Barcelona history On November 29, 1899, Hans Gamper founded Futbol Club Barcelona, along with eleven other

enthusiasts of 'foot-ball', a game that was still largely unknown in this part of the world. He could never have imagined the magnitude of what that initiative would eventually develop into. Over more than one hundred years of history, FC Barcelona has grown spectacularly in every area and has progressed into something much greater than a mere sports club, turning Baras more than a club slogan into a realityBara has become, for millions of people all around the world, a symbol of their identity, and not just in a sporting sense, but also in terms of society, politics and culture. Throughout the most difficult of times, Bara was the standard that represented Catalonia and the Catalan people's desire for freedom, a symbolism that has continued to be closely linked to the idiosyncrasy of the Club and its members to this day. Within the context of Spain, Bara is seen as an open and democratic club. And all around the world, Bara is identified with caring causes, and most especially children through its sponsorship agreement with Unicef. For a whole century, FC Barcelona has passed through moments of glory and pain, periods of brilliance and other less successful ones, epic victories and humbling defeats. But all these different moments have helped define the personality of a Club that, due to its peculiar nature, is considered unique in the world. With over one hundred years of history, there have naturally been many different periods, both in a social and a sporting sense. In the early years (1899-1922) , from the foundation of the club to the construction of Les Corts stadium, Bara was a club that had to distinguish itself from all the other football teams in Barcelona, to the point that it would come to be identified with the city as a whole. Bara soon became the leading club in Catalonia, and also associated itself with the increasingly growing sense of Catalan national identity. From Les Corts to the Camp Nou (1922-1957), the club went through contrasting periods. Its membership reached 10,000 for the first time, while football developed into a mass phenomenon and turned professional, and these were the years of such legendary figures as Alcntara and Samitier. But due to material difficulties and the political troubles of the Spanish Civil War and post-war period, the club was forced to overcome several adverse circumstances, including the assassination of president Josep Sunyol in 1936, the very person who had propagated the slogan sport and citizenship'. But the club survived, and a period of social and sporting recovery materialised in the form of the Camp Nou, coinciding with the arrival of the hugely influential Ladislau Kubala. From the construction of the Camp Nou to the 75th anniversary (1957-1974) , Bara suffered mediocre results but was consolidated as an entity, with a constantly increasing membership and the slow but steady recovery, in the face of adversity, of its identity. A very clear sensation that was manifested for the first time ever in the words Bara, more than a club proclaimed by president Narcs de Carreras. The board presided by Agust Montal brought a player to Barcelona who would change the history of the club, Johan Cruyff.

Manchester united history.

ounded in 1878, the club was originally named Newton Heath L&YR F.C. as the works team of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath. In 1892, they entered the Football League and changed their name, becoming Newton Heath F.C. However, in 1902, the club was near bankruptcy with more than 2500 in debts: it was saved by J.H Davies, who was the managing director of Manchester Breweries, becoming club chairman. The new staff first decided to rename the team, in order to start fresh: Manchester Central and Manchester Celtics were among the names suggested before Louis Rocca mentioned Manchester United. On April 26, 1902, Manchester United was born. New name implied new club's colours: they abandoned the green and gold halves in favour of red and white. Ernest Mangnall was appointed as head coach to get the club in the First Division. That year, Manchester finished 5th in Division 2, a good result for a first attempt. The next season, thanks to new players such as Charlie Roberts, who cost the club a then-record 750, Manchester finished 3rd, only 1 point short from the promotion in First Division. Finally, in 1906, they were promoted to First Division, finishing 8th in their first season in the top-flight. In 1907, 18 players of Manchester City were banned from playing for them ever again: United quickly signed some of them (Sandy Turnbull, Billy Meredith). They made a huge impact on the team, leading them to win their first league title in 1909! The following season was also very successful for the Red Devils: they won the first edition of the Charity Shield and their first FA Cup! That same year, the team moved to their new stadium, Old Trafford: they played their first game there on February 19, 1910 against Liverpool in a 4-3 loss, despite a 30 lead. In 1911, they won their second league title, which was also their last one for 41 years. Manchester was relegated in Division 2 in 1922, struggling for the next ten years between promotions and relegations. They were back in Division 1 in 1939, right before WWII. After WWII, Matt Busby was appointed as manager and revolutionized coaching, bringing in players from the youth team whenever possible. He was allowed to pick his own team, choose which players to sign and direct the team's training sessions himself, which were usually the tasks reserved to the clubs directors. Manchester trusted him and finished 2nd in 1947, 1948 and 1949. Moreover, they won the 1948 FA Cup, thanks to the magic trio of Stan Pearson, Jack Rowley and Charlie Mitten. With an average age of only 22, the Red Devils won the league title again in 1956: Busbys Youth policy was working. The following season, the Busby Babes who were led by Duncan Edwards won another league title and reached the FA Cup Final, which United lost against Aston Villa. The same season, they were the first English team to compete in the European Cup, reaching the semi-finals before being knocked out by Real Madrid. During their European campaign, they also recorded their biggest win in all competitions, beating Belgian champions Anderlecht 100 at Maine Road! On February 6, 1958, the plane carrying the team home from a European Cup match crashed in Munich, Germany: 8 players (Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Duncan Edwards, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor and Liam "Billy" Whelan) died and 15 persons were injured. Despite the accident, United reached the FA Cup Final, losing against Bolton Wanderers and even managed to finish 2nd in Division 1 the following year. Busby was rebuilding the team at the beginning of the 1960s, signing players such as Denis Law, Pat Crerand and the eventual legend George Best. Best was known for his control of the ball. The Red Devils won the 1963 FA Cup, despite finishing 19th in Division 1. They reached the 2nd place the

next year, and won the league title in 1965 and 1967. In 1968, United became the first English club to win the European Cup, wining 4-1 against Eusebios Benfica in the final! Denis Law, Bobby Charlton, and George Best were named European Footballer of the Year, respectively in 1964, 1966 and 1968. Matt Busby resigned as manager in 1969 and was replaced by former United player Wilf McGuinness.

United struggled under Wilf McGuinness, finishing 8th in 1970: McGuinness was demoted and Busby came back for 6 months. Results were better, although he left the club for the last time in the summer of 1971. Frank O'Farrell was named as Busby's successor but only lasted less than 18 months. However, in the mean time, he brought new players such as Martin Buchan for 125,000 to make up the team's poor form.

Tommy Docherty, or 'the Doc', became manager at the end of 1972. Despite saving United from relegation that season, the Red Devils were relegated in 1974. Moreover, the golden trio of Best, Law and Charlton had left the club: Law moved to Manchester City in the summer of 1973, and scored the goal that relegated United, and politely refused to celebrate the goal with his team mates. In 1975, they were promoted again, back to the top flight, and reached the 1976 FA Cup Final, but were beaten by Southampton. They reached the final again in 1977, beating Liverpool 2-1. In spite of this success and his popularity with the supporters, Docherty was fired soon after the final.

In 1977, Dave Sexton was appointed as manager and made the team play in a defensive formation, which is why Sexton was unpopular with supporters. This defensive formation failed to win any trophies: Manchester United lost the FA Cup Final against Arsenal in what was known as the "five-minute final" for the flurry of goals in the last minutes and finished once 2nd in Division 1. Sexton was fired in 1981 and replaced by Ron Atkinson.

Ron Atkinson's first move was to sign Bryan Robson from his old club for 1.75 million, breaking the British record transfer fee. Robson was considered as United's best midfielder since Duncan Edwards. The Red Devils won the 1983 and 1985 FA Cups. In the 1985-1986 season, they won their first ten league games, opening a ten-point gap over their rivals as early as October and were favourites to win the league. However, they finished only 4th and the following season, with United on the edge of the First Division's relegation zone, Atkinson was fired.

In 1986, Alex Ferguson arrived from Aberdeen to replace Atkinson. For his first season as head coach, United finished 11th, and the following season, they finished 2nd with Brian McClair becoming the first United player to score more than 20 league goals in a season since George Best! However, the team struggled the next 2 seasons, and Ferguson was on the edge to be sacked! Fortunately, the team won the 1990 FA Cup, beating Crystal Palace in the final. In 1991, United won their first and only one European Cup Winners' Cup, beating Spanish champions Barcelona. The 1992-1993 season was very successful for Manchester United: the arrival of Eric Cantona, combined with the talent of Ryan Giggs and Paul Ince, led the team to win its first league title since 1967! Moreover, they won their first double League and FA Cup the following year, helped by a newcomer named Roy Keane, who would eventually become the team captain. However, on January 20, 1994, the club and all the fans were plunged into mourning following the death of Sir Matt Busby. United finished runner-up in both league and FA Cup in the 1994-1995 season.

The 1995-1996 season was a key period for the Red Devils. Actually, Ferguson brought new players from the club's youth team such as David Beckham, Paul Scholes or Gary Neville, in order to replace some of the key players. The team did surprisingly well, wining the double again. This was the first time any English club had won the double twice, and the feat was nicknamed the "Double Double".

The 1998-1999 season was the most successful season in the English Football Club History as United became the first and only English team to win The Treble Premiership, FA Cup and Champions League! United won the title on the final day beating Tottenham Hotspur 21 and they won the FA Cup Final 2-0 against Newcastle United, the 2 goals were scored by Teddy Sheringham and Paul Scholes. In the UEFA Champions League Final, they won against Bayern Munich: they scored twice in injury time to finally win 2-1! Moreover, they won the Intercontinental Cup after beating Palmeiras 10 in Tokyo. Ferguson was subsequently knighted for his services to football. They won the league in 2000 and 2001.

In 2000, Manchester United became one of the 14 founders of the G-14 group of leading European football clubs. They finished 3rd in the 2002 Premiership, but they regained the title the following season (2003), securing their 8th title in 11 seasons. Ferguson even described this success as his greatest achievement since becoming United manager in 1986. The 2004 FA Cup was the only trophy United won during the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons. However, they rebuilt the team, signing Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand respectively for 12.24 million, 23 million and 29.1 million.

Roy Keane left United to join the Celtics in 2005 and the club failed to qualify for the knock-out phase of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in more than 10 years. They finished 2nd in the Premiership and were eliminated in the FA Cup by Liverpool. However, they won the 2006 League Cup, beating Wigan Athletic 4-0 in the final. At the end of the season, Ruud Van Nistelrooy left to join Real Madrid due to a row with Ferguson.

On May 6, 2007, United won the English Premier League title, 4 years after their last one: it was their 9th Premiership title in the 15 seasons of its existence. Moreover, they scored 20 more goals in 32 matches than second placed Chelsea. However, they lost 1-0 against Chelsea in the FA Cup Final. In the Champions League, they advanced to the semi-finals, but they lost against eventual winner A.C Milan 5-3 on aggregate. In the 2007-2008 season, in the FA Cup, they were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Portsmouth. In the 79th minute, after Van Der Saar was substituted at half-time, second goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak was sent off for a professional foul on Milan Baro. Rio Ferdinand was given the responsibility of attempting to save the penalty but he failed: United were knocked out of the FA Cup. They won the Champions League in Moscow, defeating Chelsea on penalties after a 1-1 draw in normal time and extra time. This final will remain in peoples minds because of John Terry's slip as he

took his penalty, the penalty that would have won it for Chelsea. Ryan Giggs duly stepped up to score the winner in his record breaking 759th appearance.