122 years ago today, a Swiss businessman named Hans Gamble, who was planning to go to Africa to do sugar business, stopped by to visit his uncle who lived in Barcelona. Unexpectedly, he fell in love with the city at first sight, not only Juan Gamble, who settled here and changed his name to Catalan, but also led the establishment of a football club, Barcelona.
In 122 years, the white colt crossed the gap, Barcelona bathed in glory and wind and rain in the long river of history, and countless top stars arrived and left. What remains is not only the trophies and worldwide influence, but also the spiritual imprint engraved in the soul of the club, which continues to inspire many people who love Barca.
In the same vein
Unlike most clubs, Barca have maintained the same philosophy of football throughout their 122-year history: emphasis on technology, emphasis on attack, and good football for their fans. After Cruyff became the first-team coach in 1988 and continued to be with Barca a decade ago, the team has been deeply branded with "Cruyffism" ever since.
Cruyff's Barca have a multitude of talented players who not only won four la Liga titles, two Copa del Rey and one Champions League together, but also profoundly influenced world football in different ways. Among them, there is Bergiristan, who is the director of barca and Manchester City, Stojchikov, who is as hot-tempered as his left foot, Laudrup, a prominent representative of Danish football, and Romario, the Brazilian "lone wolf", and Nadal, who has become more famous because of his nephew.
There is also a young man who has just started training with the first team. He wasn't fast or strong enough, and on the first day he was spat at by Cruyff that "you're slower than my grandmother." As another team and other coaches, it is estimated that he will never have the opportunity to represent the giants, but fortunately he met a Cruyff who was actually admiring in his spit.
This young man is —Guardiola.
Under Cruyff, Guardiola has shown his greatest uniqueness, which is the wisdom of football. Not only is the playing style very clever, but I've learned a lot from the coach since then. "Once against Valencia, which has a large number of stars, Cruyff suddenly asked us to play three centre-backs instead, and I played at the back with Koeman. I said to the coach , 'This is crazy, they're going to kill us.' I couldn't believe it myself, we won 3-0 and the opponent had almost no chance. ”
More than a decade later, Guardiola also became Barca's head coach, creating the world-swept pass-control football and dream three. Behind his overall passing, high pressing, and flexible change of position, you can clearly see the impact of "Cruyffism".
Another decade has passed, and Xavi, who was a teammate with Guardiola and reached the peak of his dream under him, is now Barca's new manager. In Galtete, where Xavi made his coaching debut, Barca played in a style that was both familiar and somewhat long-lost.
The collective high pressing, the large range of forward pressure of the midfield trio, the active return of the wingers on both sides... Like Guardiola's tactical requirements, it is Barca's consistent football philosophy.
Make the world a better place
"Més Que Un Club" is Barca's most famous slogan, but "more than just a club" is definitely not just a slogan here. Many examples over the past many years have taken this sentence to fruition.
Since 2006, Barça's shirt has broken the convention of more than a hundred years and the name of a "sponsor" has appeared. But it wasn't the big business that got the perfect place, it was UNICEF. They are not so-called "sponsors", and Barca not only do not receive sponsorship fees because of this partnership, but on the contrary, they will also take a certain percentage of the total annual income as a donation.
Today, although UNICEF's position has moved from the chest to the back, the cooperation between the two sides is deepening. For example, during the COVID-19 epidemic, the club has donated tens of thousands of medical masks in cooperation with sponsors.
In 2017, Barça established the BIHub (Barça Innovation Hub), the first attempt by a football club to be fully involved in scientific research. Over the years, BIHub has cooperated with UEFA to study the impact of sleep on player performance, cooperated with FIFA to carry out multi-angle research on women's football science training, and worked with local children's hospitals to monitor the spread of the new crown virus in groups.
Barcelona, all the time, is working hard to make the world a better place.
In addition, BIHub leads the sports science summit every year, with speakers not only including heads of various departments of the club, but also inviting experts in sports circles, including FIFA Development Director Wenger, Liverpool Data Team Leader Graham, co-founder of EA and FIFA game series, renowned professors of Harvard and Oxford Sports Studies, executives of NBA teams and superstar Paul Gasol.
They present their research and exchange learnings, ranging from the evolutionary trends of football, to cutting-edge results in sports science, to the positive impact of sport on the world. After that, these ideas will follow them around the world, triggering more creativity and innovation.
Barca, not just a club. And the influence and contribution of this club to the world is not only in football, but in all aspects like this, meticulous and far-reaching.
La Masia
Barca have a strong football philosophy and humanistic philosophy, and the most suitable for passing them on are those who have come all the way from the team's youth training.
Ruiz established the three major concepts of technology first, equal emphasis on football and academics, and unified tactics for echelons of different ages, Cruyff identified the formation as 433, established the central idea of triangular transmission, and vigorously promoted young people such as Guardiola, Amor, Sergi, De la Pena, and Busquets' father, Carres Busquets. The efforts of two generations of dreamers have made La Masia the most talented academy.
From Harvey, Fabregas, Iniesta, Valdés in the van Gaal era, to Messi, Busquets, Pedro, Pique in the era of Rijkaard and Guardiola... Countless talented stars have gone from here to the world, and behind every glory of Barca, there will be a shining brilliance of La Masia.
At the 2010 Ballon d'Or, the top three were chartered by Messi, Iniesta and Xavi. What is even more amazing is that this is also the collective package of the La Masia Youth Academy.
In December 2012, during Barca's match against Levante, Alves was replaced by Montoya due to injury. This substitution, although an accident, also achieved the pinnacle of La Masia. Valdés, Montoya, Pique, Puyol, Alba, Xavi, Busquets, Fabregas, Pedro, Messi, Iniesta – all 11 people on the field are from La Masia, showing the world the majesty of their children's unity.
This unique sense of accomplishment also continues to this day.
In Xavi's debut as he returned to coaching, the starting lineup included 8 youth players from the team, including Alba, Garcia, Pique, Mingosa, Busquets, Nico, Ilias and Garvey, plus Abdul, Phuket and Araujo who came off the bench, with a total of 11 La Masia products getting the opportunity to play.
Maybe many of them will need time to grow, but when they do, they will surely understand better than others the philosophy that the club adheres to and the football philosophy that Xavi wants to convey.
They will be back
In 122 years of glorious history, Barca have had many superstars.
Kubala, Cruyff, Maradona, Ronaldinho, Xavi, Iniesta, two Luis Suarez, Puyol, Reinkel, Michel Laudrup, Eto'o, Messi... They all brought a dream performance that made people cheer and became a good memory for generations of Barca fans.
And when the club needs it most, they will come back without hesitation.
Last year, Koeman resolutely gave up the opportunity to lead the Dutch national team to the European Championship and chose to return to camp Nou, where he had chased his dreams. From the renewal to the reorganization of tactics, he carried all the pressure and brought out young players such as Pedri, Garvey, Araujo, Nico and Mingosa.
After Koeman left, Barca welcomed Xavi's return. The legendary captain, who has been coaching in the Qatari league for two years, is now back on the stage that suits him best with the style of Pep Guardiola, the rich experience of his player and coaching career, and his never-ending loyalty and love for Barca.
Then we waited for Alves. In the predicament of the club's severe financial situation, the "second master" did not consider such things as economy and treatment at all. Although the legendary defender's career has been regarded as "longevity", the player is still a profession that has eaten more than ten years of youth, what is the root of this sacrifice?
Walking into camp Nou's affectionate kiss on the logo was enough to explain everything.
This is not the best era in the long history of 122 years, but after 122 years of accumulation and precipitation, there is always something that can be carved into the blood of Barça people and then nourished a better future.
The hell of the foot is only a reflection of heaven, and the story of the lips is also the ashes of time. You see, the children of La Masia are thriving; you see, the legend of the club contributes to its own strength; you think, the imprint of those souls has not faded in the slightest.
Success or failure is temporary, but love and dreams are eternal. From that day 122 years ago to the present in 2021, to the farthest and farther future.
FC Barcelona celebrates its 122nd birthday
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