Messi, Bojan Krkic and Xavi. The victory at the Mestalla was Barça's 100th title in more than centennial history club.

Among other things, during the national championship, the club twice defeated the eternal rival - Real Madrid: with a score of 2:0 in Barcelona and 2:6 in Madrid. The latter result was a record for the number of goals scored by Barcelona against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.

On May 27, 2009, Barcelona won the Champions League at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, beating Manchester United 2-0 in the final. The goals were scored by Eto'o and Messi.

Thus, the club made a triplet, winning the Copa del Rey, the Spanish Championship and the Champions League in one season, which has not yet been possible for any of the Spanish clubs.

In a two-round confrontation for the Spanish Super Cup, the team defeated Athletic Bilbao. On August 16, 2009, at the San Mames, the blue garnets won 2: 1, a week later at the Camp Nou, Barcelona celebrated a victory with a score of 3: 0.

In the match for the UEFA Super Cup, which took place on August 28, 2009 in Monaco at the Louis II Stadium, Barcelona defeated Shakhtar Donetsk with a score of 1:0. In the 115th minute, Lionel Messi's pass was taken advantage of by Pedro, who sent the ball almost from the penalty mark into the left corner from the Shakhtar goalkeeper.

On December 19, 2009, Barcelona in the final of the Club World Cup won a strong-willed victory over the Argentine Estudiantes in extra time with a score of 2: 1 (the winning goal in the 110th minute of the meeting was scored by Lionel Messi). Thus, Barcelona won all six competitions in which it took part, and became the first football club in the world in history to achieve such a result.

Before the 2009/10 season, Barcelona were strengthened by left-back Maxwell from Inter. The Brazilian replaced Silvinho, who, after becoming a free agent, moved to Manchester City. Then the representatives of the Catalan and Milan clubs announced a new high-profile transition. Swede Zlatan Ibrahimovic moved to Barcelona, ​​and Samuel Eto'o went to Inter. In addition to the Cameroonian forward, Barcelona paid €46 million for Ibrahimovic, making the Swede the most an expensive purchase club and one of the most expensive in the world. The lease of Alexander Gleb was also considered part of the deal, but the transition fell through, and instead of Inter, Gleb went to the German Stuttgart.

In the 2009/10 season, the Blue Garnet again won the Spanish Championship, and they also showed good results in the European arena. The team made it to the playoffs of the Champions League from the first place in the group and reached the semi-finals, where they were stopped by Inter Milan, who subsequently won the tournament. Barcelona also defended the Spanish Super Cup in the confrontation with the Basque Athletic (5:1).

The off-season before the 2010/11 season was marked by minor changes in the blue garnet camp. The team left such players as Thierry Henry, Rafael Marquez (both in the New York Red Bulls), Yaya Toure (Manchester City), Dmitry Chygrynsky (Shakhtar). Zlatan Ibrahimovic went to Milan on loan with the possibility of a subsequent purchase for € 24 million, who never found an understanding with Josep Guardiola. However, the team made several acquisitions. Immediately after the end of the 2009/10 Examples, one of the leaders of the Spanish national team, David Villa, joined the team. For his transfer, Barcelona paid Valencia € 40 million. Also, the Brazilian Adriano was acquired from Sevilla, designed to replace Rafa Marquez. Towards the start of the new season, Argentine captain Javier Mascherano moved from Liverpool.

The 2010/11 season began for Barcelona with the defense of the Spanish Super Cup. Having lost the first match to Sevilla (3:1), in the second leg the Catalan club defeated the opponent with a score of 4:0.

In La Liga of the 2010/11 season, a sensation happened already in the second round - Barcelona lost at home to the modest Hercules with a score of 0:2. On November 29, El Clasico took place at the Camp Nou. Coming after 12 rounds in the first place, Real Madrid, led by José Mourinho, was defeated 5-0. The match was nervous, replete with clashes of players who were shown 12 yellow and 1 red card. Jose explained the devastating defeat of his team like this: Barcelona played their best football on the field, and Real Madrid played the opposite. This match did not work out for the team. But we must not forget that I have been in charge of Real Madrid for only a few months, while Guardiola has been coaching Barça for several years and they have everything clearly set.

On January 16, after the Catalans won 4-1 against Malaga, Barcelona became the winner of the first round with 52 points, which is a La Liga record. On February 5, in a home match against Atlético Madrid, Barcelona won their 16th consecutive league title, breaking Real Madrid's record of 15 consecutive victories set 50 years ago. Barça's winning streak was interrupted by Sporting Gijon (1:1).

On May 28, 2011, Barcelona defeated Manchester United 3-1 in the 2010/2011 Champions League Final, goals scored by Pedro, David Villa and Lionel Messi.

After lengthy negotiations in August 2011, London's Arsenal agreed on the terms of the transfer of their captain Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona, ​​the deal amounted to €40 million. In addition, the team was replenished by Chilean striker Alexis Sanchez, who moved from Italian Udinese for €26 million .

On 26 August 2011, Barcelona defeated Porto 2-0 in the UEFA Super Cup. By winning this trophy, the Catalan club overtook Real for the first time since 1964 in the number of titles won: it was Barca's 76th official trophy, one more than Madrid.

On December 18, 2011, Barcelona again became the world champion among clubs, defeating the Brazilian Santos in the final with a score of 4: 0, Messi scored twice, Xavi and Cesc Fabregas scored another goal.

On May 25, 2012, the Catalan club won its 26th Copa del Rey, beating Athletic Bilbao 3-0 in the final match. Goals scored by Pedro (2) and Lionel Messi.

On 27 April 2012 head coach Josep Guardiola announced that he was going to leave the club. According to him, the reason for leaving was fatigue from work and a desire to relax. The result of his work on the coaching bridge - 14 trophies in four seasons - was a record figure, and Guardiola became the most successful coach in the history of the club, surpassing Johan Cruyff, who has 11 titles.

2012-2014

In the summer of 2012, after the departure of Guardiola, the team was headed by his assistant - Tito Vilanova. In the summer transfer window, the squad has undergone minor changes. Left-back Jordi Alba was bought from Valencia for € 14 million, replacing Eric Abidal, who suspended his career. Alexander Song Bilong was also bought from the London Arsenal, instead of Seydou Keita, who left for the Chinese Dalian Airbin.

For the new coach, the start of the season was not the best. In the fight for the Spanish Super Cup, Barcelona lost to its main rival, Real Madrid, according to the rule of a goal scored in a foreign field (3:2, 1:2). However, in the championship, the start was the best in the history of Examples. The first loss of points followed in the 7th round, where the Catalans shared points with Real Madrid (2: 2) at home, but this was the only game in the first round where Barcelona did not take three points.

During the first lap, Tito Vilanova's team scored a record 55 points. The first defeat in the championship occurred in San Sebastian, where the "blue garnet", leading during the meeting 2:0, lost to the middle peasants of the championship "Real Sociedad" with a score of 3:2. On February 26, Barcelona were eliminated from the Copa del Rey. After the first match with Real Madrid, a 1-1 draw was recorded, but then on the road, the Madrid confidently beat the Catalans with a score of 1:3. On matchday 35, Barcelona became La Liga champions, winning the Spanish title for the 22nd time in their history and scoring a record 100 points. In the final match of the Copa Catalunya, Barcelona defeated Espanyol in a penalty shootout (1:1, 4:2 - on penalties), having won this trophy for the first time since the 2006/07 season. On July 19, 2013, during a press conference between club president Sandro Rossel and Catalan sports director Andoni Zubizarreta, Vilanova's resignation as head coach of Barcelona was announced due to health problems.

On July 23, 2013, the name of the new coach was announced on the official website of the Catalan club: it was the fifty-year-old Argentine Gerardo Martino, who had previously successfully worked with the Paraguayan national team and the Argentine club Newell's Old Boys. The contract is for two years. In the off-season, Barcelona made a high-profile transfer: the club joined the striker of the Brazilian national team and football club Santos Neymar. According to various sources, the young talent cost the Catalan club between 57 and 72 million euros. At the same time, Barcelona left David Villa, who moved to Atlético Madrid, Thiago Alcantara, who left for Bayern, and Eric Abidal, who signed a contract with Monaco.

Gerardo Martino made his debut as Barcelona coach on 2 August in a friendly match for the Joan Gamper Cup against Santos, in which the Catalan club defeated the Brazilians 8-0. On August 29, Barcelona won their first and, as it turned out, the only title of the season - the Spanish Super Cup. Having drawn both matches with Atlético Madrid (1:1, 0:0), Barcelona won this trophy due to a goal scored in a foreign field in the first meeting of these clubs; the only goal for the Catalans was scored by newcomer Neymar. This Spanish Super Cup was the 11th in history for Barcelona.

The team under the leadership of the Argentine coach started the Spanish Championship with 8 victories in a row, and Gerardo Martino himself became the first specialist in the history of the club, who was able to win the first 7 matches of the Examples. In addition, Martino became the 3rd coach in the history of the championships of Spain, who achieved such a result.

The first defeat of the season came in a Champions League group stage match against Ajax, in which Barcelona lost to Amsterdam 2-1. After the failure in the Champions League, the "blue garnet" lost in the national championship - away to "Athletics" from Bilbao. Barcelona left the group in the Champions League in 1st place. In 1/8 Barca was to meet with Manchester City. In the first match away, blue garnet wins 2-0, thanks to goals from Messi (from the penalty spot) and Dani Alves. At the Camp Nou, a 2-1 victory was recorded, with the Argentinean and the Brazilian again scoring goals. As a result, Barcelona defeated Manchester City with a total score of 4-1. On March 23, in the next El Clasico, held at the Santiago Bernabeu, Barcelona defeated Real Madrid 3-4, Messi scored a hat-trick. In doing so, Barcelona ended Real Madrid's 35-match unbeaten streak (Real's last loss was at Camp Nou, in which Barça won 2-1). In the quarter-finals of the Champions League, the Catalans lost on aggregate to Atlético Madrid (1:1, 0:1).

On April 16, 2014, in the final of the Spanish Cup, Barcelona lost 1: 2 to their eternal rival Real Madrid.

On May 17, 2014, Barcelona lost the Spanish championship, drawing with Atlético Madrid, who later became the champion. Head coach Tata Martino resigned after this match and left the post of head coach of the team. Luis Enrique, who previously headed the Celta Vigo club, was appointed the new head coach.

2014-2017

On May 19, 2014, it became known that the former Barcelona player Luis Enrique was appointed head coach, with his arrival, the renewal of the squad began. Victor Valdes, Jose Pinto, Oyer Olazábal, Cesc Fabregas, Jonathan dos Santos, Alexis Sanchez, Isaac Cuenca, Bojan Krkic left the team. Players such as Ibrahim Afellay, Alexandre Song, Christian Tello, Gerard Deulofeu were loaned out, as well as the player's career was ended by club captain Carles Puyol. In place of the departed, Barcelona acquired Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Claudio Bravo, Jeremy Mathieu, Douglas, Thomas Vermaelen, Ivan Rakitic and Luis Suarez. In addition, Munir El Haddadi and Sandro Ramirez were transferred from Barcelona B to the first team.

On October 25, Barcelona lost to Real Madrid 3-1 away. This match ended the dry streak of Barça newcomer Claudio Bravo, who did not concede for 776 minutes.

On January 11, 2015, the Catalans outplayed the current champion, Atlético Madrid (3:1), in their field, Neymar, Leo Messi and Luis Suarez scored goals. On May 17, Barcelona at the Vicente Calderon stadium beat Atlético Madrid (the only goal scored by Messi) and became the 23-time champion of Spain.

In the Champions League, Barcelona took first place in their group (the Cypriot APOEL were beaten twice (1:0 and 4:0) and the Amsterdam Ajax (3:1 and 2:0), defeat and victory in two matches with PSG (2:3 and 3:1)). In 1/8 against Manchester City in the first away game, the Catalans won with a score of 2: 1 (Luis Suarez scored a double). In the return match, Barcelona won a minimal victory - 1:0 (Rakitić) and advanced further. In the quarterfinals, the Blue Garnet again met with Paris Saint-Germain. In both meetings Barcelona won 3:1 and 2:0. Neymar scored three goals, Luis Suarez scored twice more. In the semi-finals, Barcelona played with Bayern Munich under the leadership of Josep Guardiola. In the first match at the Camp Nou, Barça won 3-0, Lionel Messi scored twice and Neymar scored one goal. In the return match, the Blue Garnet lost to Bayern Munich - 2:3 (Neymar made a double), but three years later, in the sum of two meetings, they reached the final of the tournament.

On May 30, Barcelona won the Copa del Rey for the 27th time in its history, beating the Basque Athletic with a score of 3: 1 in the final meeting (Messi scored twice, Neymar scored one more goal) and became the first team since 1954 to win in all matches of the Spanish Cup in one draw. In addition, the goals scored by Messi and Neymar in the final allowed the club's strikers Messi-Suarez-Neymar, with 120 goals, to become the highest scoring trio in the history of Spanish football. The previous goalscoring record was held by Real Madrid players Cristiano Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema, who scored 118 goals in the 2011/12 season.

On June 6, the club beat Turin's Juventus 3-1 at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin (goals by Rakitic, Suarez and Neymar) and won the fifth European Cup in its history, earning the right to keep it forever. This final was the last match for the club of one of the veteran Spaniards Xavi, after which he continued his career in the Qatari club Al-Sadd. Lionel Messi, along with Criscitano Ronaldo, became the top scorer in the history of the European Cup / Champions League in this tournament. With three major titles this season, Barcelona became the first club in history to win the Treble twice.

In the 2015/2016 season, Xavi and Pedro left the team, who moved to Chelsea, and Martin Mantoya was also sent on loan. Instead of the departed, Barcelona acquired midfielder Arda Turan from Atletico Madrid and defender Aleish Vidal from Sevilla. Since Barcelona were banned from registering players, they could only make their debut in January.

Barcelona started the season with a UEFA Super Cup match against Sevilla (5:4), the winning and last goal for Barça was scored by Pedro in the 115th minute of the match. Later in the match for the Spanish Super Cup, Barcelona lost to Athletic Bilbao.

In the 1/8 of the Champions League, Barcelona met with the London Arsenal - 2:0, 3:1. In 1/4 Barcelona lost to Atlético Madrid 2:1, 0:2.

On May 14, in the last round, Barcelona, ​​having beaten Granada 3-0, became the champion of Spain for the 24th time. Luis Suarez became the author of all three goals, simultaneously becoming the top scorer in La Liga and the owner of the Golden Boot.

In the off-season 2016/2017, Barça was once again active in the transfer market, many new, young players came to the team, but only French defender Samuel Umtiti could really meet the expectations, who almost immediately reserved a place in the first team. Due to the large arrival of newcomers and their not the best game, Barcelona was unstable throughout the season, losing points against not the best clubs, which led to the fact that on March 1, Luis Enrique announced that he would leave the post of head coach of the team at the end of the season. The piquancy of the situation was given by the fact that this information appeared a week before the second leg of the 1/8 finals of the Champions League, in which the Catalans had to perform a miracle in order to go to the next round (they lost the first match to PSG with a score of 0:4). Later, the coach admitted that he was not going to lead another team, but simply wanted to relax.

On March 8, Barcelona defeated PSG 6-1 and made European Cup/Champions League history as the first side to qualify for the next round of the play-offs despite a 4-0 defeat in the first leg.

In the 1/4 finals of Barcelona, ​​Juventus got into rivals. The Catalans lost the first match on the road with a score of 0:3. The return game took place at the Nou Camp on 19 April and ended 0-0. Juve advanced to the semi-finals.

In the championship of Spain, Barcelona lost the title to Real Madrid, who became the champion for the first time in 5 years.

On May 27, 2017, as part of the Copa del Rey final, Luis Enrique played his last match as head coach of Barcelona. The team successfully beat Alaves 3-1 to win the Copa del Rey for the third time in a row, and won the tournament for the 29th time in history. And Luis Enrique himself became one of the most titled coaches of Barca, winning 9 out of 13 possible trophies.

2017-present

On May 29, the name of the new coach was officially announced - Ernesto Valverde, who previously coached Athletic Bilbao. The official presentation was on June 1st. In the first match under the new coach, Barça beat Juventus 2-1 in the International Champions Cup, also beating Manchester United and Real Madrid, Barcelona became the winner of this tournament, for the first time in history.

On August 3, 2017, Barcelona officially announced the departure of striker Neymar for a record-breaking 222 million euros for world football (this amount of compensation was spelled out in the Brazilian contract). The player moved to PSG. The club was replenished in the summer transfer window by Gerard Deulofeu, Nelson Semedo, Paulinho, and a young promising player Ousmane Dembele, who moved for a record, at that time, for the club 105 million euros (excluding bonuses).

Despite good showings during friendly games, Barcelona started the season with a defeat in the Spanish Super Cup, losing to Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate (3-1 at home, 2-0 away). After that, Barça had an incredible unbeaten run that ended on 17 January 2018, in the away leg of the 1/4 Copa del Rey against Espanyol (1-0), but in the second leg, Barça won 2-0 and went through. In the Spanish Championship and the Champions League, Barça was still invincible. During this segment, Barca beat such big teams as Juventus in the group stage of the Champions League (3-0 - at home; 0-0 - away), and Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in the 17th round of the Spanish Championship (3-0, Suarez, Messi, Vidal). Barcelona's game has changed, it has become more pragmatic and ball control is not as important an aspect of the game as it used to be, and due to the departure of Neymar and Dembele's injury, Barca began to play more often in a 4-4-2 formation instead of the usual 4-3- 3, the departure of Neymar also helped left-back Jorda Alba to get into the attack more often, which eventually made him one of the most productive defenders of the European season. Also, a newcomer to Barça, the Brazilian Paulinho, began to show a good game, whose transfer at the beginning of the season was assessed negatively by everyone, since the 30-year-old player bought for 40 million euros from the Chinese Championship, according to many, was not a player of the level of Barcelona. However, the Brazilian from the very first matches began to benefit the team and quickly fell in love with the Barça fans, he quickly adapted to the Barça game, and found a good understanding on the field with Messi and Suarez, which allowed him to become the 3rd scorer of the team during the campaign of the season.

On January 23, 2018, it was announced that after seven and a half seasons at Barcelona, ​​Javier Mascherano was leaving the team, he moved to Chinese Hebei China Fortune. Arda Turan, who moved to Istanbul, and Rafinha Alcantara, who moved to Inter Milan, also left the team. In place of those who left, Barça acquired young Colombian centre-back Yerry Mina, who became the tallest player in the history of the club, along with Ibrahimovic (both 195 cm), and the famous Brazilian Coutinho, who came from Liverpool for 140 million euros and became the second most expensive transfer in the history of world football, and the first in the history of the club. Barça actively wanted to sign Coutinho in the summer, but failed to reach an agreement with Liverpool, and the player spent half a season in England before his move finally took place. Due to the fact that he was played for Liverpool in the Champions League, he could no longer help the new team in the same tournament. His debut took place on January 25 in the second leg of the 1/4 Copa del Rey at the Camp Nou against Espanyol (2-0). He received the number 14, as many media reported - the number 7, vacated after the departure of Turan, was reserved for another star player that Barça want to buy in the summer.

The evolution of the form of "Barcelona"

When preparing the article, materials from Wikipedia were used